Staff Reporter :
The expert team of the United Nations on Monday started assessment of damage of Sundarbans and adjacent rivers and canals caused by oil tanker capsize in the Shela River two weeks ago.
The team reached Mongla in the afternoon, and from a jetty of forest department rest house there, they went to the Shela River in a launch named Arannok..
According to UN team sources, after holding a meeting, they would fix the next course of actions. The team would talk to the local people, and examine the soil and water of rivers and trees of the world’s largest mangrove forest. The team would stay in Mongla for six days.
Modern equipment would be used for carrying out examination. The examination report would be sent daily to their country offices, and from there the report would be sent to the media, the team sources said.
Earlier, confirming the news Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Divisional Forest Officer of Sundarbans East Zone, said that the UN team reached Mongla around 4:00pm on its way to the Sundarbans. The team members will stay overnight at a launch in the Poshur River.
The UN expert team will visit the Sundarbans today (Tuesday), the official said, adding that some delegates of the Forest Department are accompanying the team.
An oil tanker capsized in the Shela River in the Sundarbans on December 9. About 3.58 lakh liters of furnace oil spilled into the protected mangrove area following the incident. Subsequently, the Bangladesh government on December 15 requested the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the government’s efforts.
In response to a request, the UN team came here to help in the ground work in coordination with the government to clean up the oil spill and will also conduct an assessment and advice on recovery and risk reduction measures.
This UN support to the government of Bangladesh is led by UNDP with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Joint Environment Unit (JEU), and other partner countries including the US, the UK, France and the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
Earlier in the morning, the 25-member team comprising nine foreign officials and experts left Dhaka for the Sundarbans.
“The team would try to assess the extent of damage due to the oil spill and what measures can be taken immediately to recover from it. They would also try to figure out if the local community living around the forest needs any support for their livelihood during the interim period,” said the forest official.
