Saint Martin’s Island, Bangladesh Reopens With Daily Visitor Limit After Months Of Closure To Protect Its Fragile Ecosystem

Published on October 31, 2025

The long-awaited reopening of nan biodiverse Saint Martin’s Island has been officially slated for November 1, a important day pursuing a important nine-month closure implemented to facilitate nan betterment of its critically fragile coral ecosystem. This enforced play of biology respite was wide deemed basal owed to nan terrible pressures exerted by years of mostly unregulated tourism. As a defining measurement to guarantee nan island’s sustainable future, nan authorities has moved to enforce a highly restrictive daily headdress of 2,000 visitors.

This fig represents a foundational pillar of nan caller regulatory framework, which is to beryllium governed by a group of 12 strict ecotourism rules developed and enforced by applicable governmental and biology authorities. The island, which is wide celebrated arsenic Bangladesh’s only coral island, has now been placed nether a broad strategy designed to successfully equilibrium its undeniable entreaty to visitors pinch nan absolute necessity of rigorous ecological preservation. The full cognition is simply a clear objection of a nationalist committedness to prioritize conservation complete volume, ensuring that this irreplaceable earthy practice tract tin beryllium safeguarded for early generations.

The Ecological Imperative: A Nine-Month Respite for Biodiversity

For a important play starring up to nan intervention, nan exceptional earthy practice of Saint Martin’s Island had been steadily diminished by nan destructive impacts of wide visitation. The land is known to beryllium nan captious location to 1,076 documented species, an bonzer tally of plants and fauna, galore of which are exclusive to nan delicate coastal and marine environments recovered there. The wide issues of overcrowding, mixed pinch inadequate discarded guidance and nan resulting pollution, had visibly degraded nan island’s biology health. The impermanent suspension of tourism was, therefore, an basal measure, allowing nan island’s intrinsic earthy systems to statesman a much-needed process of self-healing.

The affirmative effects of nan extended nine-month closure were swiftly confirmed by master observations. According to broad assessments provided by nan Department of Environment (DoE), tangible improvements to nan island’s wide biodiversity and biology information were recorded crossed nan full period. This important break from quality effect allowed delicate ecological components to regenerate naturally. For instance, nan invaluable coral reefs, which represent nan biologic instauration of nan island, were afforded nan opportunity to retrieve from beingness damage. Concurrently, populations of parameter species, specified arsenic nan vibrant red crabs and various different basal marine species, were observed to beryllium regenerating and returning to their earthy habitats.

Architectural Pillars of nan New Ecotourism Framework

In nan unwavering committedness to ensuring that immoderate renewed tourism activity would beryllium conducted successful a mode that is fundamentally responsible and ecologically sensitive, a group of 12 strict directives was formally issued by nan government. These guidelines, which shape nan bedrock of nan caller operational mandate, are intended to beryllium stringently enforced, pinch nan overarching nonsubjective of securing nan island’s semipermanent biology protection. The committedness to a highly controlled reopening was intelligibly articulated by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Cox’s Bazar Md Shahidul Alam, who confirmed that nan broad group of directives would beryllium rigorously and systematically applied by nan territory administration.

Detailed Operational and Access Protocols

To facilitate effective visitant guidance and to uphold nan stringent conservation mandates, respective captious operational and logistical changes person been put into place. A important structural alteration progressive nan re-routing of rider vessels. For enhanced information and control, each authorized rider vessels are now mandated to run exclusively from Cox’s Bazar city, traversing nan Bay of Bengal directly. This caller strategy wholly replaces nan earlier and environmentally taxing Teknaf route, which was deemed little manageable for nan enforcement of nan caller controls. Furthermore, nan operational almanac for tourism has been precisely defined. Visitation to Saint Martin’s Island will beryllium strictly permitted only during nan three-month play spanning November done January. Crucially, nan period of February has been designated arsenic a mandatory and complete closure period, specifically reserved to let nan island’s ecosystem different vital, accordant model for betterment earlier nan adjacent play begins.

The Specific Directives Governing Visitor Conduct

The 12 directives see a scope of circumstantial prohibitions and affirmative mandates designed to minimize nan quality ecological footprint. A cardinal regulatory constituent is that only authorized vessels, which person received charismatic support from nan Ministry and nan BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority), are permitted to run carrier services to nan island. Furthermore, to dramatically limit nan imaginable infrastructural and discarded load associated pinch prolonged stays, a captious early-stage norm stipulates that nary overnight stays are allowed successful November.

To actively protect nan island’s beingness integrity and coastal habitats, nan cognition of motorized vehicles connected nan beaches is strictly prohibited. This is simply a measurement specifically implemented to forestall erosion and minimize disturbance to nesting and breeding grounds. In a nonstop effort to curb nan exploitation of nan earthy resources, nan collection of coral, algae, aliases immoderate shape of marine type is strictly and explicitly forbidden. Visitors are besides powerfully discouraged from utilizing single-use plastics during their visit. Instead, a sustainable replacement is promoted, pinch visitors being actively encouraged to bring their ain reusable flasks and containers, thereby helping to combat nan pervasive rumor of integrative contamination that had antecedently plagued nan area. These systematic and strictly enforced prohibitions are intended to shape nan backbone of nan semipermanent conservation effort, ensuring nan land is respected and preserved arsenic a captious earthy reserve.