The third letter issued by Unesco regarding the proposed Rampal coal-fired power plant should be given due consideration.
The government had dismissed the protests within the country against the plant as a foreign conspiracy, but that stand no longer is plausible. The government’s policymakers must analyse the issue carefully. After all, if for any reason Unesco declares the Sundarbans as an endangered world heritage site, that means there are serious risks involved that can have far-reaching impact.
Bangladesh is one of the countries hit hardest by climate change. There are apprehensions of this resulting in a multitude of refugees. It is imperative for Bangladesh to prove itself to the rest of the world as sensitive and responsible when it comes to protecting the environment and ecology.
Experts feel that no matter what measures the government took in the past to protect the natural resources and heritage of the Sundarbans, the Rampal power plant project will undo that all.
Next month at the World Heritage Committee meeting to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, the Sundarbans may even be declared as an endangered heritage site. We hope the government takes this into serious cognizance.
The Bangladesh government receives special funds and facilities for the Sundarbans as a world heritage site. It will be a great loss if this is withdrawn, a loss that cannot be measured in economic terms alone.
It was at the behest of the government that Unesco inspected the Sundarbans in March this year. Now a state minister says that the protesting organisations and Unesco are speaking in the same tune. How this will strengthen the pro-Rampal stand of the government, is hardly comprehensible. On the contrary, it negates the reasoning offered so long in favour of Rampal. The people must understand why Unesco is saying that the environment impact assessment (EIA) has not been carried out properly and what the government is doing about this. There is need for clarity.
Source: Prothom-Alo