Photo: Navid Bin Sakhawat
30 March, 2017
Chiang Mai
Today, more than 70 non-governmental organisations from around the world called for the cancellation of the proposed Rampal coal power plant, in an open letter to the governments of Bangladesh and India. The proposed 1320 megawatt Rampal plant, construction of which is planned to start soon, would threaten the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, as well as the health and livelihoods of millions of local people.
The Sundarbans is a Ramsar-listed wetland and also includes a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has an extremely rich biodiversity and is of critical importance for globally endangered species, including the Royal Bengal Tiger and Ganges River Dolphin. The Sundarbans also plays a key role in mitigating the impacts of climate change, acting as a carbon sink in its undisturbed natural state, and as a barrier against cyclones, storms and other natural disastersthat would become more frequent and intense as more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere.
“The unique ecosystem and biodiversity of the Sundarbans are under severe threat from the planned Rampal power plant,” said Wally Menne of the Timberwatch Coalition in South Africa. “Local peoples’ right of access to natural resources from the mangrove forests would be at risk. Although Bangladesh has the fundamental right to develop, this right belongs to all of its people, including the most marginalised, and should not be monopolised by big corporations whose only aim is to make profits, often at the expense of the environment and local communities.”
The Rampal power plant is a joint project of India’s state owned National Thermal Power Corporation and the Bangladesh Power Development Board. In October 2016, UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and the IUCN identified four key main impacts(1) related to the power plant’s construction: pollution from coal ash by air, pollution from wastewater and waste ash, increased shipping and dredging, and the cumulative impact of industrial and related infrastructure. They both recommend the cancellation of the Rampal power plant project.
“The availability of so-called modern technology is being used as an argument in support of the Rampal project, but this will definitely not keep its pollution to a minimum level,” said Amanda Tas from Protect the Forest, Sweden. “During recent years, coal-carrying vessels have sunk, and one oil spill has already occurred in the area. Rather than to build a climate-damaging coal-fired power plant, both India and Bangladesh should develop renewable sources of clean energy, respecting the environment, and benefiting all inhabitants of the Sundarbans. This must also include the most marginalised, who being largely off the electricity supply grid, and would not benefit from energy produced by the proposed Rampal power plant.”
In the open letter, the organisations call on political decision-makers to immediately halt the Rampal power plant project and other commercial projects in the Sundarbans and its surroundings, and to increase investments in renewable solar and wind power projects. They also urge the Government of Bangladesh to uphold the right to assemble, and to protect the safety of people that exercise this right, including the right to protest against government-approved projects. In January, police used teargas and water cannons against peaceful protesters, injuring about 100 people during a hartal in Dhaka, which was held to save the Sundarbans.
Contact
Camille Risler
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Thailand
Email: camille@apwld.org
Phone: +66 99 504 8764
Amanda Tas
Protect the Forest, Sweden
Email: amanda.tas@skyddaskogen.se
Mobile: +46 (0)73-5860099
Wally Menne
Timberwatch Coalition, South Africa
Email: plantnet@iafrica.com
Mobile: +27 (0) 82 4442083
Press contact
Neha Gupta
APWLD, India
Email: neha@apwld.org
Phone: +91-9810 078 055
Notes:
(1) IUCN & World Heritage Centre (2016). Report on the mission to the Sundarbans world heritage site, Bangladesh, from 22 to 28 March 2016; http://whc.unesco.org/
The open letter is supported by the following NGOs:
Abibiman Foundation, Ghana
AMIHAN National Federation of Peasant Women, Philippines
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Asia Pacific
BankTrack, International
Biofuelwatch, UK/USA
Botswana Climate Change Network
Botswana Friends of the Earth , Bosnia and Herzegovina
CHAUKATH voluntary network of feminists, Nepal
Climate Action Network, International Climate Litigation Network, Transnational Conservatree, USA
Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center (CWEARC), Philippines
Cultures of Resistance Network Foundation EcoNexus, UK Ecoropa, Germany
Feminist League, Kazakhstan
Forum Environment and Development, Germany
Forum for Nature Protection NGO, Nepal
Foundation for GAIA, International
Fragile Planet Earth, South Africa
Friends of the Earth US, USA
Friends of the Siberian Forests, Russia
Friends of the Tamar Valley, UK
Nature and Youth, Sweden
GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice e.V., International
Genethics Foundation, Netherlands
Global Environment Centre, Malaysia
Global Forest Coalition, International
Green IT., Uruguay
Greenpeace Russia
Grupo Para o Desenvolvimento da Mulher e Rapariga, Mozambique
IBON International
ICLEI Local
Governments for Sustainability – Africa, South Africa
Institute for Planetary Synthesis, Switzerland
Janabhivyakti, India
Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund, Japan
Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN), Japan
Friends of the Earth, Sweden
Klimataktion Stockholm, Sweden
Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, Korea
Michael Underwood Agroforestry Associates Africa, South Africa
Mom Loves Taiwan Association, Taiwan
National Indigenous Women Forum, Nepal
NCA-Afghanistan, Afghanistan
New Wind Association, Finland
Next Big Thing Movement, Inc, USA
Oil Change International Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), USA
Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER), Malaysia
Planetary Association for Clean Energy (PACE), Canada
Protect the Forest, Sweden
PUSH Sweden
Quercus- National Association for Nature Conservation, Portugal
Rainbow Eco-Farm and Training Center NPO, South Africa
Re-nourish, USA
Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
Rewild, South Africa
Rutale Development Association, Africa
Students for a Just and Stable Future, USA
SustainUS, USA
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Sweden
Tanzania Youth Coalition, Tanzania
TFINS, India
Thanal, India
The Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa
Timberwatch Coalition, South Africa
WECF Women Engage for a Common Future, International
Wildlife Impact, USA
Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO), International
World Heritage International, Netherlands
YouthNet for Climate Justice, Bangladesh
