The fate of the Sundarbans: What to do with Rampal project?

The Sundarbans (meaning 'beautiful forest' in Bengali) is a vast area in the Ganges delta comprising a network of 108 swampy, low-lying islands. It is the biggest mangrove forest in the world consisting 6200km² of forest and riverine areas. It is one of the richest natural gene pools for fauna and flora in the world. The flora contains at least 69 species, with the Sundari  and the Gewa being the dominant species. A total of 425 species of wildlife, including 42 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, 35 reptiles, and eight amphibian species, have been identified in the Sundarbans. It is the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger. UNESCO has declared the forest as a World Heritage Site.
There are some 300 species of trees and herbs, 165 species of weeds and 13 species of orchids in the present 6 017 sq.km of forest area which was about 10 600 sq.km hundred years ago (BCAS 1994). The Sundarbans forest has been divided into three zones on the basis of salinity. In the freshwater zone at the north-east corner of the Sundarbans, the dominant tree species is Sundari with variable components of Gewa  and Golpata ;the moderately saline zone at the central and south-eastern part is characterized by Gewa as the predominant species with varying assortment of Sundari; and the saltwater zone at the southern and western portion is more or less a closed chapter of Goran . Other available varieties include Keora, Bain, etc. Rare and endangered tree species such as Passur ,Dhandul, Amur etc. are seen in few numbers.
Sundari trees in the Sundarbans are being destroyed following outbreak of the top-dying disease, locally known as 'agamora'. The disease was first detected in 1930 and started affecting on a large scale since 1980. A survey of the Forest Department of Bangladesh from 1994 to 1996 showed that on an average about 34 287 cum of Sundari trees die of the disease every year. Top-dying was already endemic among Sundari trees, but the disease has intensified and spread faster since the recent hit by cyclone Sidr. It is feared that these trees will vanish soon due to fast spreading of the disease.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected that the state of tropical forest ecosystems is likely to get worse due to climate change. The Sundarbans is already affected by climate change, importantly from increasing salinity and extreme weather events like tropical cyclones. World Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation (WWF) estimates that due to sea level rise, nearly 7,500 hectares of mangrove forest in the Sundarbans may be flooded.
Many studies have shown that tropical cyclones destroy the mangrove forests to a large extent. For instance, in the recent past, cyclone Sidr has destroyed one-third of the Sundarbans.
A recent study (Mitra et al. 2009) showed that surface water temperature has been rising at the rate of 0.5 degree Celsius per decade over the past three decades in the Sundarbans, eight times the rate of global warming rate of 0.06 degree Celsius per decade that makes the Sundarbans one of the worst climate change hotspots on the globe. IPCC documented a temperature increase rate of 9 0.2 degree Celsius per decade in the Indian Ocean during 1970-99 (IPCC 2007).
The Bangladesh Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF) also offers subsistence livelihood for about 3.5 million inhabitants within and around the forest boundary. Traditional lifestyles were in fact reasonably well adapted to the unique characteristics of the Sundarbans. The traditional lifestyles have been altered in recent decades on account of a number of factors. A high rate of population growth has led to the ecosystem supporting an ever-growing population. Poaching of wildlife and illegal felling of timber are among the most severe environmental threats. A number of species such as the Javan rhinoceros and the water buffalo have already disappeared. Industrial development in the region and opening up of access to trade have also imposed increased demands on forest resources, particularly timber. The growing barge traffic and lax environmental enforcement have also led to a number of oil spills which continue to adversely impact the ecosystem.
Experts in climate change predict that extreme weather, along with just a 45 cm rise in sea level would submerge 75 per cent of the Sunderbans.
Mangrove planting will arrest the rate of coastal erosion, making these islands survive longer. This is an immediate adaptation measure, and the people for the sake of their lives and livelihoods are taking this action collectively. However, it is evident that unless large-scale measures to stop climate change by means of emission reduction are taken globally, a substantial part of the Sunderbans might disappear from the map!
RAMPAL POWER STATION: The Rampal Power Station is a proposed 1320-megawatt coal-fired power plant at Rampal in the district of Bgerhat It is a joint partnership between India's state owned National Thermal Power Corporation  and Bangladesh Power Development Board. The joint venture company is known as the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (BIFPC) or Moitri Power plant.  The proposed project, on an area of over 1834 acres of land, is situated 14 kilometres north of the Sundarbans. It will be the country's largest power plant. In August 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between BPDB and NTPC) where they designated to implement the project by 2016. On January 29, 2012, the BPDB signed an agreement with NTPC to build the plant, agreed to implement the project on a 50:50 equity basis. The NTPC will set up and operate the plant. Bangladesh and India will equally share up to 30 per cent of the capital of this project as equity. The remainder of the capital, which might be equivalent to USD 1.5 billion, will be taken as bank loans with help from the NTPC.
The project reportedly violates the environmental impact assessment guidelines for coal-based thermal power plants.
On August 01, 2013, the Department of Energy of Bangladesh approved construction, but then changed its stance and set 50 preconditions for the project. But the location of the plant, 14 kilometers from the Sundarbans, violates one of the basic preconditions which says such projects must be outside a 25-kilometer radius from the outer periphery of an ecologically sensitive area. Environmental activists contend that the proposed location of the Rampal Station would violate provisions of the Ramsar Convention. The Ramsar Convention, to which Bangladesh is a signatory, is an international environmental treaty for the conservation of wetlands. The Sundarbans are on Ramsar's list of wetlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ramsar_wetlands_of_international_importance of international importance.
The plant will need to import 4.72 million tons of coal per year. This massive freight will need about 59 ships each having 80,000-ton capacity that would be taken to the port on the bank of  Poshur river. Environmentalists say these coal-carrying vehicles are not often covered as they scatter large amounts of fly ash coal dust and sulphur, and other toxic chemicals are released throughout the life of the project.
The predictions made by environment and ecology experts are that the plant will release toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide, thereby putting the surrounding areas and, most importantly, Sundarbans at grave risk. According to media reports, the Indian central and state authorities which deal with environmental concerns in India rejected the proposal of NTPC to set up a similar coal-fired thermal power plant at Gajmara in Gadaawara of Madhya Pradesh over a number of points. NTPC failed to get approval of the Indian Central Green Panel (Green Tribunal) in 2010 for the construction of that coal-fired thermal power plant because a vast portion of double-crop agricultural land reportedly comprised the site, a similar situation to Rampal.
On March 01, 2011, a bench of Bangladesh High Court asked the government "why the construction of the plant should not be declared illegal". Environmental experts have expressed concerns that the proposed plant at Rampal in Bagerhat might destroy the Sundarbans.
The National Committee on Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, and Power-Port, environmentalist groups, left-leaning parties and people in general have vowed to resist the planned inauguration of the Rampal Power Plant .
In India too there has been some fragmented opposition of the power plant. They said "The Rampal Power Plant might become the biggest Power Plant, but it would cost the world its largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. Sundarbans has its life in numerous intertwined organic chains. When a chain is broken everything would fall apart, one after the other. Money has nothing to do with development or happiness; it's about our attitude to life."
The government of Bangladesh rejected the allegations that the coal-based power plant would adversely affect the world's largest mangrove forest. It said that the controversy over the power plant and its impact on the Sundarbans was "not based on facts", that the plant will not negatively affect the mangrove forest because the emission of green house gas will be kept at the minimum level. The government also affirmed they would import high-quality coal, build a 275-metre high chimney, employ state-of-the art technology and other steps to keep its impact on the Sundarbans at a negligible level.
The main demands of the National Committee on Protection of Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, and Power-Port are:
* Abandon Rampal power plant project
* Stop the 565-MW Orion coal-fired power plant
* Formulate specific regulations to save the Sunderbans
*   Take steps to protect Bangladesh's natural resources
* Do not implement the proposed open pit coal mining
As protest over the Rampal plant grows major banks have pulled out of the project citing lax environmental norms followed in developing the project. (The article has been shortened)
Muhammad Abdul Mazid, PhD, a former Secretary and Chairman NBR, is  chairman of the Chittagong Stock Exchange.
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