Environmental impact assessment in the context of mangrove forest ecosystem management in Bangladesh: a case study of Rampal coal power plant project

The mangroves of the Sundarbans, spanning between Bangladesh and India, are recognized as an internationally important World Heritage and Ramsar site. It supports a wide range of ecosystem services that sustain the livelihoods of local poor communities. In 2012, the Power Development Board of Bangladesh signed an agreement with the National Thermal Power Corporation of India to construct a coal power plant next to the Sundarbans, in Rampal sub-district of Bagerhat (Bangladesh), to generate 1320 MW of electricity. The Department of Environment of Bangladesh conditionally approved the project in 2013 based on an environmental impact assessment (EIA). This chapter assesses the legal basis to conduct the EIA in Bangladesh and argues that the EIA overlooked the vulnerable communities and the harmful social and environmental consequences of the project. This chapter explores environmental stewardship and participatory democracy as principles to improve the multiple mangrove ecosystem services of the Sundarbans.