THE Bangladesh-UN Joint Sundarbans Oil Spill Response Team in its final report observed that the last year’s oil-spill may have left “significant non-observable acute impacts to the forest and wildlife population” of the Sundarbans. It proposed a 10-point recommendations to deal with the fallouts of the spill on environment and affected communities and to reduce risks of such incidents in future. The team further suggested that the government to develop an action plan specifying all stakeholders, timelines and necessary resources and to conduct mid- and long-term monitoring; and recommended improvements in national oil spill preparedness and response, and in vessel traffic management through the forest, reported a local daily on Wednesday.
However, only the wise thinking of the saner elements in the government can save the world’s largest mangrove forest — the Sundarbans from being stripped of it prestige as a heritage site. Concern about the possible status degradation of Sundarbans by Unesco seems to have no reaction from the government. The most probable causes, as the Unesco said, are — setting up of the Rampal Power Project, water-ways for India through Pashur River across the Sundarbans and industrial bases including shrimp culture around the mangrove forest. These are largely polluting the Sundarbans’ environment. To our utter surprise, the government has not taken any measure to protect the most unique and globally important world heritage site.
The Director of the World Heritage Centre of Unesco in last July sent a letter to Bangladesh High Commission at Unesco pointing to the probable environmental degradation of Sundarbans. But the grave upset is that no measure has yet been taken to protect the largest mangrove forest. Even, the Ministry did not submit its report on their actions regarding Sundarbans which was scheduled to be submitted on 1st February’ 2013.
Let alone the Unesco concern, Sundarbans not only is a world heritage site, its rare plants, animals especially the Royal Bengal Tiger and precious flora and fauna, which make it a heritage, have an economic influence on the life of more that two crore people of Southern Bangladesh. Sundarbans protects the southern part of the country from natural calamities as during the time of Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2009. Undoubtedly, the life-centering around Sundarbans is a sub-culture in itself. Withdrawal of water flow by Farakka has already caused huge damage to it. Sea level rise due to climate change is another threat to this unfortunate forest. It is now again endangered by the man made hostilities of the government. We again advise the government to take immediate actions to save Sundarbans.
