Sundarbans, The Biggest Mangrove Forest in the World Is About to Be Destroyed

Today’s most important concern for Bangladesh is power generation. The Government of Bangladesh is sourcing for every possible solution to meet the power crisis. In recent years coal fired power plant is being heavily discussed. Like other Asian countries Bangladesh also wants to find a way to Energy solvency through Coal fired Power Plants, Nuclear Power Plants and Renewable Energy Sources.

The Bangladesh Government planned for a 1320 megawatt coal-fired power station at Rampal Upazila of Bagerhat District in Khulna. The proposed project, on an area of over 1834 acres of land, is situated 14 kilometers north of the world's largest mangrove forest ‘Sundarbans’ which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It will be the country's largest power plant.As a result, the world's largest mangrove forest, home to the fast-disappearing Bengal tiger, is about to be destroyed by one of the world's oldest energy technologies. Scientists, environmentalists, and activists all say a giant incoming coal plant might altogether ruin one of Asia's most cherished natural habitats. India and Bangladesh are collaborating to build the new coal-fired station on the outskirts of the remarkable Sundarbans. 

According to Yale's Environment 360, opposition to the monolithic Rampal project has been spreading fast among locals. Some 20,000 people recently rose up for a five day march against the plant. In response, Indian and Bangladeshi officials hastily approved the project over a Skype call—the original plan was to have a big inauguration ceremony that was open to the public. 

The Sundarbans is a particularly impoverished region, too, and it's telling that so many people have fought back against the plant. Recent reports suggest that more than one third of children in the area are malnourished—so much so that many don't have the strength to walk until they're over four years old. It's lead to a strange and sad 'crawling' epidemic in the area that has nutritionists studying the region. Now, a massive coal plant is going to begin blowing toxic pollution in all of their faces, too. 

Of course, the issue that has attracted international attention is the threat to the rare, diverse mangrove ecosystem, which biologists rank as among the most important on the planet.

Yale's Jeremy Hance reports on the potential devastation: 

"Opponents say that the 1,320 megawatt project could devastate the Sundarbans, Bangladesh's largest forest and the nation's last stronghold of the Bengal tiger. They contend that water diversion to the plant, coupled with air and water pollution and heavy coal barge traffic, could leave the Sundarbans ... an increasingly degraded ecosystem, potentially threatening the livelihoods of some of the half-million people who depend on the great mangrove forest."

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Scientists are also worried that the plant will threaten the dozens of endangered species that call the Sundarbans home—ultra-rare animals like the Ganges river dolphin may end up getting snuffed out by coal. Then there's the acid rain. The tropical environment, combined with the sulfur emitted by the crude coal plant, makes dangerous acid rainfall fairly likely down the line.

The biggest concern among activists revolves around the plant’s effects on local water supplies. According to the proposal, the completed plant would draw its water from the nearby Passur River, later discharging treated waste water back into the river. Environmentalists worry about pollutants being introduced into the water supply to the detriment of the mangroves, the marine animals living there and nearby human communities who rely on the water for fishing and agriculture.

Activists are also concerned that a source of coal for the plant has not yet been identified, although suggestions have included importing coal from Australia or shipping it in from India. It’s an issue some think was not adequately addressed in the project’s environmental impact assessment.

The content of sulfur [in the coal] is very important at the time of assessing the impact. Additionally, environmentalists worry about the possibility of spills as the coal is being transported through the region’s waterways to the plant’s construction site. The region already experienced one such disaster two years ago, when an oil tanker collided with another vessel in the Shela River, spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the water and threatening habitat for the rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins and other wildlife in the area.

And in a broader sense, environmentalists also worry that the completed power plant, and its steady electricity supply, will attract other forms of industry to the area that could prove harmful to the ecosystem.

Adding to this would be the carbon emissions produced by the coal plants themselves. According to the environmental impact assessment, the plant would require almost 13,000 tons of coal per day and would release an estimated 7.9 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.

Finally, there's climate change. Bangladesh is consistently used as an example of the nation’s most vulnerable to warming temperatures and rising seas—it's not only low-lying and already exposed to cyclones, but it's poor and incredibly populous, too. Floods have already caused massive tragedy in the nation, and it's only going to get worse. What used to be a welcome part of the season, and crucial to farming is now tearing communities apart.