25,000 trees at Maheshkhali reserved forest may be cut down

The government has approved a project for setting up a oil terminal on 192 acres of land of a reserved forest in Maheskhali, defying objections from the forest department and environmentalists.

If this project is implemented, some 25,000 trees will be cut down, the department has expressed apprehensions.

"The construction work (as part of project impelentation) will cause soil erosion, water pollution, release of chemical wastes and a variety of natural disasters," the forest department said in a letter sent to the environment and forest ministry last year.

The ministry sent a proposal to the cabinet division on 27 March, seeking permission for felling thousands of trees at Maheshkhali reserved forest to construct the oil terminal.

The government gave Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) the permission on 1 March for construction of an unrefined fuel terminal, Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar, the country's only hilly island. It will cost around Tk 45 billion.

Environmental experts said implementation of such a project would result in damage to the forest and wildlife in Maheshkhali as well as a natural disaster.

A fuel terminal, if set up, will affect biodiversity and ecosystem of Maheshkhali reserved forest, a home to endangered species such as Maya deer and python. Water in surrounding areas will be contaminated, the environmentalists pointed out.

The environment and forest ministry said, a total of 1,701 old trees and another 1,250 trees of different types will be cut down for implementing the project. For the loss of forest resources, the BPC is set to pay Tk 13.6 million as compensation.

The forest department initially estimated the value of overall loss at Tk 2.77 billion, but later refixed it downwardly -- at Tk 470 million.

Unrefined fuels, imported from abroad, will be brought to the Maheshkhali terminal directly from mother vessels in deep sea. The fuels will then be taken to Eastern Refinery in Anwara, Chattogram.

The forest ministry's acting secretary Abdullah Al Mohsin Chowdhury told Prothom Alo recently that such project has to be allowed for the sake of development.

“We will, however, try to minimise the damage,” he said.

The official added that the ministry has asked the BPC to plant saplings five times higher than the number of trees to be cut down, and nurture them for the subsequent 10 years.

The ministry has already received the prime minister's nod in favour of these activities, he claimed.

The BPC had in 2016 sought the permission to acquire 192 acres of lands on the basis of lease from the forest ministry.

A six-member expert committee was also formed to assess the value of biodiversity.

A member of the committee and also professor at Chattogram University's forestry and rnvironmental science department Kamal Hossain told Prothom Alo that they recommended not giving permission for using the forest land.

"We attend meetings and seminars and make commitments to protecting forests. Returning home, we forget and give permissions to use forests. Such decisions will cause disasters in the coastal areas,” he expressed his views.

Nature and wildlife expert Anisuzzaman, who is working for big government and UN projects, observed that forests and hills can easily be destroyed only after getting permission from the ministries.

He said reserved forests have been the targets for implementing big projects and making infrastructures.

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam and Farjana Liakat.