Exploration of oil and gas: concern for
the Sundarbans
By
dr.Fourkan Ali
while
the Sundarbans, the worlds largest mangrove forest, is faced with growing
problems of deforestation and biodiversity loss, the government’s decision to
allow hydrocarbon exploration by some international oil companies in the area
caused wide concerns as mangroves are known to be the most vulnerable coastal
habitats to such activities.
The
fragile and delicate mangrove ecosystem depends on many variable components
like tides, salt contents in water and soil, duration of sunlight, contents of
sediment and organic substances in water; and temperature and density of
seawater and fresh water The composition o terrestrial and marine flora and
fauna also plays an important role in the mangrove ecosystem. if sun is
regarded as the source of all energy flow water must be considered as the
nursing mother of an ecosystem.
in
the Sundarbans, the flow of fresh water received from the tributaries of the
Ganges (Padma) is lighter in the turbidity than that of the Bay of Bengal
waters, The temperature of the two waters also varies seasonally The fresh
water carries loads of mineral and microbe-rich silts, which do not flow easily
into the tidal waters from the sea as the influence of the tides make the water
flow back and forth. The mixture of the flows of fresh water and brackish water
and the mineral-microbe silts from upstream and the forest wastes like over
mature leaves creates an ideal environment for different mangrove organisms.
Many
experts fear that far-reaching changes are taking place in the delicate
ecosystem due to growing pollution and human interference in the areas adjacent
to the forest. The Mongla Port on the northern edge of the forest and its associated
marine traffic are a frequent source of oil spills and there is a permanent
risk of accidents from handling chemicals in the port area.
oil
spills take place during transfer of refined petroleum from tankers to
receiving stations in Mongla and Khulna towns. Besides, fuel oil spillage and discharge of
oily ballast and sewages from some 600 ships anchored at Mongla Port and residual heavy oil sludge, lubricants and engine
oils discharged during ship breaking operations in Khulna have been identified as major sources of water pollution,
affecting the Sundarbans forest.
Reversing
an earlier government decision, the production-sharing contract (PSC) with
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell and its British partner Cairn Energy on hydrocarbon
blocks 5 and 10 covering the Sundarbans and its adjacent areas would pose a
severe threat to the forest and its ecosystem. Earlier: another PSC was signed
with US company Unocal on Block 7, also in the neighborhood of
the Sundarbans.
The
oil companies are worldwide known for the disruptive and adverse impact they
cause to the environment. Available records suggest that oil and gas
exploration activities anywhere in the world usually caused some kind of
environmental damages and social disruption. And in Bangladesh, the memories of Haripur and the Magurchhara disasters
are still alive in the people's mind.
"The
exploration in and around the Sundarbans will pose a new threat for the forest
since the exploration activities are always a risky business. The possible
spills from pipelines and large-scale economic activities in the Sundarbans
would affect the regions ecosystem, particularly in blocks 5 and 10," says
Professor Ainun Nishat, the IUCN representative in Dhaka.
"We
can’t ignore the concerns as the experiences of Haripur and Magurchhara
(explosions in gas fields) are still vivid in our mind," he added refering
to the “very bad track records” of some of the international oil giants like
Shell in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.
The
Sundarbans, which extends over 10,000 square kilometers in Bangladesh and India
(60 % in Bangladesh 8: 40% in the Indian state of West Bengal), provides habitat
for some 554 plant and 455 animal species, including the Royal Bengal Tiger;
estuarine crocodile, the country's major export item shrimps and many kinds of
birds. Several critically endangered species like rare shark also find refuge
here. Around four million people live in and around the Sundarbans, most of
them deriving part of their subsistence out of the resources of the forest that
include fisheries, fuel wood, and non-wood forest products like honey The
mangrove system also provides a vital barrier to the country's southwestern
part, including the regional townships and city like Khulna, against tidal
surges during monsoon.
For
more than 100 years, the Sundarbans has a reserve status. in recognition of the
global significance of the Sundarbans, UNESCO --in December 1997 -- declared it
as one of the three wildlife sanctuaries that have been categorized as a World
Heritage Site. It is also a Ramsar Site and in the IUCN list it has been
recorded as a promoted area (type-2).
The
Energy Ministry in line with suggestions made by the Environment Ministry had
earlier decided to exclude the areas of Block S and Block 7 form oil arid gas
exploration activities and declared them as "ring-fenced areas". The
decision had come in response to campaigns by environmental watchdogs and the
civil society which expressed concern over the plans for hydrocarbon exploration
in the Sundarbans.
"We
feel deeply concerned that gas exploration activities being undertaken by two
foreign companies would be extended to some parts of the Sundarbans mangrove
forest and the coastal wetlands alongside the Sundarbans, identified as blocks 5,
7 and 10," a joint statement of the Association of Development Agencies of
Bangladesh (ADAB) – the apex body of NGOs, Forum of Environmental Journalists
of Bangladesh (FEJB), Bangladesh Environmental lawyers Association (BEIA) and
Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) said.
"Exploration
of oil and gas, if allowed in the blocks within and around the area of the
reserve forest of the Sundarbans, would expose the fine-tuned, fragile and
invaluable ecosystem to great danger of extinction and all the commitments of
the government of Bangladesh would lose significance, putting the country and
its citizens into a shameful situation of undermining the trust of the world
community" the statement added.
In
1997, a severe gas field explosion in Srimangal area of northeastern Sylhet
region damaged vast forestlands, agriculture, and infrastructures including a
nearby railway track. US oil company Occidental was carrying out drilling when
the explosion occurred. Until today the dispute over the environmental damage
and compensation could not be settled though the company has left Bangladesh, winding up their business in the country.
The
Haripur explosion in a nearby gas field in Sylhet 45 years ago is another example
as the hills there are still literally burning. The accident in 1955 changed the
ecosystem of the region, damaging its flora and fauna.
Experts
fear that in case of any such explosion in the Sundarbans, the consequence will
go beyond any control as the environmental as well as economic losses would
exceed any limit because of the sensitivity of the mangrove forests. In 1995,
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) had
conducted a study on "Fate and effects of oil and dispersants on mangroves
in Australia" by releasing some 1,600 liters of oil on a selected
mature mangrove habitat. Preliminary analysis of the experiment suggested that
dispersed-oil treatments affected trees more than other treatments since the experiment
plots had disproportionately greater leaf fall compared to oil-only treatments
and controls. A large number of dead fauna, including crabs (Grapsids), Pistol
shrimps (Alpheids) and mud monsters (Thalassinids) were collected from the area
within 40 hours following the treatments.
Shells
performance in the Niger Delta, in Nigeria, provides a classic example of environmental and
social crisis caused by the exploration activities. Since 1958, when the
company arrived in the region, the Ogoni indigenous people, who are the
traditional inhabitants of the delta, have been suffering environmental
devastation, the loss of their livelihoods, as well as high unemployment and
poverty rates. Threats, abuses, imprisonment and murders had also been rampant
in the area as a result of popular resistance to the exploration activities.
The
international oil companies which have secured die PSCs in Bangladesh, however, said that they would not conduct any exploration
activities inside the Sundarbans while carrying out the primary seismic surveys
on the region. They assured that they would be using modem "aero-magnetic"
method of using aero planes for the survey without affecting the forest and its
ecosystem.
"Moreover,
the possibility of oil spill is bleak as we are not expecting any oil deposits
there. We are looking for gas, which is not likely to cause any spillage,"
a spokesman for a foreign oil company said. The oil company official who is a
geologist further added that unlike the fields in the northeastern pan of the
country the existence of liquid elements in gas was absent in the gas fields in
the southern regions and that factor ruled out the possibility of any spill
from pipelines during explorations and production.
But
according to environmental experts, besides the possibility of oil spills,
vibration, fouling chemical toxicants and thermal impact are likely to affect
the vulnerable biodiversity of the Sundarbans.
Tire
environmentalists and civil society leaders have been demanding
that
the oil companies must stay away from the Sundarbans and the government takes
all necessary steps to ensure that exploration activities are undertaken only
in compliance with the relevant laws of the land and various international
conventions and treaties including the Ramsar Convention, Bio-diversity
Convention, the convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and
Natural Heritage and CITES, for preserving important eco-systems for the
benefit of the global community Bangladesh is a signatory to these conventions.
Professor
Ainun Nishat of IUCN said that the oil companies must use the modern technology
during the exploration, even if that would be costly, to avoid any accidents
that could cause irreparable loss to the Sundarbans during explorations in the
vicinity of the forestlands. Petrobangla, the state oil company which also
works as the regulatory body, must equip itself with necessary expertise and
resources to constantly monitor the exploration activities of the foreign oil companies.
It should also ensure application of an effective EIA (environmental impact
assessment) and risk assessment procedures. The Department of Environment (DoE)
must carry out the task of independent evaluator of the entire process and act
as a watchdog.
The
government has declared the Sundarbans as an "ecologically critical
area", manifesting its concern for the conservation of the delicate
equilibrium of the precious forests and launched the USS 82 million "Sundarbans
Biodiversity Protect" for realization of its commitment with support from
die Asian Development Bank (ADB).
But
concerns persist about the risks involved in allowing exploration activities in
the Sundarbans area, particularly following the Magurchara blow-out, which
created suspicions about the precautionary measures taken in such operations by
the oil companies.
Under
the 1927 forest laws, any commercial activities other than afforestation around
the 20 kilometers of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF) are prohibited. The
1997 forest law has recognized the five kilometers within the purview of the
Sundarbans as “sensitive area" disapproving any such exploration
activities in the region.
But
the government's decision giving the foreign oil companies the exploration
rights in the Sundarbans area has now raised the question in the minds of many
whether the authorities are really serious about protecting this valuable
mangrove forest, it is also being questioned whether it would be wise to
sacrifice the gains from visible and surface resources of the forest for the
sake of the unseen hydrocarbon resources that might be hidden underground in
the Sundarbans area.
Dr.Fourkan
Ali
Mob: 01711579267
Email- dr.fourkanali@gmail.com
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