India-Bangladesh to set up joint forum to save Sunderbans
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COMMENTS 
India and Bangladesh have decided to set up a joint Sunderbans Ecosystem Forum to protect and preserve the Sunderbans region, 40% of which is in India and 60% in Bangladesh. A joint tiger census may also be undertaken as part of the effort
India and Bangladesh will launch a forum for cooperation in conservation of the Sunderbans, a region that is “ecologically vulnerable and sensitive to climate change,” Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said on April 4, 2010, after a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasan Mahmud.
Speaking at an international workshop ‘Climate Threat to Sunderbans Across India and Bangladesh’, held in Kolkata where both ministers were present, Ramesh said he was optimistic about the forum being set up by next September.
Emphasising the need for international cooperation on environment issues, Ramesh said climate change was the theme for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to be held in Thimphu later this month. “We are working on a convention for environmental cooperation among SAARC countries. This initiative could be a part of the overall process,” he added.
The Sunderbans, which has the biggest mangrove forest in the world, spread over West Bengal and Bangladesh, is one of the most climatically vulnerable areas on earth. The forum is expected to include non-government organisations and civil society from both countries, and will coordinate efforts in afforestation, management of mangroves, and tiger conservation. A joint tiger enumeration exercise may also be undertaken.
“We have to recognise that the entire Sunderbans region is one ecosystem, 40% of which is in India and the remaining 60% in Bangladesh, and we must share our experiences and working plans for conservation,” Ramesh said.
He also announced that Cabinet had approved a Rs 1,156 crore Integrated Coastal Zone Management project. Of this, Rs 300 crore would be spent in West Bengal, most of it on the Sunderbans.
The project, to be funded by the World Bank, will be executed over five years. It includes prevention of erosion of the islands, building of storm shelters, promotion of eco-tourism, improving the livelihoods of inhabitants, and electrification of Sagar Island.
The minister also said that the 13th Finance Commission had sanctioned a grant of Rs 450 crore to strengthen embankments in critical areas of the Sunderbans.
Source: The Hindu, April 5, 2010
PTI, April 5, 2010