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Long march against Rampal project

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The National Committee on Protection of Oil and Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports has announced a long march to reignite the demand for scrapping a project to build a power plant in Rampal near the Sundarbans.



Speaking at a human chain protest in front of the National Press Club on Friday the committee's Member Secretary Anu Mohammad said the long march, towards the Sundarbans, will start on Sep 24 from Dhaka.

“The people are still paying the price for the Kaptai project in Chittagong,” he said.

He alleged the Rampal project in Bagerhat was against the “lives of millions of people associated with the largest mangrove forest in the world”.

“The Indian President refrained from taking up the project in his own country. Rather, it has been forced on Bangladesh,” he alleged.

source: Long march against Rampal project - bdnews24.com
 
REPORT ON THE MISSION TO THE SUNDARBANS WORLD HERITAGE SITE,


BANGLADESH,


FROM 22 TO 28 MARCH 2016

clip_image001.jpg





Photo © N.Doak/IUCN

Naomi Doak (IUCN)


Mizuki Murai (IUCN)


Fanny Douvere (World Heritage Centre)

June 2016


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS



The mission thanks the Government of Bangladesh for its invitation to undertake the Reactive Monitoring Mission and for its hospitality and assistance throughout the visit. In particular, the mission thanks the representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Department of Environment and the Bangladesh Forest Department who assisted in the preparation and organisation of the mission, accompanied the mission team throughout the visit and responded to requests for information and logistics of the visit. The mission is further grateful to the rangers and staff based in the property who contributed to the organisation of the visit and provided the mission with helpful information.


The mission also thanks the representatives of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt.) Limited, Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services and Mongla Port Authority for meeting with the mission and providing information.


The mission further thanks the various scientists, experts and NGOs for their important insights shared with the mission team prior, during and after the visit of the mission team to the property.


The mission extends its gratitude to the representatives of IUCN Bangladesh, WINROCK International and experts at the University of Khulna who met or consulted with the mission during the visit.


Finally, the mission thanks the UNESCO Dhaka office and staff for their invaluable support to the logistical and technical preparation before and during the mission.


Table of Contents



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................... 2


1. BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION............................................................... 7


1.1 Inscription history.................................................................................. 7


1.2 Inscription criteria and World Heritage values.................................. 7


1.3 Integrity issues raised in the IUCN evaluation report at the time of inscription......................................................................................................................... 7


1.4 Examination of the State of Conservation by the World Heritage Committee 8


1.5 Justification for the mission................................................................. 9


2. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE WORLD


HERITAGE PROPERTY.................................................................................... 12


2.1 Protected area legislation................................................................... 12


2.2 Institutional framework and management structure...................... 12


2.3 Other International designations and programmes........................ 13


3. IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES/THREATS................ 14


3.1 Inadequate water flows affecting the integrity of the property.. 14


3.2 Coastal development......................................................................... 15


3.2.1 The 1320 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (Rampal Power Plant) 15


3.2.2 Other Power Plant developments................................................ 20


3.2.3 The Mongla Port Development..................................................... 21


3.3 Shipping and Dredging....................................................................... 22


3.3.1 Effects of the 2014 oil spill and other shipping accidents....... 22


3.3.2 Dredging of the Pashur River........................................................ 23


3.4 Resource extraction and illegal wildlife trade............................... 24


3.5 The effects of climate change.......................................................... 25


3.6 Cumulative impacts, ecological monitoring and management of the property 26


4. ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF CONSERVATION OF THE PROPERTY 28


5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................. 30


LIST OF ACRONYMS


BIFPCL Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd

BFD Bangladesh Forest Department


BHEL Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

BPDP Bangladesh Power Development Board


CEGIS Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services

DoE Department of Environment

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment


EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency

ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment


IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature

MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forests

MW Mega Watt


NGO Non-governmental organisation

NTCP National Thermal Power Corporation


OUV Outstanding Universal Value

PA(s) Protected Area(s)


RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands of International Importance

SEWS Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary

SRF Sundarbans Reserved Forest


SSWS Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary

SWWS Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary


UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

WHC UNESCO World Heritage Centre


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



The reactive monitoring mission was undertaken from 22 to 28 March 2016 following World Heritage Committee Decision 39 COM 7B.8. The objective of the mission was to follow up on the concerns raised by the World Heritage Committee and assess the current state of conservation of the property.


The mission visited the eastern parts of the property and met with key representatives and staff from relevant government institutions at both local and national level. The mission visited the site where the Rampal power plant is being constructed and met with representatives from the Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Ltd (BIFPCL). The mission also visited locations of several of the most recent ship accidents and met with staff from the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) and the Mongla Port Authority. Issues pertaining to the conservation of the property and its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) were discussed and raised with representatives from a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and scientists both during and after the mission. The mission also consulted a wide range of scientific articles published in international peer reviewed journals relevant to the core conservation issues for the property and its surrounding mangrove forest upon which it is dependent for its integrity and survival.


The mission concludes that the Sundarbans World Heritage property continues to support the OUV for which it was inscribed. The property is iconic as part of the world’s largest mangrove system and home to an important population of the Royal Bengal Tiger among other species. Ecological monitoring information being patchy, there is no clear indication with regards to the level of threat for species such as the Royal Bengal Tiger. There are some indications that illegal wildlife trade of this and other important species is increasing. The property appears to be in overall good condition but is currently undergoing changes due to high salinity and is damaged in its south eastern section from Cyclone Sidr that hit the coast of Bangladesh in 2007.


The mission affirms the threats to the OUV of the property raised in previous World Heritage Committee decisions. It concludes that the majority of concerns raised in Decision 39 COM 7B.8 are yet to be adequately addressed and minimal progress has been made to deal with these threats. The mission also identified additional threats to the OUV of the property that are of considerable concern and have not been previously raised by the World Heritage Committee. The most important of these relate to drastically reduced freshwater flows and the lack of integrated management of the property.


Based on the many consultations the mission team conducted during and after the visit, the mission concludes that the following three threats are of serious concern and require urgent, immediate attention:


First, the freshwater flow into the Sundarbans has been drastically reduced following the construction of the Farakka Barrage and increased water extraction, which is resulting in substantial increases in siltation and salinity that are threatening the overall balance of the ecosystem, its functioning and regeneration. Salt tolerant mangrove species are expanding and gradually displacing other species, while higher salinity is stimulating an increase in barren areas. In the absence of a comprehensive, multilateral and integrated freshwater inflow management plan it is unlikely the property’s OUV can be maintained in the long term.


Second, the mission team identified four core potential threats related to the prospective construction and operation of the 1320 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (Rampal power






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plant), the current site of which is located 65 km from the closest boundary of the World Heritage property. These include pollution from coal ash by air, pollution from wastewater

2



plant), the current site of which is located 65 km from the closest boundary of the World Heritage property. These include pollution from coal ash by air, pollution from wastewater and waste ash, increased shipping and dredging and the cumulative impact of industrial and related development infrastructure. The mission considers that air and water pollution have a high likelihood to irreversibly damage the OUV of the World Heritage property. The possible threats arising from the power plant on the OUV of the property are not addressed adequately in the EIA in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and the plant itself is not applying the best available technology or the highest international standards for preventing damage commensurate with its location in the near vicinity of a globally unique World Heritage property.


Third, the property is lacking a clear and comprehensive assessment of the overall combined effects expected to arise from increasing coastal developments and associated activities, a number of which are already in preparation. Increased port capacity and other coastal developments are expected to result in increased shipping and dredging but avoidance and/or mitigation of their effects are not planned for or managed in an integrated manner. Several recent ship accidents illustrate the difficulties and the need for a concerted and coordinated maritime traffic management and rapid response to mitigate and prevent impacts. Considering the OUV of the property is already undergoing impacts and changes and the area’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change, the lack of an integrated management system to protect the OUV of the property is of considerable concern.


In addition to these key threats, the mission also concludes that the long-term effects from recent ship accidents could not be ruled out. Furthermore, enhanced support to monitor and control resource extraction, including poaching of high value wildlife species, would benefit the overall state of conservation of the property. There is a clear need for increased and secured resources for the management of the property, including surveillance and monitoring of resource extraction activities. The mission recommends the State Party to provide greater support and urgent attention to address this issue. The mission also considers that the overall pressure in the property and its surrounding areas should be kept to a minimum in view of increasing the ecosystem’s resilience in the face of climate change, the effects of which the area is highly vulnerable to. Given the concern of the mission team in regards to potential impacts on the property, clarification is urgently needed on the current status of the Orion power plant, which is reportedly being planned adjacent to the Rampal power plant, as well as a proposed nuclear power plant in the vicinity of the Sundarbans, as they will all contribute towards the cumulative impact on the property and its overall integrity.


Finally, while the mission concludes that the property does not currently meet the requirements for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, it notes that immediate implementation of the mission recommendations related to the freshwater flows, the Rampal power plant (and other similar developments in the vicinity of the property) and integrated management are imperative to prevent the OUV of the property from becoming irreversibly damaged. The mission recommends that the State Party report, as requested in Decision 39 COM 7B.8 to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre by 1 December 2016, clearly outlines the measures and steps the State Party is taking toward implementing the below recommendations. Should any of the most threatening developments proceed, the mission concludes that the World Heritage Committee should consider immediate listing of the property in the List of World Heritage in Danger at its 41st session in 2017.

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The mission considers that the State Party should take urgent measures to immediately implement the following recommendations to prevent further erosion of the OUV and address important threats to the property:


R1. Considering the impact to the OUV of the property, the structural changes to the ecosystem and its functioning, resulting from higher salinity, in particular in the southern areas of the SRF where the World Heritage property is located, and the continued lack of sufficient provision to secure adequate freshwater flows into the area, it is recommended that as a matter of utmost urgency and without delay:


a) The Ganges water sharing Treaty between India and Bangladesh is fully implemented in a coordinated effort by the States Parties of Bangladesh and India to ensure adequate freshwater inflow;


b) A comprehensive, multilateral and integrated freshwater inflow management plan is designed and implemented, accompanied by the necessary monitoring to measure salinity and water quality, including groundwater, throughout the property. Future planning and management decisions should be informed by these monitoring results.



R2. In relation to the Rampal power plant, considering the high likelihood for: (i) contamination of the property and the surrounding Sundarbans forest from air and water pollution arising from both its location, in a wind risk zone, and its anticipated methods to minimise impacts; (ii) the substantial increase in shipping and dredging required in the immediate vicinity of the property for the plant’s construction and operation; (iii) the additional removal of freshwater from an already increasingly saline environment that is starting to alter the functioning of the ecosystem; (iv) an EIA that does not address the effects on the OUV of the property nor provide convincing evidence that effects on the Sundarbans will be mitigated; and (v) the intrinsic connectivity between the property and the Sundarbans forest, it is recommended that the Rampal power plant project is cancelled and relocated to a more suitable location where it would not impact negatively on the Sundarbans Reserved Forest and the property.



R3. The mission recommends that the State Party halts all development of the site of the Orion Power Plant in Khulna, and any similar proposed development, until an independent, comprehensive and scientifically sound EIA has been conducted and provided to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN for their review and evaluation. If impacts on the OUV of the property or its immediate surroundings cannot be addressed in a scientifically sound manner, it is recommended that the projects be cancelled and relocated to more suitable locations.



R10. Considering the multiple activities outside the property that are impacting on its OUV, it is recommended that the State Party puts in place a system that allows management of the property in a more integrated manner. Such a system should ensure:


Sufficient freshwater flows into the property to maintain its ecosystem health, balance and functioning
 
Sold govt. is for the people or not for the people that is a great question. This is crystal clear that this project is dangerous for the nation not only for the nation but for the country . They don't hear the public voice and this is the meaning of democracy. Upper level what want to do they will do that whatever 19 coror people want that or not. They do not care.
 
Rampal or Shyampal, whatever may be the proper noun of the power plant project, it must be built without caring what the ignorant people led by that Anu Mohammed say about it causing pollution. Entire of our country is already polluted by the smog from China and India. Why people should think Sunderban will be without trees if there is only a single power plant 14 km. north of that forest and when wind blows from south to north about nine months of the year?

Ignorant people are stepping into an Indian govt. trap so that India builds all the next power plants in Indian west Bengal, Tripura, Arunachal as well as in Nepal and Bhutan. It does not satisfy Indian ego if BD builds all its plants inside BD without depending upon India. Our unknowing people are just recommending Indian evil design that proscribe power self-sufficiency in BD. We must not depend upon the artificially sweet Indian electricity.
 
Only idiots will claim this plant will not harm Sundarban in anyway. And we have a few of those among us here. :disagree:
 
Rampal or Shyampal, whatever may be the proper noun of the power plant project, it must be built without caring what the ignorant people led by that Anu Mohammed say about it causing pollution. Entire of our country is already polluted by the smog from China and India. Why people should think Sunderban will be without trees if there is only a single power plant 14 km. north of that forest and when wind blows from south to north about nine months of the year?

Ignorant people are stepping into an Indian govt. trap so that India builds all the next power plants in Indian west Bengal, Tripura, Arunachal as well as in Nepal and Bhutan. It does not satisfy Indian ego if BD builds all its plants inside BD without depending upon India. Our unknowing people are just recommending Indian evil design that proscribe power self-sufficiency in BD. We must not depend upon the artificially sweet Indian electricity.
I agree with you but just take a look at the condition Sundarban already is in.Rather relocate the plant somewhere else...
 
Only idiots will claim this plant will not harm Sundarban in anyway. And we have a few of those among us here. :disagree:

Seems, a brilliant fellow like you will not change his style of argument. It is only the personal attack that you are very apt at. Why do not you put a few genuine arguments, as well. But, do not forget to study well before you do that, and do not break your key board.
 
Seems, a brilliant fellow like you will not change his style of argument. It is only the personal attack that you are very apt at. Why do not you put a few genuine arguments, as well. But, do not forget to study well before you do that, and do not break your key board.
And you were always free to ignore it and not make you look like what I said there. Since you were the first one to claim it won't harm Sundarbans and served out personal attacks, the obligation of giving a argument starts with you. Which you don't have apparently.

P.S. Also don't act like a dame. Where did I ever attacked anyone personally? You want to be treated like a Japanese fine damsel in a Internet forum? Get a life dude!
 
I stick to my opinion unless someone can prove it otherwise. Why to fear fog of pollution when sleeping in the Ocean of coal-fired pollution from both India and China? Unless they stop creating pollution stopping Rampal will not work. It will only hurt our economy. i am against giving license to Indian land surrounding BD to build power plants for supplying to BD. Learn more before making another bla, bla.
 
How bout shifting the protesters into the BoB and build the factory over their homes?
 
How bout shifting the protesters into the BoB and build the factory over their homes?
Ironically you represent the mental age of the pro -Rampal peoples, which is 14. Since you are so pro -Coal, why not tell your father to give his land for that project and shift to BoB?

Get a life kid.
 
Ironically you represent the mental age of the pro -Rampal peoples, which is 14. Since you are so pro -Coal, why not tell your father to give his land for that project and shift to BoB?

Get a life kid.
Why Bla, Bla when no one is taking away anybody's land for free? The Rampal land was almost without agriculture production before it was bought by the concerned private investors. Anyway stop bullying BD that satisfies the interest of the GoI. No power plant means no job for our poor people residing in the vicinity. No power plant means also no industrialization. People are easy prey to a regional conspiracy to deprive BD of cheap power plants that will certainly ruin the prospect of industrialization. Internet warriors will have no problem, though!!
 
Why Bla, Bla when no one is taking away anybody's land for free? The Rampal land was almost without agriculture production before it was bought by the concerned private investors. Anyway stop bullying BD that satisfies the interest of the GoI. No power plant means no job for our poor people residing in the vicinity. No power plant means also no industrialization. People are easy prey to a regional conspiracy to deprive BD of cheap power plants that will certainly ruin the prospect of industrialization. Internet warriors will have no problem, though!!
Are you really that simple minded?

A power plant in the vicinity doesn't mean locals will get electricity. Electricity will be supplied to the national greed, which in turn supplies the peak demand areas first (cities and towns).

And which kind of work your are talking about? Power plants aren't low skill industry. Only high skilled technicians and engineers will be the main work force (which I suspect will be recruited from India).

And did you ever visited the area? those lands are perfectly agrarian. Mostly rice filds and shrimp ponds.And it's another sector which will be affected, the shrimp industry.

The only one blabering bla bla 's here is you. Don't try to mislead people with rubbish. You leave in Japan, me in Germany. Any environmental hazards will not effect you or me or that jingoistic kid (middle class, may have money and lives in a city completely detached from realities), but million of poor people directly.

You want good proof of my stance? Read the UNESCO report on the project. And let me tell this before you come up with you rather childlike rants, people those wrote that report haven't get the chance to meet the protesters, more accurately weren't allowed to meet. So read the report before you come up with more bla bla and childish rants.
 
WaterNews

Protests Over Water Safety, Bank Financing Rock Bangladesh Coal Plants
November 1, 2016/in Water News /by Keith Schneider
http://www.circleofblue.org/2016/wo...y-bank-financing-rock-bangladesh-coal-plants/

Rampal coal-fired generating station is defended by government, opposed by UN, and assailed by Bangladesh citizens.

Mithun_Roy_Chowdhury_Bangladeshi_Environmental_Activist.jpg

The Rampal project in Bangladesh has spurred fierce public opposition since 2010, when residents learned of the proposed coal-fired power plant.

By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue

In 2010, when Bangladesh drew up its Power Sector Master Plan to develop thousands of new megawatts of coal-fired electricity, the government also bought 742 hectares (1,834 acres) of bottomland along the Passur River. At the time, the aggressive master plan and the flood-prone parcel, about 300 kilometers (190 miles) south of Dhaka, the capital, served what authorities considered sensible steps to achieve the same national goal – more power for industry and homes.

The master plan, mindful of Bangladesh’s strong textile-based export revenue, called for 30,000 megawatts of new generating capacity by 2030.

When the plan was written, some 70 million of Bangladesh’s 160 million residents had no access to electricity.

Two-thirds would be fueled by coal. The low-lying ground along the Passur, the intended site for a 1,320-megawatt coal-fired power plant near the town of Rampal, would help achieve that goal.
When the plan was written, some 70 million of Bangladesh’s 160 million residents had no access to electricity. The country’s GDP growth, more than 6 percent annually, was held back by electricity shortages. Bangladesh power stations, most fueled by natural gas, totaled roughly 10,000 megawatts of generating capacity in 2010, about the same amount of power delivered by Connecticut’s utility sector.

Tiger_Sundarbans_Tiger_Reserve_22.07.2015.jpg

The Sundarbans mangrove forest and wetland is habitat for rare Bengal tigers.

Six years, though, turned out to be a treacherous and disruptive period of intense transition, not only in Bangladesh, but in any country that was intent on pursuing a national electrical development plan that relied on coal. The dramatic transformation that government authorities anticipated with the 20th century-style, coal-centered energy plan crashed into a wall of competing ecological and social impediments in the more crowded, resource-scarce, culturally activated 21st century.

Public resistance to water pollution and disruption in water supplies form a sizable portion of the case that citizens make against coal projects in Bangladesh. The Rampal power plant, the development most besieged by protest, is condemned in and outside Bangladesh as a source of water and air pollution that will contaminate the Passur River and damage the internationally renowned Sundarbans. The coastal mangrove forest and wetland, so wild that it is habitat for 400 Bengal tigers, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1997 by the United Nations.

Clashes Over Coal
Work on Rampal and Bangladesh’s other new coal-fired plants has slowed dramatically and engulfed the country’s coal-centered energy strategy in waves of domestic opposition and international criticism. In April, four anti-coal campaigners were killed by police, and nearly 100 people and 11 police officers were injured during a ferocious protest against two Chinese-financed coal-fired plants in Gandamara, near Chittagong, the country’s second largest city.

Screen-Shot-2016-10-31-at-2.12.12-PM.png

Proposed coal plants in Bangladesh

Of the 19 coal-fired stations planned by Bangladesh, Rampal is the only project that has made any visible progress. Seven projects have been shelved, according to SourceWatch.org, a research group that tracks the industry globally. One of the projects, the 660-megawatt Orion coal-fired plant, was scheduled to be built near the Rampal project. Korean and Chinese financiers pulled out of two other large coal-fired projects. Japan pulled out last summer of a fourth coal-fired power plant.

Work on the Rampal project also has attracted international criticism. In September 2016, in an unusually strident report, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) condemned Bangladesh for siting the Rampal plant just upstream of the Sundarbans, and called for building the project in a safer place. Last spring thousands of Bangladesh anti-coal activists participated in a week-long, 400-kilometer (250 miles) protest march from Dhaka to Rampal, the latest of several marches since 2013. The Rampal project, financed by the India Export-Import Bank, has stirred clashes between opposition political parties and the governments of both Bangladesh and neighboring India.

The Rampal plant’s delays and rising construction costs are a factor in elevated electricity prices that will be uncompetitive in Bangladesh, according to a July study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an international research organization. And last year, South Asians for Human Rights, a watchdog group based in Sri Lanka, issued a fact-finding report that underscored weaknesses in the plant’s design, uncertainty about environmental compliance, improper land use, and trampled human rights.

“If the protests continue and intensify enough to halt the continuation of the Rampal project there is the risk to the financiers of the project being discontinued,” said Rohini Kamal, a research fellow at the Global Economic Governance Initiative at Boston University, in an email message to Circle of Blue. “Furthermore with increased global awareness around potential negative impacts, there could be reputational risk to the financiers as well. The negative impacts arise from 1) social concerns such as relocation of local populations and risk to the water bodies that people’s livelihoods depend on, and 2) from carbon emission emissions associated with coal plants and the potential loss of a valuable carbon sink, the Sundarbans.”

She added: “Related to this there is also a disaster risk component. Mangroves are considered a natural barrier protecting the lives and property of coastal communities from storms and cyclones, flooding, and coastal soil erosion. What this means for investors is that aside from social and environmental concerns there is also the added risk that the coal plant is exposed to in the face of climate change and weakened resilience to cyclones.”

Government Defense
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, a staunch supporter of the Rampal project, refuses to budge. In an August news conference, Sheikh Hasina said the plant will not harm the environment and accused critics of fostering a conspiracy to mislead the country. “I would be the first person to protest against the power plant if it would have the slightest impact on the Sundarban,” the prime minister said. “But there would not be any adverse affect on the Sundarban and environment after building the power plant. The plant will be equipped with the best technologies, the best quality coal will be imported from Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa. All modern technologies will be used at the power plant to curb any kind of pollution.”

2398829081_fe28bf7ba7_z.jpg

Critics assert that the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, is threatened by water and air pollution from the proposed Rampal coal-fired power plant, upstream on the Passur River.

She added: “An anti-development vested quarter has long been trying to create a negative attitude among people about the Rampal power plant project by making baseless, fabricated and imaginary statements and giving false information.”

The prime minister’s views were similar to a statement issued last year by the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company. The company is a joint 50:50 venture between the Bangladesh Power Development Board and the National Thermal Power Corporation, the Indian utility that is developing the Rampal plant. “The country’s overall development, apart from the power sector, will be hampered if the implementation of the project is delayed,” said company executives. “Various countries of the world have been giving thrust on using coal as an alternative source of fuel to generate electricity. In the USA 40 percent of electricity is generated from coal while in Germany it is 41 percent, in Japan it is 27 percent, in India it is 68 percent, in South Africa the percentage is 93, in Australia it is 78 percent, 33 percent in Malaysia and 79 percent in China. On the other hand, Bangladesh produces only 2.26 percent electricity from coal. So in order to ensure rapid economic growth we need to emphasize coal-based power plants.”

Investors Grow Wary
Public protests and concern about water-related stress and climate-changing emissions indicate, though, that Bangladesh authorities have not calmed the newest wave of opposition to Rampal– investment decisions on coal-fired power.

Public protests and concern about water-related stress and climate-changing emissions indicate, though, that Bangladesh authorities have not calmed the newest wave of opposition to Rampal

Last year the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the world’s largest state-owned investment fund, was so concerned about the Rampal plant’s air emissions and water pollutants that it withdrew its financial support from India’s National Thermal Power Corporation.
In October the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis took aim at the India Export-Import Bank, the government-managed investment group that has extended a $US 1.6 billion loan to build the Rampal plant. The IEEFA study found that 50 banks around the world – among them BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, AIG, Prudential, Axis Bank, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, Bank of New York Mellon, UBS, and Credit Suisse – had purchased bonds to finance the India Export-Import Bank and were indirect investors in the Rampal plant. Many of these banks have issued sustainability guidelines that pledge not to invest in projects that are risks to the environment or social stability. This month Crédit Agricole announced it was ending all direct financing for coal power projects globally.

Rampal’s elevated electricity prices, expected to be well above norms in the Bangladesh market, could also potentially put the Indian Export-Import Bank’s loan, as well as investments made by the bank’s financiers, at risk from big losses.

“Nobody is against giving power for some of the poorest people in the world,” said Tim Buckley, the IEEFA director of energy finance studies in Australia and Asia. Buckley noted that Bangladesh has developed a safer alternative in solar power. Millions of solar-powered photovoltaic panels are being installed each year on rooftops across the country.

“Bangladesh has one of the world’s best programs for rooftop solar,” Buckley said in an interview with Circle of Blue. “So why is Bangladesh picking on a world heritage site, a big mangrove forest, the last refuge of the Bengal tiger? The Rampal plant is so fundamentally flawed in so many different ways.”
 

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