In Largest Mangrove Region On Earth, Children "Clean" Up Oil Spill W. Kitchen Utensils

Government inaction has pushed local children and families to attempt to clean up the oil spill with little more than household items and no protective gear. Photo by: Kallol Mustafa.

On December 9th, a tanker slammed into another vessel along the Shela River in the world's largest mangrove forest: the Sundarbans in Bangladesh. The tanker sank, spilling an estimated 75,000 gallons (350,000 liters) of fuel oil into waterways that are a part of a reserve for threatened Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica) and Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). Activists and experts say the devastating spill is a sign of what's to come as Bangladesh builds two coal power plants at the edge of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, prompting greater infrastructure, deforestation, and boat traffic inside the forest.

In the past few days, the oil has spread to cover about 350 square kilometers of the delicate ecosystem—including staining the Passur River—according to the Bangladeshi forest department. Yet, measures to contain and clean-up the oil spill have been crude at best.

"Local children and youngsters begun removing the already spilled oil from the Shela River using kitchen utensils like bowls, plates, and other cooking pots," Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, a professor at Dhaka University, told mongabay.com. "They are doing it bare-handed without any protective gear. The local administration has declared cash incentive for the oil collectors. They have now opened three-four collection centers to purchase the furnace oil from them at the rate of BDT 30 ($0.38 US dollars) per litre."

Regional authorities have indeed depended almost wholly on locals in the area to deal with the oil spill without any equipment, training, or protection whatsoever. In addition to kitchen utensils, locals have been seen "cleaning" up the spill with sponges and shovels.

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2014/1215-hance-sundarbans-oil-spill.html