The establishment and operation of 24 commercial resorts along the boundaries of the Sundarbans in Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira, apparently without the required environmental clearance, raises serious questions about regulatory oversight and the authorities' failure to prevent unauthorised development in an ecologically sensitive area.
The Department of Environment (DoE) has ordered the resorts to suspend operations and remove their structures within 30 days, citing violations of restrictions on Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs). The Water Development Board (WDB) has also alleged that some structures encroach on its land.
Of the 24 resorts ordered to shut down 18 are in Khulna, two in Bagerhat and four in Satkhira. The ones in Khulna are located in the Dhangmari, Kailashganj and Banishanta areas of Dacope upazila. They are Aranyachhaya, Aranyabari, Keorabone, Mayabon, Gohon, The Forest Retreat, Nikunja Valley, La Silva Cottage, Bonbibi, Sundari, Irabati, Bonmali, Golokanon, Piyali, Mangrove, Jangalbari, Bonobash and Bonolota Eco Cottage.
The two resorts in Mongla and Bagerhat are Tiger Point and Badabon. The four in Satkhira are Barsha Resort, Sushilan Resort, Ocean Paradise, and Parishad and Prasad Paradise.
The orders have brought the approval process, regulatory oversight and environmental risks of tourism infrastructure around the Unesco World Heritage Site under scrutiny.
However, resort owners dispute the authorities' position, saying their establishments are on privately owned land in populated areas outside the forest. They argue that the businesses support community-based tourism, create jobs and provide alternative livelihoods.
Khondaker Md Fazlul Haque, director of the DoE's Khulna divisional office, said resorts could not operate in ecologically critical areas under the law.
The department had issued notices to the establishments, but their responses were not satisfactory, prompting the closure orders, he said.
Dispute over WDB land
The WDB has questioned land ownership at several resort sites and repeatedly instructed owners to remove structures built on its land.
According to WDB sources, coastal embankments were built in Dhangmari, Kailashganj and Banishanta in 1960, when land was acquired for the project. The resorts are located beside the Dhangmari River embankment in polder No 30.
Md Rashidur Rahman, executive engineer of WDB in Khulna, said river erosion and accretion had altered the landscape over time, meaning the embankments no longer followed all the boundaries of the originally acquired land.
He said each resort might have occupied 10-15 metres of land along the embankment and had been instructed to remove any structures from the encroached portions.
Zakaria Hossain Shawon, general secretary of the Resort Owners Association of Sundarbans, denied that the resorts' main structures stood on WDB land, saying they had been built on privately owned property.
Some gates or wooden footpaths might extend towards the embankments, but the owners had not occupied additional land to build other structures, he said.
Environmental risks
Environmental experts warn that uncontrolled tourism, excessive noise and lighting, and poor waste management could damage the Sundarbans' sensitive ecosystem.
Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, a professor in Khulna University's Environmental Science Department, said the forest had a more sensitive and complex ecosystem than Saint Martin's Island.
The growing number of resorts and the influx of tourists could disturb wildlife and drive animals away from affected areas, he said. Waste discarded by visitors could also enter the forest through canals and waterways.
However, determining the extent of pollution attributable to individual resorts would require field investigations, inspections of waste disposal systems and, where necessary, water and sediment testing, he added.
Imran Ahmed, conservator of forests for the Khulna region, said some tourists visiting the resorts entered the forest without permission. He said the Forest Department had limited direct control over the resorts because they were on private land outside the forest boundaries, and called for the DoE to regulate them.
Owners seek clear rules
Zakaria rejected the closure decision, arguing that the resorts were in populated areas outside the Sundarbans rather than inside the forest.
He said tourists stayed in local communities, experienced village life and culture, and enjoyed views of the forest from outside. The resorts had created employment and alternative livelihoods for local people, he added.
The association has called for clear government guidelines defining the rules for establishing and operating resorts, the required approvals and the responsibilities of relevant agencies.
Anwarul Kadir, executive director of the Sundarbans Academy, said tourism should expand without compromising the forest and its wildlife.
He called for environmental impact assessments, proper waste management, controls on tourist movement and protection of wildlife habitats before tourism infrastructure is approved. Existing resorts should also be assessed to determine the conditions they must meet.