Anisul Islam Noor :
The government has kept the visiting UNESCO delegation in dark about the real picture of the Sundarbans, and building of the coal-fired power plant at Rampal, claimed Sultana Kamal, Convener of the National Committee to Protect Sundarbans.
“The UNESCO mission was scheduled to meet environment activists and experts, but it could not sit with them due to unwillingness of the government,” said convener of the committee.
The National Committee to Protect Sundarbans on Saturday expressed doubt about the report on the Sundarbans that the UNESCO was about to prepare a draft based on their recent visit to the world’s largest mangrove forest. “Our movement against the coal power plant near the world heritage site will be stronger than before as local people are supporting the movement,” Sultana Kamal said.
“The UNESCO team has completed their visit and received the government’s explanation and assessment only as environment activists and experts, who are dealing with the protection of the Sundarbans for long, were not given the chance to meet the team,” she said.
“Hence, we would not be surprised if the probable report is incomplete and one-sided,” she said while speaking in a press brief at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.
However, she hoped that the UN team members would be much cautious in preparing the report.
She not only demanded immediate postponement of the proposed coal-based Rampal Power Plant, but also called for ensuring accurate and neutral report by the UN body on its possible impact on the mangrove forest.
In her speech, Sultana Kamal presented several other demands, including withdrawal of all projects near the Sundarbans.
On March 24, a high-profile UNESCO delegation visited the Sundarbans to assess the possible impacts of the proposed Rampal Power Plant and plying of vessels through the Sundarbans.
The mangrove forest is situated about 14 kilometres away from the proposed 1,320-megawatt coal-based power plant site. However, the peripheral area of the forest begins within four kilometres from the power plant.
The member-secretary of National Committee Professor Anu Muhammad said, there are different voices and opinion also, and that is why if UNESCO prepares a report on the power plant near Sundarbans, it will not be acceptable.
Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that it was tour of UNESCO’s team in Bangladesh with full of government directive visit, they would get a partial information of the power plant near Sundarbans.
However, Secretary of Ministry of Forest and Environment Kamal Uddin Ahmed told The New Nation that they had supplied information as per requirement of UNESCO and arranged meeting with whom they were desired.
World Heritage Centre of UNESCO has sent this team of high-profile delegation with a name of ‘Re-active Monitoring Mission’. This team includes Fanny Adolphinem M Douver, the Project Officer of France, Latin America and Caribbean unit, Naomi Clare, UK based international organization and specialist on conservation of environment and Mizuki Murai, UNESCO’s inspection officer of World Heritage Centre. Government Officials from Fuel, Forest and Environment Ministry are also visiting the plant along with the foreign delegation.
The UNESCO delegates had a discussion with the villagers of Rampal. The villagers said, that they want the Sundarbans to remain as unharmed or untouched, while they also expressed their desire for installing a power plant at the same time.
In the meeting, the UNESCO officials demanded explanation on transportation procedure of coal, the procurement procedure on sink of any voyage or any sort of accident while transporting, type of the chimney, distance from the power plant to Sundarbans and many other related topic.
The Managing Director of the company Ujjal Kanti Bhatyacharjya said, we welcomed the UNESCO delegation heartily. He also said, we have answered all the questions accordingly and helped them visiting the whole project site.
We hope the delegation will be reassured that the Rampal Power Plant will not harm the Sundarbans, he added.
The report of this specialist delegates will decide if the Sundarbans will remain as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. The report may publish with next two weeks, sources said.
Iftekharuzzaman of the TIB said the Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based watchdog had repeatedly requested the government to suspend the project and review the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report by an independent body where the experts from UNESCO and Ramsar should be present.
He said, TIB would hold a press conference in Dhaka soon to explain the findings of his visit to the Rampal project site.
Energy expert Professor Shamsul Alam told the reporter that BIFPCL obtained EIA clearance certificate from the Department of Environment without assessing the impact of coal handling at the Hiron and the Akram Points in the Pasur River. “This is not acceptable.”
He also said that the government took a contradictory stand by inviting the critics for discussions about the power project on the one hand and carrying out the implementation of the project on the other hand simultaneously.
The government has kept the visiting UNESCO delegation in dark about the real picture of the Sundarbans, and building of the coal-fired power plant at Rampal, claimed Sultana Kamal, Convener of the National Committee to Protect Sundarbans.
“The UNESCO mission was scheduled to meet environment activists and experts, but it could not sit with them due to unwillingness of the government,” said convener of the committee.
The National Committee to Protect Sundarbans on Saturday expressed doubt about the report on the Sundarbans that the UNESCO was about to prepare a draft based on their recent visit to the world’s largest mangrove forest. “Our movement against the coal power plant near the world heritage site will be stronger than before as local people are supporting the movement,” Sultana Kamal said.
“The UNESCO team has completed their visit and received the government’s explanation and assessment only as environment activists and experts, who are dealing with the protection of the Sundarbans for long, were not given the chance to meet the team,” she said.
“Hence, we would not be surprised if the probable report is incomplete and one-sided,” she said while speaking in a press brief at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.
However, she hoped that the UN team members would be much cautious in preparing the report.
She not only demanded immediate postponement of the proposed coal-based Rampal Power Plant, but also called for ensuring accurate and neutral report by the UN body on its possible impact on the mangrove forest.
In her speech, Sultana Kamal presented several other demands, including withdrawal of all projects near the Sundarbans.
On March 24, a high-profile UNESCO delegation visited the Sundarbans to assess the possible impacts of the proposed Rampal Power Plant and plying of vessels through the Sundarbans.
The mangrove forest is situated about 14 kilometres away from the proposed 1,320-megawatt coal-based power plant site. However, the peripheral area of the forest begins within four kilometres from the power plant.
The member-secretary of National Committee Professor Anu Muhammad said, there are different voices and opinion also, and that is why if UNESCO prepares a report on the power plant near Sundarbans, it will not be acceptable.
Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that it was tour of UNESCO’s team in Bangladesh with full of government directive visit, they would get a partial information of the power plant near Sundarbans.
However, Secretary of Ministry of Forest and Environment Kamal Uddin Ahmed told The New Nation that they had supplied information as per requirement of UNESCO and arranged meeting with whom they were desired.
World Heritage Centre of UNESCO has sent this team of high-profile delegation with a name of ‘Re-active Monitoring Mission’. This team includes Fanny Adolphinem M Douver, the Project Officer of France, Latin America and Caribbean unit, Naomi Clare, UK based international organization and specialist on conservation of environment and Mizuki Murai, UNESCO’s inspection officer of World Heritage Centre. Government Officials from Fuel, Forest and Environment Ministry are also visiting the plant along with the foreign delegation.
The UNESCO delegates had a discussion with the villagers of Rampal. The villagers said, that they want the Sundarbans to remain as unharmed or untouched, while they also expressed their desire for installing a power plant at the same time.
In the meeting, the UNESCO officials demanded explanation on transportation procedure of coal, the procurement procedure on sink of any voyage or any sort of accident while transporting, type of the chimney, distance from the power plant to Sundarbans and many other related topic.
The Managing Director of the company Ujjal Kanti Bhatyacharjya said, we welcomed the UNESCO delegation heartily. He also said, we have answered all the questions accordingly and helped them visiting the whole project site.
We hope the delegation will be reassured that the Rampal Power Plant will not harm the Sundarbans, he added.
The report of this specialist delegates will decide if the Sundarbans will remain as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. The report may publish with next two weeks, sources said.
Iftekharuzzaman of the TIB said the Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based watchdog had repeatedly requested the government to suspend the project and review the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report by an independent body where the experts from UNESCO and Ramsar should be present.
He said, TIB would hold a press conference in Dhaka soon to explain the findings of his visit to the Rampal project site.
Energy expert Professor Shamsul Alam told the reporter that BIFPCL obtained EIA clearance certificate from the Department of Environment without assessing the impact of coal handling at the Hiron and the Akram Points in the Pasur River. “This is not acceptable.”
He also said that the government took a contradictory stand by inviting the critics for discussions about the power project on the one hand and carrying out the implementation of the project on the other hand simultaneously.
