LET THE 450 BENGAL
TIGERS SURVIVE
Sundarbans Campaign Heats Up
On a visit to Bangladesh some months
ago, US President Clinton expressed his
deep concern about environmental
degradation in poor countries like this
one. He was surprised, as the rest of the
world might be too, to hear about the
country's natural wealth in the form of the
world's largest mangrove forest. However,
the Bangladeshi government has teamed up
with transnational energy companies to
exploit this valuable natural heritage.
The name of this forest is Sundarbans,
which means "beautiful forest" in Bengali.
And a beautiful forest it is! Located in
the southwestern part of Bangladesh,
Sundarbans covers an area of 6,017 square
kilometers and boasts a great diversity of
wildlife. The remaining highly endangered
and magnificent Royal Bengal Tigers makes
their home in Sundarbans, as do leopards,
foxes, wild dogs, bears, barking and
spotted deer, wild boar, otters, monitor
lizards, snakes, river terapins, turtles,
crabs, shrimp, pangolins, dolphins, owls,
cranes, doves, woodpeckers and pigeons.
Furthermore, Sundarbans contains several
varieties of tree species with direct
economic, ecological and aesthetic value
for the people of Bangladesh.
Currently, many Bangladeshi citizens
depend on the resources of Sundarbans for
their livelihoods. Forest peoples use
shells, fuel wood and wood pulp, eat crabs,
shrimp, and fish, and extract honey from
the forest for their survival. Although the
forest resources of Bangladesh contribute a
mere 3-4 percent to the country's GDP, the
intangible social, aesthetic and historical
value of these forests is immeasurable. The
forests also play an important regulatory
role in a country highly vulnerable to
flooding and other cataclysms. In
recognition of the environmental, economic
and spiritual significance of Sundarbans,
the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has
declared this forest a world heritage
site.
Ironically, the Bangladeshi government
has also paid tribute to the importance of
the forest by solidifying an agreement with
multinational oil companies that allows
them to explore for oil and gas in
Sundarbans. The Shell oil and Cairn energy
multinationals are set to begin exploration
in "block 5" of Bangladesh, which will
seriously impact this mangrove forest.
FoE Bangladesh is determined to avoid a
situation like the one we've heard about
from Friends of the Earth Nigeria, where
Shell has adversely impacted the
environment and livelihoods of people in
the Niger Delta. We have decided to target
the oil companies directly, and
particularly Shell, as our government is
not receptive to the opinions of
Bangladeshi citizens. Together with our FoE
colleagues in the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands, we are working on a campaign
strategy to put pressure on Shell. We are
also working in coalition with other
organizations including the Mangrove Action
Project, Global Response, the World
Rainforest Movement, Corporate Watch US,
and Oilwatch International. We have already
carried out some successful presswork and
postering around Bangladesh, and we plan to
demonstrate peacefully in front of Shell's
office in Bangladesh with the slogan:
"Shell, Get Your Ass Out of Block 5, Let
the 450 Bengal Tigers Survive".
We would like to ask all FoE member
groups to join us in this campaign against
Shell, and for the people, the forests and
the tigers of Bangladesh.
Mohammed Ali Ashraf, FoE Bangladesh
