Staff Reporter :
The environmentalists have urged the government not to set up power plant at the cost of the Sundarbans which is a home to rare species of flora and fauna that are already on the verge of extinction.
They opined that an adverse impact on the biodiversity of the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the World, will be a irrepayable loss.
All For Sundarbans, a civic forum, organised a day-long discussion titled ‘Sundarbans: Glory, the Protector, and Risks to its Sovereignty.’ The discussion was held in the auditorium of BRAC Centre, Mohakhali, Dhaka on Saturday.
The programme was presided by ‘All For Sundarbans’ Coordinator Rieta Rahman, attended, among others, by Anu Muhammad, BD Rahmatullah, Indian environmental scientist Soumya Dutta, and Tamij Uddin.
Expressing concern about the potential damage to the World Heritage Site, BD Rahmatullah said ‘We need power, but we must say ‘no’ to any sorts of commercial
project, which is harmful to the Sundarbans.
Rieta Rahman said, now we can generate 10,000 MW electricity from solar energy, 10,000-12,000MW from biomass and 4,000-5,000MW from the wind considered well enough to meet our demand for electricity. So, we do not need any coal-based power plant in the country.’
Tamij Uddin said ‘Today we are speaking about the sovereignty of the Sundarbans. But to me, we are actually indicating it as the sovereignty of the country and the people of Bangladesh.’ Noting but political will is a must for protecting the Sundarbans, he added.
‘The movement to save the Sundarbans’ is not only a move to protect the aquatic resources, ecology, biodiversity, and wildlife in and around the mangrove forest, but also a battle to change the character of the political practice in our country’ Tamij Uddin said.
The environmentalists have urged the government not to set up power plant at the cost of the Sundarbans which is a home to rare species of flora and fauna that are already on the verge of extinction.
They opined that an adverse impact on the biodiversity of the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the World, will be a irrepayable loss.
All For Sundarbans, a civic forum, organised a day-long discussion titled ‘Sundarbans: Glory, the Protector, and Risks to its Sovereignty.’ The discussion was held in the auditorium of BRAC Centre, Mohakhali, Dhaka on Saturday.
The programme was presided by ‘All For Sundarbans’ Coordinator Rieta Rahman, attended, among others, by Anu Muhammad, BD Rahmatullah, Indian environmental scientist Soumya Dutta, and Tamij Uddin.
Expressing concern about the potential damage to the World Heritage Site, BD Rahmatullah said ‘We need power, but we must say ‘no’ to any sorts of commercial
project, which is harmful to the Sundarbans.
Rieta Rahman said, now we can generate 10,000 MW electricity from solar energy, 10,000-12,000MW from biomass and 4,000-5,000MW from the wind considered well enough to meet our demand for electricity. So, we do not need any coal-based power plant in the country.’
Tamij Uddin said ‘Today we are speaking about the sovereignty of the Sundarbans. But to me, we are actually indicating it as the sovereignty of the country and the people of Bangladesh.’ Noting but political will is a must for protecting the Sundarbans, he added.
‘The movement to save the Sundarbans’ is not only a move to protect the aquatic resources, ecology, biodiversity, and wildlife in and around the mangrove forest, but also a battle to change the character of the political practice in our country’ Tamij Uddin said.
