World leaders can learn from Bangladesh’s ‘Swatch of No Ground’, says US ambassador

The US ambassador in Dhaka has termed Bangladesh’s ‘Swatch of No Ground’ a model and said world leaders can learn from it.

At a World Environment Day function on Sunday, Marcia Bernicat said the Department of State will host world leaders in Washington later this year for the third annual ‘Our Ocean Conference’.

Participants will be tackling “thorny challenges to our oceans’ wellbeing and will discuss measures to protect and conserve wildlife through sustainable fishing practices and the establishment of marine protected areas”, she said.

“One model they can learn from is Bangladesh’s “Swatch of No Ground,” which is a habitat for the endangered fin whale, five species of endangered dolphins, and a host of other marine wildlife.”

The government on Oct 27, 2014 announced ‘the Swatch of No-Ground’ as the first marine protected area of Bangladesh, restricting fishing and other offshore commercial activities there.

It is a 1738 square km area with an average depth of 900 metre, located in the southern side of the Dublachar Island in the Bay of Bengal.

The area is a key breeding and spawning ground of dolphins, whales, sharks and turtles.

Ambassador Bernicat was speaking at the Independent University of Bangladesh-organised programme of the Environment Day. 

She said June was a ‘special month’ for her as the US celebrates ‘National Oceans Month’.

“This month, we reaffirm our responsibility to keep our oceans and coastal ecosystems healthy and resilient.  We remember our obligations to good ocean stewardship,” she said.

Bernicat highlighted the impact of climate change in her speech and said both Bangladesh and the US would work together to find ‘new solutions’ to address climate change.

She said environmental problems had no national borders, and no country could face climate change alone.

The university’s Board of Trustees Chairman Rashed Chowdhury, and Vice-Chancellor Prof M Omar Rahman spoke at the function, among others.

The theme of the day was “Go Wild For Life”.