Artículo | 18 Oct, 2016

Photo gallery: World Heritage mission to the Sundarbans in Bangladesh

A mission report making a set of 10 recommendations for action to secure the long-term protection of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh has just been published. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) carried out a field mission to the site in March 2016, jointly with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, to monitor its state of conservation. The Sundarbans is part of the world’s largest mangrove forest, home to the royal Bengal tiger. It is exposed to a number of threats including a coal-fired power plant project.

The Sundarbans, Bangladesh, World Heritage site

The Sundarbans in Bangladesh is part of the world’s largest mangrove forest, lying on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers and bordering India’s Sundarbans National Park, also a World Heritage site.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

Inscribed as a natural World Heritage site in 1997 for its exceptional ecosystems and biodiversity, the Sundarbans offers core breeding grounds for a number of threatened species, including the royal Bengal tiger and the estuarine crocodile.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

The world’s largest population of tigers live there and have adapted to an almost aquatic life, swimming long distances and feeding on fish and crab. More is needed today to protect this iconic species against poaching.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

While the World Heritage site is not permanently inhabited, it is estimated that about 6.5 million people depend directly or indirectly on the wider Sundarbans ecosystem for their livelihoods.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

In March 2016, IUCN carried out a joint field mission with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre to Bangladesh to review the Sundarbans’ state of conservation including the potential impacts of a coal-fired power plant development on the site.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

Based on consultation with many stakeholders during and after the mission, experts have identified several major threats requiring urgent action for the long-term conservation of the Sundarbans. The mission report makes a set of 10 recommendations.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

Potential threats from the planned coal-fired Rampal power plant, just 65 kilometres from the site, include increased pollution, shipping and dredging, which could irreversibly damage the Sundarbans’ values.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

Freshwater flow into the Sundarbans has drastically decreased due to farming, industrial and barrage developments; as a result increased salinity and siltation – the pollution of water by sediment – are threatening the ecosystem’s balance.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

Recent ship accidents have highlighted the need for rapid response and integrated management to mitigate and prevent impacts from coastal developments in the area, which is already affected by climate change.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

The mission recommendations provide a constructive approach to ensure the protection of the Sundarbans, which will be discussed at the World Heritage Committee meeting in 2017. IUCN is the official advisory body on natural World Heritage.

Photo: IUCN / Mizuki Murai

The monitoring mission report highlights the need for urgent action to protect the Sundarbans’ World Heritage ‘outstanding universal value’. It takes into account a wide range of information, including from consultation both during and after the monitoring mission with various stakeholders, such as the State Party of Bangladesh, park authorities, local and international non-governmental organisations, and civil society.

Key recommendations of the report call for a stop of projects threatening to damage the Sundarbans’ exceptional natural values. The report recommends that the Rampal power plant project, planned in a location just 65km from the World Heritage site, be cancelled and relocated. It also calls for developments of the Orion power plant and any other similar projects that may be proposed, to be halted until a scientifically sound assessment of their environmental impacts on the site’s World Heritage values has been submitted for review by IUCN.

Another crucial recommendation is to put in place a system to integrate into the site’s management some key aspects regarding the many activities affecting the Sundarbans. Such a system should aim to: ensure sufficient freshwater flows into the site, which has been affected by a rise in salinity as a result of increased water extraction for farming, industrial development and barrage construction; assess economic activities such as dredging and shipping strategically, taking account environmental impact on the area and the World Heritage site; and provide sufficient resources to control illegal activities, such as poaching of wildlife.

The monitoring mission was invited by the state of Bangladesh following a request in 2015 by the World Heritage Committee. As the advisory body on natural World Heritage, IUCN provides independent technical advice to support the long-term conservation of listed natural sites. Recommendations arising from such missions are intended as a constructive process to secure the highest level of protection expected of World Heritage status.

Bangladesh is expected to submit a follow-up report to UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre by 1 December 2016. Necessary action for the long-term conservation of the Sundarbans will be discussed at the 41st World Heritage Committee meeting in July 2017.

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