Nearly 200 industries established putting the Sundarbans at risk

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina questioned the boundary of the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) around the Sundarbans and supported industrial establishment there.

Later, a National Environmental Committee meeting officially allowed industries within 10 kilometers of the forest, despite repeated warnings from environmental groups that such proximity threatens biodiversity.

On 6 August 2017, during the fourth meeting of the National Environmental Committee, the committee’s chairperson, Sheikh Hasina, raised questions about the boundaries of the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA). This was documented in the meeting minutes, which have now come to light.

According to a relevant source, following that meeting, the Department of Environment not only issued clearance to illegally established industrial plants but also approved new LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) plants, cement factories, and the Sikder Group's PowerPac Economic Zone.

Recognising the exceptional biodiversity and the environmental and ecological importance of the Sundarbans, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared it a World Heritage Site in 1997. However, the organisation has repeatedly expressed concern over industrial development near the Sundarbans and the movement of vessels within the forest.

In 1999, the Department of Environment declared a 10-kilometer radius surrounding the Sundarbans as an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) to protect the forest. At the same time, it banned any activities within this zone that could harm the soil, water, or air of the world’s largest mangrove forest.

However, a revised and final gazette specifying which areas fall within the ECA was not published until June 2017—18 years later. According to that gazette, 298 mouzas across 65 unions and two municipalities in 10 upazilas of the districts of Satkhira, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, and Barguna fall within the ECA.

By that time, numerous industrial establishments had already been set up or were under construction within the ECA. Most of these were owned by influential individuals, and the government itself was developing economic zones in the area.

When asked about the decision to approve industries by questioning the ECA boundaries, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh, told Prothom Alo that such decisions reflect a blatant disregard at the highest levels of the state for constitutional, legal, and international commitments to protect the environment and nature.
"The interim government can set an example for environmental protection by canceling the approvals of industries that have received clearances but have not yet begun construction," he added.

The National Environment Committee comprises 29 members, including ministers from 10 ministries such as Finance, Agriculture, Local Government, Water Resources, Environment and Forest, Land, and Food. In addition, there are secretaries from 17 ministries and three nominated external representatives.

During the meeting, it was stated that alongside protecting the environment in the Sundarbans region, there is also potential for employment generation. In light of such demands, it was suggested to Sheikh Hasina that the proposals from the Ministry of Forest and Environment (regarding clearaneces for industrial establishments) could be approved.

The meeting minutes quote Sheikh Hasina as saying: “At this point, Sheikh Hasina agreed to the proposal, stating that the notifications issued in 2015 and 2017 defining the boundaries and mouzas of the ECA surrounding the Sundarbans were unclear in their basis. The rationale behind designating a 10-kilometer radius as the ECA was also not clear. She expressed dissatisfaction with the listed mouzas and stated that the ECA list needed to be reviewed again.”

During the meeting, a policy decision was made to grant environmental clearance for establishing new industries in the Mongla Economic Zone and in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) under the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA)—excluding high-risk “red category” industries such as tanneries, dyeing, washing plants, cement factories, tobacco processing plants, and tire pyrolysis units.

The then Director General of the Department of Environment, Raisul Alam Mandal, who is now the chairman of the Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, was present at the meeting. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said that no meeting can go beyond the legal framework. At that time, a decision was made to approve industrial establishments that complied with environmental regulations.

When asked what measures were taken to prevent pollution following the meeting’s decision, Raisul Alam said he couldn’t recall all the details. He also couldn’t confirm whether a review of the ECA area had actually taken place after the meeting.

However, a senior official at the Department of Environment told Prothom Alo that no further review of the ECA took place afterward. This suggests, the official said, that questioning the ECA boundaries was primarily aimed at legalizing unauthorised industries operated by influential individuals. Had there been legitimate concerns, the government would have reviewed the ECA boundaries as per the meeting's decision.

In the same meeting, it was decided to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Sundarbans region in line with UNESCO’s recommendations. The SEA was completed in May 2023. However, environmentalists wrote to the United Nations stating that the assessment favoured industrial interests rather than protecting the Sundarbans.

Sharif Jamil, the Member Secretary of the environmental organisation We Are the Defenders of the Earth (Dhara), told Prothom Alo that the previous government prioritised industrial protection over conserving the Sundarbans. He said all the mega projects were implemented by bypassing essential environmental, social, and ecological safeguards. He alleged that these decisions stemmed from a mentality prone to corruption and lamented that even now, development projects continue to ignore environmental and ecological concerns.

In January 2017, an organisation called Save the Sundarbans Foundation filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking an order to evict industrial establishments built within the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) of the Sundarbans and to prevent the issuance of further environmental clearances. In response, the court directed the Department of Environment to create a list of such establishments, evict them, and not issue new permits. The following year, the Department submitted a list to the court, which included 190 industrial establishments—24 of which were classified as "red category."

According to the 2023 Environmental Conservation Rules, industrial facilities are categorised into four types based on pollution levels. Among them, industries in the "red category" are required to undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which identifies potential environmental harms and mandates that the company take preventive measures. The other three categories are “green,” “yellow,” and “orange.”

After the court order banning permits for industries inside the ECA, several industrial groups appealed. Based on the National Environmental Committee’s decision, the court allowed them to be granted permits. One such case involved the Sikder Group's PowerPac Economic Zone. The Department of Environment filed a leave-to-appeal petition against this order, but before it was resolved, the PowerPac Economic Zone was granted a location clearance in 2020.

Masud Iqbal Md Shamim, Director (Environmental Clearance) of the Department of Environment, told Prothom Alo that several companies had filed writs at the time, and permits were issued as per court directives. In the case of PowerPac Economic Zone, the location clearance was given following the court’s instructions.

At present, the Department of Environment has no specific data on the exact number of "red category" industries inside the ECA of the Sundarbans. Director Masud Iqbal advised contacting the Bagerhat district office for more details. However, when Prothom Alo contacted the office on 16 April, full information was not provided.

Asadur Rahman, Deputy Director at the Bagerhat office of the Department of Environment, stated that around 80 to 100 factories are currently operating in the Mongla Port Authority area and the Mongla Export Processing Zone (EPZ), both of which fall within the ECA.

During an on-site visit on 16 April, it was observed that land development, roads, and electricity infrastructure had been completed in the 205-acre Mongla Economic Zone, which lies within the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) of the Sundarbans. However, no industrial establishments had yet been constructed there. Outside the economic zone, 23 industrial enterprises were found operating on land leased from the Mongla Port Authority.

Adjacent to this economic zone is the Export Processing Zone (EPZ), where all 302 plots were found to be occupied by industrial establishments. However, entry into the EPZ was not permitted.

In February 2016, under a public-private partnership (PPP), the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) appointed PowerPac Economic Zone, a subsidiary of the local conglomerate Sikder Group, to develop and maintain the Mongla Economic Zone. It was projected to create employment for 25,000 people.

No visible structures were found within the PowerPac Economic Zone. On its northeastern side, there were three security posts. Conversations with two security guards revealed that a business group had acquired 30 acres of land there to set up a cement bag manufacturing plant. Work had started four years ago but had been halted for the past two years.

Meanwhile, on Monday last, the 16th meeting of the National Environment Committee was held in the conference room of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change at the secretariat, where it was decided that no new industrial projects would be approved within the ECA of the Sundarbans. Sources said that a special expert committee would be formed to evaluate the existing industries, and decisions would be made based on their report.

Earlier, on 16 April, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, environmental affairs adviser, told Prothom Alo, “Many red-category industries have been reclassified as green. We are collecting data on those. I’ve also requested an investigative report on how much of the High Court’s directive—prohibiting any kind of industrial activity within 10 kilometers of the Sundarbans—has actually been implemented.” She stated that a final decision regarding the industrial establishments would be made after reviewing all relevant data and reports.

A 2022 study titled "Impact of Industrialization and Infrastructure Development on the Flora, Fauna, and Ecosystem of the Sundarbans and Surrounding Areas", conducted by the Environmental Science Discipline at Khulna University, found that waste and gases from industries established around the Sundarbans, along with the hot water discharged from power plants, pose a severe threat to the region’s ecosystem.

Professor Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, who led the study, told Prothom Alo, “My research shows that the number of naturally growing tree saplings in areas near industrial zones around the Sundarbans has decreased significantly.” Citing an example, he said, “In the Sundarbans areas near Rampal and Mongla, there are only 2 to 3 saplings per square meter. In contrast, areas without industrial activity have 10 to 14 saplings per square meter.”

He explained that every seed contains an embryo, but due to pollution, most embryos are destroyed, preventing germination. Industrial pollution also reaches deep into the forest with tidal flow, degrading the soil quality. If this continues, plant diversity in the Sundarbans will decline, negatively impacting the forest's wildlife, birds, and overall biodiversity. He noted that such damage is already becoming visible in some parts of the Sundarbans.

The Asian elephant and the Bengal tiger are considered flagship species representing Bangladesh’s wildlife and natural heritage. However, ignoring the recommendations of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), over 100,000 trees were felled, 26 hills were leveled, and 14 elephant migration corridors were obstructed to construct the Dohazari–Cox’s Bazar railway line through three protected forests in Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram.

Additionally, 15,000 acres of mangrove forest were cleared along the Mirsarai coast in Chattogram to establish the country’s largest economic zone. During the tenure of the previous government, 10,000 acres of protected forest and Environmentally Critical Area (ECA) in Sonadia on Bangladesh’s only hill island, Maheshkhali, were acquired in the name of tourism development.

When human activities threaten to disrupt the natural characteristics of a particular ecosystem, that area is designated as an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA). ECAs are declared primarily to preserve the soil, water, air, and other natural features of specific forests, wetlands, haors (floodplains), and coastal regions. In Bangladesh, 13 areas, including the Sundarbans, have been declared ECAs at various times.

Once an area is designated as an ECA, nine types of activities are prohibited to protect these sensitive zones. These include cutting natural forests and vegetation, hunting or killing wildlife, any activity that harms the habitat of animals and plants, activities that damage fish and aquatic life, and the establishment of industries that cause soil, water, air, or noise pollution.

In 1997, UNESCO designated the Sundarbans as a World Heritage Site upon the request of the Government of Bangladesh—with the condition that no activities harming its biodiversity should be carried out. If such conditions are violated and the forest suffers damage, it could lose its World Heritage status.

To safeguard the biodiversity of the Sundarbans, in 1999 the government declared a 10-kilometer buffer zone around the forest as an ECA. However, despite warnings from UNESCO that the Rampal power plant, increased vessel traffic through the Sundarbans, and industrial development within the ECA could endanger the site’s World Heritage status, the then-government went ahead and completed the construction of the Rampal power plant.