A strategic environmental assessment is being carried out for the south-western part of the country as part of the government’s commitment to conservation of the Sundarbans, Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said.

 The Strategic Environmental Assessment Report and the Strategic Environmental Management Plan will provide effective guidelines for the conservation of the mangrove forest, he said while addressing a meeting on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Southwest region and Sundarbans at Pan Pacific Hotel Sonargaon today.

“By implementing development activities in the south-western part of the country, we’ll be able to ensure the conservation of the Sundarbans,” the minister said adding that the government has recently approved the “Sundarbans Protection” project in an Ecnec meeting to strengthen conservation activities.

Shahab Uddin said a lot of development work has been planned centering the south-west part of the country and their implementation is expected to accelerate after the opening of Padma Bridge.

 The Strategic Environmental Assessment of the South-west and the Sundarbans is being carried out through a fully government-funded technical project to ensure that the Sundarbans is not harmed as a result of the implementation of policies, plans and activities related to the country’s development process, he said.

The environment minister said Sundarbans is not only our resource but also the world’s resource. A part of the Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the entire Sundarbans is a RAMSAR site, he added.

“So, the conservation of Sundarbans is all of our responsibility,” the minister said.