Halt dev projects near Sundarbans till env assessment

Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman yesterday called upon the government to postpone all development activities including Rampal power plant near the Sundarbans until completion of environmental assessment in the region.

“We will have no objection [against development projects] if the Structural Environment Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) come up with positive conclusion,” he said at a press conference arranged by the National Committee to Save the Sundarbans at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.

The Unesco World Heritage Committee, during its ongoing session in Azerbaijan’s Baku, requested the government to implement relevant recommendations of SEA and submit its necessary documents to the World Heritage Centre (WHC). At the session, Unesco postponed the decision of including the Sundarbans on the List of World Heritage in Danger until next year.

If Unesco puts the Sundarbans on the “World Heritage in Danger” list, it will be a great shame for the country, said Abdul Matin, general secretary of environmental group Bapa.