Sundarbans oil spill: The toxic knows no borders

So, I am reading this stuff in newspapers on Indian officials making a big noise about being on alert and taking “all precautionary measures” in case the oil that leaked into the "Bangladesh" Sundarbans spills over to the "Indian" Sundarbans. In case the reader lives on another planet, here are the bare facts: 3,50,000 litres of oil has spilled into the river Sela in the Bangladesh part of the mangrove forests of Sundarbans when the tanker collided into another vessel on December 9, 2014.

The BSF and coast guards have been also put on alert, while one gets the feeling that the divine forces of Ma Durga have been invoked so that the oil does not make its way into "Indian" Sundarbans.

Forgive me if I seem to be asking a very basic question here: How does oil distinguish "Bangladesh" and "Indian" Sundarbans? Does it warn itself "Stop right there" as it spreads its murky tentacles over the waters, blocking the flow of oxygen, choking all life — just short of the frontier? Or maybe the uniformed forces who man the borders do the job; you know, ask for passports, visas etc and arrest its development in case it does not carry the essentials. But then, what about water, does it understand, and obey, boundaries? Does the water of the river Sela, now a murky, oily, toxic soup, flounder as it approaches the Indian part of the delta? And how does a mangrove tree which has taken root in nether land grow — or not — if it spreads its arms into both countries? I haven’t even gotten to the animals as yet. Birds, who might roost in Bangladesh but feast in India? The dolphin, classified by some as a "non-human person", surely respects borders and dare not put a flipper in alien waters? And the Royal Bengal Tiger? Is it the king of all it surveys, and swims back and forth in both countries with impunity? Would an "Indian" tiger mate with a Bangladeshi one, or is it complicated, given the trans boundary implications?

You get the drift…even as I am drifting a bit away from the core issue. The point I am trying to make here is that in a disaster of such monumental implications, and of a kind for which manmade boundaries have no meaning, demands a quick response and collective action.

No less than 3,50,000 litres of oil has spilled into one of the most fragile and unique ecosystems, the Sundarbans — also a World Heritage Site which harbours many rare species such as the tiger, Irrawaddy dolphin, Gangetic dolphin, fishing cat, otter, crocodile, Ganges shark — to name a few. The spill was near Mongla port (about 100km from the Kolkata port), and has already spread over 80 kms into smaller channels, covering, choking waterways, mudflats and another river, Pashur.

Dolphins frequently need to come up for air, and could be the worst hit, suffocating when unable to rise past the congealed layer of oil for the breath of life. The first dolphin casualty has been reported — there are expected to be more, and carcasses of otters, monitor lizards, turtles, birds have also started surfacing. Most dead animals will however simply sink to the bottom, invisible victims of this monumental folly.

History shows that impacts last beyond the immediate. The toxic effect will reduce the reproductive health of both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, cause mangrove die-offs. There are potential toxic impacts if fish exposed to oil is consumed. In major oil spills across the globe, the legacy continues even two decades later with oil residues and sediments in animal populations, mud, ocean beds, beaches - everywhere.

Forest officials in Bangladesh have minced no words, calling the oil spill an “ecological catastrophe”.

And here we are, big brother India, twiddling its thumb waiting — or not — for the oil to cross over so that it can then move its forces. Even as our neighbours with whom we share this natural heritage have admitted that they are woefully unequipped and lack the experience and expertise to tackle the spill, and stem its spread. And even as the situation is so desperate, that there are villagers out there using everything from sponges to spoons (yeah, spoons) to clean up.

Bangladesh needs to answer some questions as well. What, pray, was an oil cargo doing inside a sanctuary and a World Heritage Site. There have been two such accidents in the past three years, with the tankers dumping fly ash and fertilisers contaminating the waters of the Sundarbans? Reportedly, with the regular route heavily silted, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority opened a "temporary" route through the Sela river. According to some reports more than 200 tankers ply through the Sundarbans everyday. Last year, UNESCO had requested the Bangladesh government to suspend the water route through the Sundarbans with immediate effect. Evidently, this went unheard.

The Sundarbans faces a multitude of threats—ranging from industrial pollutants to severe anthropogenic pressures, human-wildlife conflict to climate change. Let’s remember, too, it’s not "just about animals"; millions of people depend on the Sundarbans for their sustenance and livelihood largely through fishing, which now stands jeopardised.

Wiser, isn’t it, not to pour oil over troubled waters?