In Bangladesh, One Of SE Asia's Largest Mangrove Forests Gone For VIPs' Salt Ponds, Shrimp Farms

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Kutubdia, Dec 01 (bdnews24.com) – Salt evaporation lakes, vast stretches of shrimp cultivation and fields of Shutki drying in the sun stretch as far as the eye can see. Once in a while, two or three young screw pines break the otherwise monotonous view. This is the view of Kutubdia Island, which lies a kilometre off the coast of Cox's Bazar on the south-east coast of Bangladesh. Just ten years ago, one of the largest tracts of manmade mangrove, or 'parabon', forest in South Asia stretched along the Kutubdia channel here.

Forest guard Abu Taher told bdnews24.com, "The parabon has disappeared. Land grabbing syndicates backed by influential figures have depleted the forest for salt, shrimp and dry fish production." Kutubdia Upazila Nirbahi Officer Jafar Ahmed said the island would be one of the areas most affected by climate change. He told bdnews24.com, "There is no forest left here."

Forest specialists say parabon depletion in Bangladesh started decades back, with one-fifth of the forests being levelled over the years, and it still continues uncurbed. Forest stretching over large areas have been cut down illegally by "influential groups", mainly to make way for shrimp cultivation, and also through pressure of increased population.

As a result, 30 million residents of the 710km belt stretching from Khulna's Shyamnagar to Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya face growing danger from storms and tidal waves. As climate change threatens to unleash more frequent and intense cyclones and tidal waves, the coastal areas with their shield of forests fast disappearing are now under threat. Kamal Hossain, a professor of Chittagong University's Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science, told bdnews24.com on Monday: "Risks in coastal areas are rising with global climate change." "The continuing exhaustion of coastal forest is further raising the dangers."

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