The survival of sea turtles in Bangladesh is hanging by a thread, what was once a thriving symbol of marine resilience is now a species teetering on the edge. In particular, Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) and Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) have raised deep concern among conservation scientists, as extinction is increasingly becoming a potential reality in the region. These ancient marine reptiles rely on specific coastal habitats mainly the beaches of Saint Martin’s Island, Cox’s Bazar, and Teknaf for nesting.
However, these nesting sites are highly endangered as a result of human influences like coastal development, unregulated tourism, light pollution, and erosion. Egg poaching, entanglement in fishing gear and plastic pollution also heavily impact juvenile as well adult turtles with high mortality rates. Climate change is also adding another complication to matters, as increasing sand temperatures are causing sex ratios of hatchlings to skew more heavily toward females and rising sea levels potentially threaten nesting grounds with inundation. Small-scale community hatcheries have been established and local conservation initiatives introduced but inadequate enforcement of protective laws, and limited scientific monitoring have hindered meaningful progress.
In the absence of immediate and targeted conservation actions such as habitat protection, turtle excluder devices in fisheries, public awareness efforts or long-term ecological monitoring; Bangladesh could face functional extinction of its sea turtle populations within the next few decades. Not only would this cause a loss of biodiversity, the balance in coastal marine ecology – where turtles are vital to sustain seagrasses beds and coral reefs could be disrupted. It doesn’t yet have to be inevitable, but the window for acting is closing fast. Decisive action is needed: a strong collaboration between the scientific community and policymakers, coastal communities, conservation NGOs. Without such concerted actions, the sea turtle – once a symbol of resilience in Bangladesh’s marine biodiversity will quietly disappear from its shores creating an unfillable void in their ecosystem.
Written by Mahima Ranjan Acharjee
Assistant Team Lead
The Innovation Horizons Research Lab