SUNDARBANS OIL SPILL EVALUATION

1.INTRODUCTION

Sundarbans is the largest mangrove in the world being around 10000 sq km located in the South-West
area of Bangladesh. The ecosystem of the Sundarbans is very diverse as its the home to many wildlife
animals and plant species. The forest is full of natural resources and provides livlihood to millions of
people and acts as a protective barrier from natural calamities. The Sundarbans plays a major role in our
country's ecosystem however this ecological balance is being hampered everyday as the forest is being
damaged. One of those damages was the oil spill in the Sundarbans. Its crucial we discuss about the
impact of oil spill on the envirnonment of the forest and the people whose livlihood depend on the
forest.

2.HOW AND WHERE THE SPILLAGE OCCURED

The oil spill occured on 9th December,2014 at the Shela River in the Sundarbans. A cargo vessel collided
with a oil tanker named Souther Star VII,the oil tanker was anchored at the juntion of the Shela River and
the Passur River,due to heavy fog the cargo vessel did not have any visibility of the oil tanker and crashed
into it. The oil tanker sank into the river thus spreading the oil into the river. All the crew members on
the oil tanker safely swam ashore but the captain of the ship, Mokhlesur Rahman , lost his life.His body
was found a few kms away from where the ship sank.

Figure 1: The oil tanker involved in the collision.

3.Feature & extent of spilled oil

Southern Star VII.the oil tanker was carrying approximately 3,58,000 litres of heavy fuel oil.Heavy fuel is
considered less toxic to the envirnment and peope than ligher oilBy December 17,2014 the oil had
spread over 350 sq.km. The oil also spilled into another river and a number of canals in the South-
eastern part of the Sundarbans. However the spill was luckily minimized due to a number of factors
including tidal variations and the decision by Bangladesh government to close the Shela River.

Figure 2: The oil spillage in Shela River.

3.1 OIL COLLECTION

The Bangladesh Government did not have the capabilties and the means to tackle the oil spill. On
December 15 the goverment sent a letter to the United Nations asking for assistance in collecting the
oil. The owner of the sunken oil tanker,MS Harun & Co., assisted by three private rescue vessels also
started working on collecting the oil. By 12 January 2015, the government, with the help of local
residents, the Bangladesh Navy, and the owner of the oil tanker, had collected 70,000 litres of oil.
 Figure 3: Local residents collecting oil.

4.IMPACTS OF THE OIL SPILL

The Sundarbans oil spill was a devastating blow to its ecosystem. The damages were not only limited to
the Shela River. It affected people's livlihood, the biodiversity of aquatic animals as well as the mangrove
trees of the forest.

4.1 IMPACTS ON THE MANGROVE

Mangroves are smalls trees that grow in coastal saline water. Sundarbans is full of being the largest
mangrove forest in the world. The oil spilled onto mainland and affected the forest. Seedlings of
Heritiera sp and Excoecaria sp and patches of grass which were covered by oil died. The affects on the
mangroves were minimal as heavy fuel oil is considered to be less toxic but if the oil stays on the
mainland it will cause great damage to the soil thus making the soil infertile and no trees or plants will
grow.Therefore it could affect the f growth of mangrove trees in the future.

Figure 4 : Dying mangroves on a river bank.

4.2 IMPACTS ON THE BIODIVERSITY

The location of the crash,Shela River, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.The site is in a protected
mangrove area, home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins. The oil spill hampered the well-being of
aquatic animals as well as the animals that lived close to the Shela RIver.On 13 December 2014, a dead
Irrawaddy dolphin was seen floating on the Harintana-Tembulbunia channel of the Shela River. After the
oil spill its reported its very rare to see any dolphines in the surrounding regions.On 18 December 2014,
two dead otters were found which was later confirmed to have died from ingesting oil. The otter is one
of many endangered species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature endangered list. It
also affected the food cycle as micro-organism,the primary level of food cycle, died. Irrawady dolphins,
Bengal tigers, leopards, great egrets, rhesus macaques, northern river terrapins, black-capped
kingfishers, chitals, saltwater crocodiles, and horseshoe crabs are some species which were endangerd
due to the oil spill.

Figure 5 : A helpless bird trapped in oil.

4.3 IMPACTS ON THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LIVELIHOOD

After the oil spill, people living near the Shela River were under huge health risks. The government told
that if you collect any amount of oil, you can sell it and keep the money for yourself.As the local people
were poor they risked their health and collected oil from the rivers without any precautions. As a result
they faced breathing problems, skin diseases, hairfall, eye irritation, throat irritation,headache,vomiting
and many more problems.

Sundarbans is a source of livlihood for thousands and thousands of people. After the oil spill the local
residents not only suffered health hazards but also their means of earning their livelihood was
hampered. Trees were damaged as a result people could not get wood. Soil was severly damaged as a
result they could not grow new plants and trees. As the Shela River was closed, people could not get
water for their day to day use. It affected their sanitary facilities and water supply as well as fishing
stopped.
 Figure 6 : A man having breathing problems and a child drenched in oil.

5.ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE

Ecosystem Resilience means the capability of a ecosystem to resist disturbances and heal itself. Over the
years the Sundarbans healed itself from the devastating damages from the oil spill. After the oil spill, the
Shera River was closed to cargo vessels and people. As a result it got time to heal itself, nature brought
the ecological balance itself. Also the shorelines surrounding which were affected are improving as trees
are starting to grow. This process is called Ecosystem Restoration.

6.CONCLUSION

.The goverment was not prepared during the 2014 oil spill.They must take steps to ensure that they are
ready if such incidents take place in the future. They should also take measures to educate people about
the forest's importance in maintaining the ecological balance. They also have to make laws protecting
the endangered speicies.We,the people should also be responsible and not harm any endangered
species. Sundarbans is the heart of our country's ecosystem and we must take care of it.
Reference

1. Abu Bakar Siddique. "The Sundarbans in big trouble". Dhaka Tribune.

2. "Massive Oil Spill Threatens Bangladesh's Sundarbans". Global Voices Online

3. Krishnendu Mukherjee, Rakhi Chakrabarty. "350-tonne oil spill by Bangladeshi ship threatens
Sunderbans". The Times of India

4. "Bangladesh begins oil clean-up after spill". Aljazeera.

5. "Oil spill in Sundarbans threatens food cycle". Prothom Alo.

7. "UN agrees to help govt contain oil spread". Prothom Alo.

8. "River route closed after Sundarbans oil spill". The Hindu.

9. "No capacity to tackle oil spills". The Daily Star.