Our Executive Director Alasdair Harris was interviewed by The Daily Star in their article about the Sundarbans, a mangrove forest in Bangladesh.
Speaking about the decision recently made by Bangladeshi and Indian authorities to build a vast coal fired power station in close proximity to the Sundarbans, Alasdair Harris said:
“While Bangladesh has an urgent need for enhanced power generation capacity to meet the needs of its rapidly growing and underserved population, the proposed Rampal development raises serious concerns for the Sundarbans’ ecosystem.
Above and beyond the Sundarbans’ global importance for biodiversity conservation, this unique ‘blue forest’ ecosystem plays a critical role safeguarding the resilience of Bangladesh’s vulnerable coastal communities – underpinning fisheries and traditional livelihoods that are critical to the food security, income and cultures of millions of people, while also providing a natural barrier to protect coastal regions from the impacts of climate change.”
Read the full article: A Paradise in Peril
Find out more about our Blue Forests Programme