Review
Policy Framework for Mitigating Land-based Marine Plastic Pollution in the Gangetic Delta Region of Bay of Bengal- A review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123409Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The study aims to address the issue of marine plastic pollution (MPP) in the Gangetic delta region of Bay of Bengal (BOB).

  • Plastic contaminants and their detrimental effects on marine and human health was reviewed.

  • The existing law and policy measures on MPP suffers from ambiguities and inadequacy and lack of implementation in BOB.

  • Stringent legal and policy measures may help in phasing-out of plastic products in BOB.

  • Adoption and implementation of effective plastic waste management rules are suggested.

Abstract

The rapid increase of the usage of plastic products in the modern era and lack of adequate waste management policies has led to their accumulation in the rivers beds and oceans posing severe threat to wildlife and human food chain. Bay of Bengal is the largest marine ecosystem with rich fauna of marine inhabitants and is hugely exploited by the plastic litter draining through the rivers Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna flowing through both India and Bangladesh. The question to be answered in this region is how to tackle the issue of marine plastic pollution with the aid of apt scientific findings and policy frameworks. Possible answers to these questions are being attempted in the present work by reviewing and evaluating the existing knowledge in science and law in both the countries to curb the menace of plastic in the Gangetic Bay of Bengal region. The review critically analyses the ill-effects of plastics on marine organisms globally and individuals residing on the coastal areas adjoining Bay of Bengal region. Further, the study finds that implementation of stringent laws and strengthening legal measures, in-depth understanding of the marine litter (plastics), robust waste management strategies, and spontaneous public involvement are mandatory to minimize the adverse effects of land-based plastics in this region of both the countries. The study hints out at a number of probable opportunities for the policy makers, environmentalists and marine biologists to work on for solving the plastic litter problem by adopting a holistic approach. The review finally concludes with the extensive research efforts needs to be carried out by an interdisciplinary approach and implications towards consumer driven changes which can create a safer environment for human race and marine organisms to survive.

Introduction

The world ocean is the mother of more than 3 billion people who depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. Over the years, the marine spaces have been taken as granted and is being used as a universal dustbin. A study has reported that 40 percent of the ocean is profoundly affected by pollution, depleted fisheries, loss of coastal habitats, and other human activities (UNDP, 2015). Land-based activities which include dumping of waste materials into the water bodies, urbanization, industrial and agricultural waste, harvesting, and over-exploitation leads to the formation of marine litter (Guzzetti et al., 2018). The rivers around the globe are overexploited due to increasing energy demands and clean energy resources, thus affecting their flora and fauna (Kuriqi et al., 2019a). The construction of dams and barrages has profound effect on the flow regime of rivers causing disturbance to the aquatic species of that ecosystem particularly fishes (Ali et al., 2019). Further, the utility of water systems for energy generation has a profound effect on river conservation (Kuriqi et al., 2017).

The marine litter has caused severe damage in the Asia-Pacific region, making them lose around US$1.265 billion annually due to the damage in fishing, shipping, and tourism industries (Carl Bruch et al., 2016). Majority of this marine litter is plastics. The manufacturing, use, and disposal of plastics have become the major issue (Villarrubia-Gómez et al., 2018). A more detailed understanding of these anthropogenic pollutants over time has to be assessed quickly for the risks posed by them to the people and ecosystems around the globe (Windsor et al., 2019).

Plastic pollutants mainly derived from land-based sources have emerged as severe threat to the marine environment (Eriksen et al., 2014). Many recreational activities such as picnicking, boating, swimming and fishing in the sea can generate plastic debris (Van Cauwenberghe et al., 2013), which are either discarded at sea or reach the sea through waterways (Lusher et al., 2013). Non-renewable fossil feedstock such as coal, oil, or natural gas is also important contributors to plastic (Leal Filho et al., 2019). Most of the forms such as polylactic acid are biodegradable. Other biopolymers such as polyethylene derived from bio-ethanol are not biodegradable (Sidhu and Desai, 2018). The increasing concentrations of plastic incite alterations among the marine organisms at species, community, and ecosystem levels (Deudero and Alomar, 2015). According to (Cole et al., 2011; Moore, 2008) around 200 marine species are severely affected due to entanglement or consumption of plastic debris and these numbers are likely to be increased soon (González Carman et al., 2015).

There are various transport pathways associated with the influx of plastic debris such as rivers, drainage or sewage systems, and wind (Gall and Thompson, 2015). Other factors include coastal and ocean dumping and discharge of waste plastics in the ocean. According to a report, 4.8–12.7 million tonnes of plastics have been introduced in the ocean in 2010 only. Moreover, above 5 trillion tonnes of plastic has been estimated to be floating in the world’s ocean (Guzzetti et al., 2018).

South-Asian region has a significant contribution to the marine plastics (Gray, 2018). The rivers in both India and Bangladesh in the Gangetic delta region receive and emit an enormous amount of plastics to the Bay Of Bengal (BOB) (Jebaraj, 2019). The river catchments are important units which consider the sources, fluxes, and fates of plastic pollution. The transport of plastics generally follows the hydrological pathways determined by drainage patterns, topography, and surface morphology (Windsor et al., 2019).

The rivers primarily, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna in their course collect huge plastics that ultimately reach to the BOB (Lebreton et al., 2017). Indeed, the Ganges flowing through India and Bangladesh accounted for 0.10–0.17 million tonnes of plastic discharge per year into the ocean. The data obtained showed a humongous range of plastic discharge (1.15 and 2.41) million tonnes annually from the rivers into the world’s ocean (Lebreton et al., 2017). BOB has become the new hotspot of plastic litter and has overcome the Indian Ocean regarding plastic debris accumulation (Sakhuja, 2016). A recent study showed that BOB consists of 41% fragments and 40% film (Eriksen et al., 2014). Fig. 1 represents a schematic diagram of the river Ganges polluted with plastic debris.

Existing multilateral and national law and policy measures applicable to plastic pollution intends to regulate discharge or dumping of plastics into the ocean (Raubenheimer and McIlgorm, 2017). The international agreements and the national law and policy measures of the coastal states are expected to address land-based marine plastic pollution (MPP) (Joyner and Frew, 1991). The present study considers the relevant national laws and institutional frameworks of India and Bangladesh on land-based MPP primarily. These countries have adopted several other measures to curb anti-plastic pollution that until now proves futile (Staff Reporter, 2017).

Section snippets

Methodological framework

The present study focuses on MPP in the BOB region (India and Bangladesh) and relevant laws and policies The literature search was carried out by using suitable keywords-‘marine pollution’, ‘plastic pollution’, ‘marine debris’, ‘marine policy’, ‘regulation of plastics in the BOB region’, and ‘micro and macroplastics’ in the databases including Scopus, Elsevier, Springer, HeinOnline, JSTOR, Manupatra, etc. to ascertain the knowledge gap in the present topic. The flowchart adopted for the present

History, types, and source of plastics in the marine environment

In 1926, the modern form of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was introduced followed by polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) in 1933 (Kraak et al., 2018) and took several years to understand the harmful effects of plastic pollution. In the 1970s, the issue of plastic pollution in the marine environment came into light (Ryan, 1987). The first report on the effect of plastics on the marine environment drew less attention among the scientific community (Andrady, 2011). However, the versatile nature of plastic

Sources of land based pollutants in the Gangetic BOB region

On the backdrop of the broad spectrum of land-based pollution in the BOB region this section specifically deals with the plastic pollution threats. The land-based sources are the primary sources of marine pollution in the Bay of Bengal. Polluting sources such as sewage, agriculture/aquaculture, and industry share majority of this marine pollution (Kaly, 2004).

People residing near the banks of river Ganges in India face major issue with contaminated water which is being used for household as

Contaminants associated with plastics and their toxic effects on human health and marine environment

Plastics are categorized into two major types- Microplastics and Macroplastics.

Microplastics have drawn significant attention within the scientific community owing to their easy ingestion by the aquatic organisms and their predominant role as vectors in the food chain for the transport of chemical pollutants (Li et al., 2016). They are less than 5 mm in size and are generated from domestic products and industrial wastes. Their role has been identified as a drug carrier in medicine and as facial

Land-based marine plastic pollution in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin

Eight among ten rivers from Asia contributes to the ’90% of the world’s marine plastics (Schmidt et al., 2017). The BOB is the most populous, with an estimated coastal population of more than 450 million people (Vivekanandan et al., 2016). BOB is an abundant source of marine organisms and produces 6 million tons of fishes, which are around 4% of the global production of fishes (Sakhuja, 2016). However, the total amount of plastic deposits in BOB region is yet to be determined. Only Gangetic

International instruments on marine plastic pollution

International rule of law imposes obligations on the states to take appropriate measures addressing transnational threats such as the land-based marine plastic pollution (Schroeder, 2010). Thus, international marine environmental regime provides a genuine basis for national anti-pollution initiatives, which are significant to the efforts of both of these countries to cope with MPP in the BOB region.

Environmentalism through legal means to counter marine pollution started decades ago (Dauvergne,

National legal and institutional framework

Land-based sources are the primary concern for marine pollution in which plastic plays a major part (Leous et al., 2017). Therefore, primary challenges to the regulators concerning marine pollution are land-based sources of plastics. This applies to the South Asian countries, particularly, the Gangetic delta region. In this connection, the coastal source of plastic discharges or deposits needs special considerations.

Governments of all countries over the world have adapted strategies to ban the

Law and institutional measures for land-based marine plastic pollution in India and Bangladesh

Both India and Bangladesh have a long history of environmental protection measures dating back 1970s (Ramakrishna, 1985). Besides global binding antipollution agreements, regional instruments and soft laws also have a constructive contribution in enhancing the norms against marine plastic pollution at the national levels (Löhr et al., 2017; Vivekanandan et al., 2016). It is notable that international instruments do not automatically enforce in these states (Nollkaemper, 2014). These countries’

Public perception of marine litter

There is nothing wrong in saying that we are living in the "plastic era." Most of the litter, including marine litter, are anthropogenic, i.e., human-made. Therefore, it is the responsibility of individual citizens to solve this issue. Indeed, legal measures alone cannot meet the monumental problem of marine plastic pollution (Landon-Lane, 2018). Every individual from children to adult should understand the adverse effects of plastic use and thereof. An increase in public awareness about

Conclusion and future perspective

The major portion of plastics found in the atmosphere is classified into two types-micro and nano sizes. The atmosphere stores and transport plastics. Considerable amounts of microplastics have been found in the lower atmosphere (0.3–1.5 MPs/m3). In Dongguan City, China, the concentrations of Polypropylene and polystyrene and polyurethane microplastics were found to be 313 MP m−2 day−1 and 175 m−2 day−1 respectively (Windsor et al., 2019). Plastic does the increasingly growing component of

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgment

The authors (Utpal Raha and B. Ramesh Kumar) acknowledge Prof. K. D. Raju and Prof. M. Padmavati, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur for their moral support and inspiring thoughts.

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