bio-diversity in the Sundarbans

project for conservation of bio-diversity in the Sundarbans

By Dr.Fourkan Ali

The Sundarbans extends over an area of 6 thousand square kilometers, i.e. more than half of the reserved forest area of Bangladesh. Stretching along both sides of the bolder the Sundarbans in the Indian State of West Bengal and in south-western Bangladesh is the largest mangrove forest in the world. These are about 425 Species of wild animals including the famous Royal Bengal Tiger and about 334 species of trees and p ants in the Bangladesh portion of the forest. Situated on the shore of the Bay of Bengal the Sundarbans, cross-crossed by innumerable rivers and canals, has developed a unique and sensitive ecology under the influence of the daily ebb and flow of tides

The Sundarbans supplies 45 per cent of the county’s demand for timber and fuel. It is the direct source of livelihood of about 50 lakh people residing in the neighborhood. During the last one hundred years the Sundarbans has suffered the ravages of men's cruel intervention and greed. Widespread damage has been done to the flora and fauna. The formerly rich forest now faces annihilation due to indiscriminate hunting and unplanned cutting of trees. The bio-diversity of the area has been drastically reduced. But an initiative has been taken to restore the Sundarbans to its former glory through preservation of bio-diversity and proper supervision. As part of this initiative the Tk, 382 crores 50 lakh Sundarbans Bio-diversity Preservation Project has been proved. The forest department and the local government engineering department have been given the joint responsibility of implementing the project financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and cultural Organization (FAO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADl3§ll'l’he work on the project taken up in 1998 is scheduled to end by 2005.

The Sundarbans, with its extensive natural resources and still rich bio-diversity has transcended the environmental and socioeconomic system of Bangladesh to earn international importance. The UNESCO has declared e three sanctuaries in the Sundarbans to be 'World Heritage Sites' in 1997. The Sundarbans Bio-diversity Preservation Project is an initiative to preserve and enrich the World Heritage Sites.

The need to formulate an integrated plan to ensure proper management of the Sundarbans despite ever-increasing population pressure in the neighboring localities has been considered urgent, All present the forest department is solely responsible for the management of the Sundarbans, but it does not have adequate manpower, transport, infrastructure and equipment to take care of such a vast and dense forest. The Asian Development Bank has completed a detailed survey of what needs to be done. The project has been drawn up on the basis of this survey.

The main aim of the Sundarbans Bio-diversity Preservation Project is the rational use of resources by ensuring participation of people directly dependent on the resources of the Sundarbans in the development of a durable management system of the forest within the project period. That is why priority has been given to the increasing the institutional capacity of the Sundarbans management authority.

Batiahata, Dakope, Boira and Paikgachha in Khulna district, Ashashuni, Kaliganj and Shyamnagar in Satkhira district, Morelganj, Rampal, Shyamkola and Mongla in Bagerhat district, Bhandaria, Mathbaria and Nasirabad in Pirojpur district and Bamna, Patharghata and Borguna Sadar in Barguna district stand adjacent to the Sundarbans. About S0 lakh people of thse areas are totally dependent on the Sundarbans for their livelihood. An initiative has been taken by the project to create scope for the well-being of these people through the development of social infrastructure, increase in the institutional empowerment of users of the resources of the Sundarbans and their participation in the management of resources.

Besides, the project includes development of eco-tourism and adoption of programmes to create environmental consciousness, building up the basic public infrastructure and provision for necessary training, In order to reduce population pressure in areas adjacent to the Sundarbans, arrangement of sweet drinking water in the LGED (Local Government Engineering Department) areas, building of roads and bridges, drainage schemes and educational institutions have been initiated. The local survey department, forest department and some non-governmental organizations will help the LGED in the task. The Water Development Board will also cooperate with the LGED in implementing a part of the project.

At the implementation phase of the project it was hoped that any attempt to damage the bio-diversity of Sundarbans would be stopped by the year 2001. The initial work to compensate for the loss of the biodiversity of the Sundarbans may be completed by the year 2003. The development of the infrastructure of the reserved Sundarbans forest may be completed by the year 2002. Continuous efforts will be made to create awareness of the rich heritage of the Sundarbans at the national and international levels from the beginning of the project to its completion. The authorities ho to get a positive response in this regard, The project also includes taking necessary measures for natural regeneration of the Sundarbans and for removal of impediments to dense planting so that the Sundarbans can play a vital role in retaining excess carbon dioxide, which is responsible for the slow climate change now taking place and for the ominous rise in the sea level.

In order to reduce the pressure of population depending on the Sundarbans, social forestry, sustainable resource collection, human resource development and a social infrastructure will be developed. It is hoped that collectively the family income will increase due to the economic opportunities created by these measures.

Researchers and environmentalists, however, apprehend that infrastructural development under the Sundarbans Biodiversity Preservation Project will rather accelerate me destruction of the Sundarbans because the looters of forest resources will, as at result, get easy and unhindered entry to the now inaccessible areas. It will then be impossible to protect the Sundarbans. Extensive facilities for tourism in the Sundarbans envisaged by the project may cause tremendous damage to, and further reduce the biodiversity of, this beautiful but beleaguered forest.

Exploration of oil and gas: concern for the Sundarbans

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.