[Report released Oct.18]
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 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.
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:
a) Sufficient freshwater flows into the property to maintain its ecosystem health, balance and functioning;
b) Decisions for further economic development and associated activities such as shipping and dredging are not taken in isolation but are subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the property and its surrounding areas upon which it is dependent;
c) The economic and industrial carrying capacity of the areas surrounding and in close proximity to the property are defined in a transparent and scientifically sound manner and these limits reflected in decision making;
d) Sufficient financial and human resources are made available to provide for the long-term management and patrolling of the area and resource extraction including control of illegal activities such as poaching of wildlife and non-compliance with existing regulations.
The mission considers that the following recommendations to further improve the conservation of the property and strengthen its management should be implemented as soon as possible:
R4. Considering the potential threats to the property from increased shipping and required dredging, the planned expansion and increase in use of the Mongla Port requires urgent clarification. It is recommended that the State Party halt all expansion activities until an independent, comprehensive and scientifically sound EIA that specifically considers the impacts on the OUV of the property has been conducted and provided to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN for their review and evaluation.
R5. Enforce the permanent closure of the Shela River to all vessel traffic, national and international, and apply speed limits and effective control measures for night and poor weather conditions for vessels navigating along the Pashur River.
R6. Develop an effective action plan and emergency response facility in consultation with all relevant stakeholders to react to any future shipping incidents in a timely and coordinated manner, and consistent with the recommendations made in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) oil spill assessment report.
R7. Develop, finalise and submit for review by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, a detailed assessment of potential impacts of current and planned dredging and associated activities on the OUV and integrity of the property.
R8. Enhance and strengthen human and financial resources, capacity and inter-agency cooperation, including between local and national authorities, and law enforcement to adequately address wildlife trade, transportation, and sale, including actions and budget to facilitate increased staffing, patrolling and effective engagement with local communities to garner their support for the continued protection of the property and its OUV against poaching.
R9. Taking into account that climate change is a global problem requiring a concerted global solution, it is strongly recommended that, at the level of the property, the State Party reduce other threats in the property and its surrounding area to secure maximum resilience of the property in the face of climate change impacts. Ecological monitoring for the property should include indicators that measure climate change impacts in view of identifying both short-term and long-term effects on the OUV of the property and the ways and means to effectively address them and the capacity of management staff to plan for impacts from climate change should be further developed.
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