An update on the Sundarbans oil spill that occurred a month ago... --- A 10-member team led by Prof. Dr. Abdullah Harun Chowdhury of Khulna University has been performing a study on effect of the oil spill in 1,200 square kilometres area of the Sundarbans. Before the spill, oil was present in concentrations 2 and 4 milligrams in per kilogram of soil. Now, it has reached 370 to 1,690 milligrams per kilogram of soil, exceeding the international oil contamination standard limit of 10 milligrams per liter. The study reveals the food chain of aquatic species living in the Sundarbans has been severely disrupted by the Sela River oil spill. A typical liter of water normally contains 226-456 units of phytoplankton and zooplankton with an abundance of 53-77 units per liter. After oil disaster, phytoplanktons dropped to 24-67 units per liter and zooplanktons to 6-10 units per liter. These are the primary producer of the ecosystem, thus the entire food chain would be affected severely. Three to seven mudskippers were noticed per square meter in normal conditions, but after the oil spill, no mudskippers were observed. Crabs also disappeared from the affected area, while normally three to seven crabs are found per square meter. Researchers could not see any dolphins in oil spill areas of the Sundarbans, but generally, 5 to 10 dolphins were seen in the river per hour. The area usually is occupied by groups of browsing deer; the team also did not see any footprints of deer in the affected area. All of the symptoms demonstrate the damage to the food chain caused by the spilled oil. Much more evidence of the destructive impacts of the oil spill is yet to be revealed. The UN expressed concern over the disaster, urging Dhaka, seat of the Bangladeshi government, to impose a complete ban on the movement of commercial vessels through the 10,000-square-kilometer (3,850 square miles) forest, but the Shipping Ministry rejected this recommendation. Minister Shahjahan Khan said, Human need is our first concern, not the forest. This kind of irresponsible comment is not unexpected from a powerful politician. For the time being, it is clear that the route would not be changed unless there is heavy international pressure. World leaders, scientists, and others concerned about the spills impact should come forward to save the Sundarbans before it is too late.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 04:15:29 +0000
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