On March 22, a three-member UNESCO team arrived in Bangladesh. Their task was to inspect the possible impact of Rampal power plant, and of the recent oil spill and coal disaster in the rivers of the Sundarbans a World Heritage” site. Since 2013, the UNESCO has played an important role in highlighting the flaws and gaps in the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) report related to the construction of Rampal and Orion coal-fired power plants adjacent to the Sundarbans, along with other pollutant-producing establishments. They have also expressed deep concern over the passage of ships, the issue of cargo/vessel transportation through the Sundarbans area. This concern was expressed by multiple letters to the government by this United Nations organisation. However, lack of satisfactory answers from the government ultimately led the UNESCO at its 29th session last year to decide to send a reactive monitoring mission in conjunction with the World Heritage Center and the IUCN. The March 2016 mission came to Bangladesh as part of this decision. It should be noted that reactive monitoring is often initiated as the first step towards declaring a site fit for inclusion, or for removing that site from the World Heritage list. Since the Bangladesh government is adamant to establish the Rampal and Orion power plants next to the Sundarbans, and since their various steps and explanations were dis-satisfactory, we naturally expected the UNESCO mission to meet with the local residents, independent environmental experts, and those who have been active in demanding an immediate halt to Rampal, Orion, and other Sundarbans-destroying activities. But we noted with dismay that from March 22 to March 28, the UNESCO team’s visit was entirely controlled by the government and the company lobbyists that have themselves been the main accused in all the activities leading to the destruction of the Sundarbans. It is important to note that the UNESCO team visited the project area, the interior of the Sundarbans, and sites of various recent toxic spills while accompanied and guided by the people appointed by the government. They only talked to the leaders and workers of the ruling Awami League, and not any local residents or affected families. They met with and listened to the explanations of the employees of various government ministries, and the officials of the Rampal power plant. But the UNESCO team has not exchanged views with anyone in opposition to the Rampal and Orion projects, or they were not allowed access to exchange such views. We are aware that on March 22, the UNESCO mission met the officials of the Department of Environment. On March 23, they visited the Rampal plant site area and exchanged views with the officials of the plant, the UNO, and the chairperson of the Union Council. On March 24 and 25, they had dinner with the officials of the Mongla Port Authority. On March 26, they returned to Dhaka via Jessore airport. On March 27, they attended a meeting accompanied by various officials of the Department of Environment. On March 28, they attended another meeting accompanied by the Bangladesh representatives of IUCN, and bureaucrats and officials of DoE, Power Cell, Shipping Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the Cultural Affairs Ministry. We are also aware of the fact that the Power Cell presented a power point presentation in the meeting. We would like to stress the point that the persons or groups who have been presented to the UNESCO team as local representatives of the site area are actually active members of the ruling party. No person or group involved in the anti-Rampal struggle was communicated with. The members of the Rampal Bhumi Rokkha Sangram Committee, who led the anti-plant movement along with the affected people of the site area, were not invited over any of the discussion which took place in the area. The local representatives of the National Committee were not invited either. The independent experts and researchers who have conducted long-term research on the impacts of both the plants and the oil spill were also not communicated with. Instead, we observed with grave concern that the experts who accompanied the UNESCO team are actually known to be closely associated with the government, and merely paid lip service during the last oil spill. Both the Rampal and Orion plants are critical projects, and to have a clear view of the devastating impacts of them, simply visiting the site area is hardly sufficient. We believe that it was vital to hear the views and the counter-arguments of those who have been part of the ongoing movement, involved in extensive research, and have written with logic and evidence. The way the mission was controlled, the way the members of the mission were closely surrounded by the government officials, and the way they have been made obligated to hear only the government’s view about the plant, it is by now clear to us that the declared mission which aimed at assessing the impact of the plants and the accidents, failed to operate independently. We condemn the government’s recent attempts of controlling and manipulating the UNESCO mission. We hope that UNESCO, as an institution of the United Nations, will not be misled with such an attempt of the government or of any other private entity or vested interest group. We hope the mission would seriously review the range of reports and research published by the National Committee and independent researchers and experts on the possibilities and the Rampal and Orion plants, and the impact of the coal/oil vessel capsize in the Sundarbans area. The people of Bangladesh expect UNESCO to work as an independent entity and to play a vital role in protecting the world’s largest mangrove forest and its rich biodiversity.
2016 Dhaka Tribune