FE Report

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) invited a formal request from Bangladesh authorities for support from the WHC emergency response fund for the Sundarbans that has been badly affected by the November 15 cyclone 'Sidr', says a press release issued from UNESCO Dhaka office.

Earlier, Marc Patry, programme specialist for natural heritage at the UNESCO WHC in Paris, made a day-long boat inspection to a few badly-hit spots to assess the impact of Sidr on the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.

Patry also met Manoj Basnyat, country director of UNDP Bangladesh and Stefan Frowen, ambassador of European Commission, Monday apprised them of the devastation and requested their engagement in the rehabilitation process of the Sundarbans.

Meanwhile, a preliminary assessment of the Forest Department puts the total loss of the Sundarbans at Tk 10.20 billion for the loss of forest resources and Tk 200 million for infrastructure loss.

"Though alleviating human suffering caused by the cyclone is naturally the top priority for international support, the salvation of the Sundarbans is also of great importance as several lakh people depend on the forest resources for their livelihood. This is the message I tried to get across during my meeting with the multilateral and bilateral donors," he explained.

The WHC fund is meant for re-establishing the Forest Department's management capacity of the Sundarbans. The Forest Department which manages the Sundarbans WH site through 97 stations and about 1100-strong staff has lost most of its infrastructure and communication equipment in the cyclone. "Restoration of the field stations that include minimum housing facilities for Forest Department staff, rebuilding mooring jetties, acquisition of motorised boats and necessary communications equipment are urgently needed to enable the Department to carry out its responsibility of managing the forest effectively," Patry points out.

According to a preliminary estimation done by the Forest Department approximately 30 per cent of the Sundarbans has been very seriously affected by the Sidr, particularly in its South-East quadrant, and another 30 per cent has been moderately affected.

The Sundarbans are not just a natural heritage site worth conservation for the benefit of mankind, but the tremendous biological productivity of this protected forest is also the source of livelihood for thousands of people living nearby. Thousands of people earn their livelihood through fishing in the waters inside the forest and collecting honey, Patry points out.