UN team suggests shutting river routes through Sundarbans

A United Nations team of experts has suggested closing the Sundarbans rivers to commercial traffic in the wake of the recent capsize of a tanker that spilled oil in the Shela River.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 31 Dec 2014, 04:43 PM
Updated : 31 Dec 2014, 05:36 PM

It has made the suggestion in its preliminary report presented after Bangladesh government-UN joint inspection of the affected areas in the world’s largest mangrove forest..

UN team leader Emilia Wahlstrom presented the report at a press conference in capital Dhaka on Wednesday.

The team visited the Sundarbans to assess the impact of the spill after the tanker, 'OT Southern Star 7’ carrying more than 350,000 litres of furnace oil, sank on Dec 9 .

She said: “This incident is a wakeup call. The immediate environmental impact on the mangrove and aquatic ecosystems is limited.

“But regular monitoring and stopping traffic through the Sundarbans are needed to tackle the long-term impact.”

Movement of commercial vessels has remained suspended through the forest since the incident.

A demand by the environment and forest ministry to slap a ban on vessel traffic had been turned down earlier due to the shipping ministry’s contention that such prohibition might affect functioning of Mongla port.

Environment and Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said at the press conference: “Though vessel movement is suspended now, alternative options are being explored.”

“If the suspension continues for long without any alternative arrangements, prices of essentials will go up. The government will take measures taking everything into consideration,” he added.

Wahlstrom said appropriate safeguards and mitigation measures needed to be put in place before opening the Shela River to vessel traffic.

The expert team, which came to Bangladesh on Dec 18 after the United Nations expressed concern over the oil spill, visited the Sundarbans from Dec 22 to 27.

The team, comprising 25 government and non-government experts, will submit its final report in the next two weeks.

The preliminary report said the ‘commendable effort’ by local communities and the government, particularly the Forest Department, timely tidal variations and the decision to ban tanker traffic in the river, minimised the penetration of oil into the ecosystem.

“No visible impact on the mangrove forest floor due to the accident has been observed, and the initial acute impacts to wildlife from this spill appear to be limited in scope,” it said.

Minister Manju said: “This incident is a warning for us. We had no preparations for tackling such incidents. Despite that, we took immediate measures. Short- and long-term measures will also be taken in future.”