ABSTRACT
St. Martin's Island is the only place in Bangladesh where coral colonies are found; it is a natural treasure of Bangladesh that attracts thousands of tourists. The island also has important ecological value as one of the few remaining nesting places in the region for several species of globally threatened marine turtles, as well as being a flyway and wintering site for migratory birds of the East Asian and Australasian region. St. Martin's Island is not only significant for its biodiversity value but also for Bangladesh in terms of defining its exclusive economic zone and delineating its sea boundary in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea. Unfortunately, unregulated tourism has become detrimental for the health of this unique ecosystem. Unless tourists visiting St. Martin's Island quickly adopt ecologically responsible behavior, the unique flora and fauna of the island, which has experienced tragic changes over the last two decades, will continue to be degraded. While the Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity Management Project (CWBMP), in partnership with the Department of Environment and the UN Development Programme, has achieved considerable results in terms of activating community-based conservation, linking it with the local governance structure and conservation management plans and raising local and national awareness, these achievements seem to be inadequate to address the huge crisis that now exists. In addition, enabling polices and legislation, local government leadership and private-sector cooperation are prerequisites for maintaining the sustainability of this unique ecosystem. Since time is running out, it is of the utmost importance to develop a master plan for the island's systems. Such a plan must be based on a comprehensive knowledge base. Although the Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity Management Project generated several databases for the island, the existing data and information need to be supplemented by primary studies and scientific investigations. These include information on the area of extent of marine ecosystems, the biophysical uniqueness of the island and taxonomic characteristics of the flora and fauna of the ecosystems. Given the lack of such information, much of the information in this document is based on secondary data. With this background, this chapter provides key information including biodiversity, problems, and conservation challenges. It also discusses the necessity of enabling policies and programming actions. It is our sincere hope that the chapter will incite awareness about this unique island and its formidable challenges in order to generate the necessary policy debates and actions in support of sustainable solutions.
