DHAKA: The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has withdrawn its earlier objection to the construction of Rampal power plant project at its current location.
The decision was made at the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee which is being held in Krakow of Poland.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka claimed this in a press release issued on Thursday (July 06).
A high level inter-ministerial delegation led by adviser to the Prime Minister on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Affairs Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury is participating in the meeting.
The press release was said that the UNESCO has also spared the Sundarbans from being relegated to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The 21-member World Heritage Committee decides on whether a cultural or natural site should be inscribed on the World Heritage List, monitors the state of conservation of the inscribed heritage sites, and can place a site on the World Heritage in Danger if found that the site is not being properly managed by the concerned State.
The Sundarbans was inscribed on the World heritage List in 1997 in consideration of its outstanding universal value as a unique ecosystem.
In recent years, the World Heritage Committee expressed its concern over the state of conservation of the Sundarbans world heritage property and called upon the government of Bangladesh to take a number of steps to improve conservation of the Sundarbans. In addition to the issue of ensuring adequate fresh water flow into the Sundarbans and preventing poaching and over extraction of its resources, the decision of the government to construct a coal-based power plant at Rampal came under the radar of World heritage Committee.
Earlier in 2016, a Reactive Monitoring Mission from UNESCO recommended relocation of Rampal power plant considering its likely impact on the Sundarbans.
After a long deliberation, the Committee endorsed Bangladesh's decision to construct Rampal power plant at its current location with necessary mitigation measures. The Committee in its decision also welcomed a number of steps taken by Bangladesh since 2016 to ensure conservation of the Sundarbans World Heritage Property. At the request of the Committee, Bangladesh agreed to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the South-West region of the country, including the Sundarbans.
Welcoming the Committee's decision, Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury thanked the Committee members for helping the government of Bangladesh in striking an optimum balance between economic development and heritage conservation. He also assured the Committee of Bangladesh's full cooperation in ensuring conservation of the outstanding universal value of the Sundarbans, a prized possession of the nation.
The other members of the delegation include secretary of Power Division Dr. Ahmed Kaikaus, ambassador to France and permanent representative to UNESCO M. Shahidul Islam, additional secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forests Ziaur Rahman, Mr. Raisul Alam Mondal of Department of Environment, PDB’s chairman Engineer Khalid Mahmud, Mohammad Hossain, of Power Cell, Dr. Sultan Ahmed of Department of Environment; Conservator of Forest Zahiruddin Ahmed, deputy executive director of CEGIS Malik Fida A Khan, first secretary of Bangladesh Embassy in Paris Farhana Ahmed Chowdhury and senior assistant secretary of Power Division Muktadir Aziz.
BDST: 1950 HRS, JULY 06, 2017
EHJ
