Staff Reporter :
The United Kingdom will support the clean-up operation in the Sundarbans world heritage site following an oil-spill on 9 December last, said a press release issued by the British High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday.
To gear up the cleaning programme, the UK funded adviser Mark Whittington, an expert from the International Tanker Owners Pollution
Federation Limited, has already arrived in Dhaka yesterday.
The High Commission sources said that the UK has been providing an expert adviser following the request of the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations.
He [Mark Whittington] will work with the Bangladesh Government and UN to implement recommendations made by a recently completed assessment in the Sundarbans.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Gibson said, “The Sundarban is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is very special to the people of Bangladesh and we are all responsible to protect it.”
“I am pleased that the UK can provide support with the expertise of Mark to assist the Bangladesh government in tackling the incident. This is a clear example of the UK’s ongoing support to the government of Bangladesh for coordinated planning and response to disasters,” he said.
The Sundarbans, one of the world’s largest mangrove forests, is an area of global environmental importance and is home to a range of endangered species of animals including the Bengal tiger and Irrawaddy dolphin.
The Sundarbans also provides south-west Bangladesh with a natural buffer which helps to lessen the impact of cyclones and storm surges and so is of national importance.
The United Kingdom will support the clean-up operation in the Sundarbans world heritage site following an oil-spill on 9 December last, said a press release issued by the British High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday.
To gear up the cleaning programme, the UK funded adviser Mark Whittington, an expert from the International Tanker Owners Pollution
Federation Limited, has already arrived in Dhaka yesterday.
The High Commission sources said that the UK has been providing an expert adviser following the request of the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations.
He [Mark Whittington] will work with the Bangladesh Government and UN to implement recommendations made by a recently completed assessment in the Sundarbans.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Gibson said, “The Sundarban is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is very special to the people of Bangladesh and we are all responsible to protect it.”
“I am pleased that the UK can provide support with the expertise of Mark to assist the Bangladesh government in tackling the incident. This is a clear example of the UK’s ongoing support to the government of Bangladesh for coordinated planning and response to disasters,” he said.
The Sundarbans, one of the world’s largest mangrove forests, is an area of global environmental importance and is home to a range of endangered species of animals including the Bengal tiger and Irrawaddy dolphin.
The Sundarbans also provides south-west Bangladesh with a natural buffer which helps to lessen the impact of cyclones and storm surges and so is of national importance.
