Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090

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Ocean and Coastal Management

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman

Research Article

Mangrove forest policy and management: Prevailing policy issues, actors’

public claims and informal interests in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh
Md Faisal Abedin Khan a, b, *, Md Saifur Rahman b, Lukas Giessen c, d
a
Chair Group of Forest and Nature Conservation Policy, Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany
b
Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh
c
European Forest Institute, Governance Programme, Bonn Office, Germany
d
IPB, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Mangrove forests have enormous ecological and socio-economic importance for a number of different stake­
The Sundarbans of Bangladesh holders and policy actors. Hence, a wide range of often conflicting material interests can be expected surrounding
Policy issues mangrove forest policy and management. These conflicts result in different issues of mangrove policy and
Formal and informal interests
management, on which different actors articulate their positions through publicly stated claims. It is unclear, in
Policy actors’ claims and arguments
how far these publicly stated positions and claims resemble the formal interest of the actors only, or if they also
reveal parts of their informal interests. In the Sundarbans mangrove forests, a number of issues have arisen,
which are of contemporary policy concern. The aim of this study is to identify the most recent issues relating to
the Sundarbans in Bangladesh and analyse the actors’ claims/arguments on the identified issues which were
publicly stated as an expression of formal or informal interest. In order to analyse these public claims, content
analysis of selected Bangladeshi national newspapers, experts’ deliberations and national policy documents was
undertaken as an empirical method to ascertain relevant issues and actors’ claims. A theory-based actor typology
was applied to distinguish the relevant actors, and the concept of formal and informal interests was employed.
The results indicate that the most salient policy issues around mangrove forest policy and management are:
establishing Rampal power plant; protection of the Sundarbans forest area; environmental pollution; biodiversity
conservation; reputation as a World Natural Heritage Site; relevance for climate change adaptation and miti­
gation; and local people’s livelihoods. Government and Administration are found to be the most active actor in
all the observed issues. Surprisingly, only very few administrations partake in public deliberations and the Prime
Minister seems to dominate the public debate. This might be explained by the fact that the Rampal power plant
project is perceived as the most contentious issue among all actors, with strong discursive support from the Prime
Minister. In light of this issue structure, non-governmental actors as well as most bureaucracies are rarely found
to actively engage in public debate on mangrove issues while informal interests were being displayed by Prime
Minister and non-ruling political parties to a limited extent. Future empirical study to be conducted on the
historical trajectory of Rampal power plant addressing the Prime Minister’s arguments and environmental
concerns of civil society actors. Also it would be worth to map the high degree of bureaucratic rivalry which can
be assumed form the conflicting interest in mangrove forests between the responsible ministry—the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and other ministries in their struggle for power.

1. Introduction and empirical background
Comprising diverse ecosystems, with a range of flora, fauna and their
habitats, the Sundarbans is characterized as a unique mangrove forest
(Islam, 2003), and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a
Ramsar designated wetland of international importance. In terms of
proportion, the total area of the Sundarbans mangrove forest (SMF) is
601,700 ha, which is quite significant: it covers 38.12 per cent of the
entire forest land and 4.13 per cent of the land mass of the whole of
Bangladesh (Bangladesh Forest Department, 2019). Through multiple
uses (Hoq, 2007, 2014; Iftekhar, 2006; Roy, 2016), such as timber
extraction, fisheries, honey production and others, the resources of the

* Corresponding author. Chair Group of Forest and Nature Conservation Policy, Georg-August University, Busgenweg-3, 37077, G€
ottingen, Germany.
E-mail addresses: fkhan@uni-goettingen.de, fakhan25bd@gmail.com (M.F.A. Khan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.105090
Received 8 July 2019; Received in revised form 8 November 2019; Accepted 26 December 2019
Available online 27 January 2020
0964-5691/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M.F.A. Khan et al.
SMF support the livelihoods (Roy, 2017) of 3.5 million people in coastal
communities (Kabir and Hossain, 2008). Thus, the Sundarbans is an area
of national as well as international importance from policy and man­
agement perspectives.
Over time, the Sundarbans has been adversely affected by both
natural and man-made factors. The natural factors include the courses of
rivers changing, reduced freshwater supply to the mangroves, silt
deposition in riverbeds, sea level rise, salinity intrusion, etc. In future,
salinity intrusion and pollution may significantly reduce the fish di­
versity and production in this region (International Union for Conser­
vation of Nature-Bangladesh, 2001), since mangroves are critical areas
for sustainable coastal fisheries production (Primavera, 1998; Manson
et al., 2005; cf. Dharmawan et al., 2016). The anthropogenic factors
include land use change due to shrimp farming and agriculture (Hoq,
2014) in areas adjoining the forest, and increased pollution of water
from industrial and urban waste, altering the hydrological and
morphological settings and the quality of the fish habitats in the Sun­
darban delta. Moreover, the SMF is being continuously degraded: its
total tree cover has been reduced by 50 per cent over the past 20 years
(Kabir and Hossain, 2008), as global mangroves are being degraded at
an alarming rate (Alongi, 2002; Feka, 2015; Polidoro et al., 2010). High
demand for the diverse resources among dependents on the SMF results
in severe degradation.
The management of the Sundarbans is entirely entrusted to the
Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), which also performs development
projects through its Annual Development Programme (ADP) with a clear
budget and objectives every year. The BFD allocates fishing permit li­
cences to control fishery resources on a regular basis (Hoq, 2003): these
are heavily under-priced in comparison to fishing patterns and the
amount harvested, and sustainability and conservation aspects are
clearly overlooked (Roy and Alam, 2012). Diverse resources demand
imperative multi-bureaucratic involvement in a coordinated manner for
the SMF, which is significantly absent in the Sundarbans. Conflicts exist
among different bureaucratic agencies (here in after mentioned as
‘administration’) due to their overlapping interests in SMF (Roy, 2014).
Some BFD development projects have incurred expertise from different
fields to recommend a complete management plan for the future.
Nonetheless, different policies prepared for the Sundarbans have rec­
ommended integrated management of all resources, which has not yet
been put into practice.
It is clear that the Sundarbans, like mangrove forests in different
parts of the world, are utilized in multiple ways (Datta et al., 2010;
García-Ferna �ndez et al., 2008; Jusoff and Taha, 2008), resulting in po­
tential conflicts of interest among diverse users of the environmental
resources (Adger et al., 2003; Krott, 2005). In the case of the Sundar­
bans, these users include local communities, politicians,
non-governmental organizations and associations, as well as different
administrations at multiple levels (Roy, 2014), which is very much
consistent with the mangrove ecosystem (Feka, 2015). Due to the
combination of maritime and forest ecosystem properties, mangrove
forest management and policy can be assumed to be extremely multi­
faceted and contentious, with many issues arising around their man­
agement. The ways in which local and national actors voice their claims
relating to issues of mangrove management and policy, and the degree
to which they do so, however, is currently unknown. Hence, this article
aims: (i) to reveal the current and contentious issues relating to Sun­
darbans policy and management; (ii) to identify actors’ publicly stated
claims and arguments on these issues; and (iii) to analyse if the actors’
full interests can be identified based on their public claims, or if they do
not fully display both their formal and informal interests.
1.1. Conceptual Framework
Issues are defined as a specific agenda which is discussed in a
considered way, particularly when different actors come together with a
common interest (Krott, 2005). The social, economic and environmental
2
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
contexts which are relevant to the particular issue might influence
public policy decisions (Rahman and Giessen, 2014). Myint (2003)
identified issues as being socially and politically crafted, with the in­
terests, which are economically driven. Issues that influence the policy
process are those disclosed to the public by active actors that implement
an agenda and are taken up in political manifestos to motivate a large
number of people. Depending on the scope of an issue and the urgency,
actors work to achieve pre-set goals, whether the issue has arisen from
within or beyond the country context (Wibowo and Giessen, 2015).
Actors are the key players, ranging from different government or
non-government organizations to individual persons (Krott, 2005). They
have active roles in relation to specific issues, and perform a plan of
action based on self-interest, often covertly. An actor is an entity that has
a distinct interest and possibility of influencing a policy (Schusser et al.,
2015). Based on this definition, actors are identified in this analysis as
those who have delivered statements focusing on the Sundarbans, with a
distinct interest in it and a possibility of influencing. Lack of ability to
influence a policy has no impact on identifying an actor, but does in­
fluence their interests and thus how they behave (Schusser et al., 2015,
2016). Therefore, actors’ choices are always concentrated on either is­
sues or interests (Myint, 2003).
In the current context, actors are classified according to Krott (2005)
as mangrove forest users/dependents (i.e. local inhabitants and
workers), associations and political parties, and government and
administration. Practically, the government and administrations are
responsible for ensuring public welfare (Krott, 2005), while actors
hardly kept their interests unfold. Government exists as a powerful
public actor at the centre of the political organization (Krott, 2005),
where political decisions in general come from. Bureaucracy is a body of
non-elective government officials or administrative policy making group
characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules,
hierarchy of authority and impartiality (Islam, 2016). Ministries are the
key components of public bureaucracy, and based on their characteris­
tics, they perform and provide services to achieve their goals in light of a
pre-set vision. Domestic bureaucracy comprises ministries and
departments—i.e. public organizations which are responsible for
implementing government agendas in relation to public issues. The head
of the government has strong and dominant executive power over do­
mestic bureaucracy to pursue the government’s interest by default.
Fights for financial allocations and authoritative powers to attain ob­
jectives or mandates are very common within bureaucratic institutions;
thus searching for actors with similar interests happens to assist argu­
ment and the establishment of a self-predetermined agenda (Peters,
2010). Sometimes, public bodies form a close relationship with
destructive businesses rather than promoting common welfare (Hum­
phreys, 2012; Rahman and Giessen, 2014). Development partners (DPs),
often known as donors, have a significant influence on the formulation
and implementation of policy (Biermann et al., 2009; Willetts, 2001)
through technical and financial support activities (Aurenhammer, 2012)
in the form of projects or programmes depending on the beneficiary
country’s practice. Based on issues and interests, both domestic and
international actors may play an important role in policy formulation.
Associations and political parties are subgroups of actor types, ac­
cording to Krott (2005), where associations representing organizations
attempt to implement their interests by lobbying politicians. Political
parties are also kind of voluntary organizations, working independently
to promote votes in competition with other parties, with the goal of
representing themselves when elected to political office (Krott, 2005). In
this analysis, different associations and political parties who have the
potential to act as actors in the case of the Sundarbans are identified. The
Mangrove Forest User group comprises people involved primarily with
economic activities (Schusser et al., 2016)—i.e. honey collectors, fish­
ermen and timber collectors—in the Sundarbans. Hence, the involved
actors represent a range of interests in their plan of action to achieve a
policy goal.
Significant relations are sketched for the different types of actors by
M.F.A. Khan et al. Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090

several scholars. According to Krott (2005), forest administration takes Thus interests and informal interests are largely synonymous (Rahman
the dominant role based on its forest policy mandate. Achieving the and Giessen, 2017), having an important role in influencing policies and
forest policy, forestry programs are enacted by politicians in the gov­ contributing to changing positions on distinct issues over time (Schusser
ernment with the help of administration and associations. Forest users et al., 2015). Thus managing conflicting interests in the growing polit­
including various companies are regulatory in nature in their action icized environmental policy process is widely agreed to be crucial to
orientation. According to Schusser et al. (2015), actors exist on different attain justified and functional policy solutions (e.g. Fischer, 2000; Juntti
geographical levels and build social relationship through exchanging et al., 2009; Papadopoulos and Warin, 2007). There are formal interests
information. However, actors’ position made them interlinked as Bo €cher of actors, who clearly set out their responsibility according to their
and To€ller (2012) rightly pointed out that actors’ interests determined as mandates towards policy goals (Krott, 1990); while implementing
driving factor in a way how actors behave. The different types of actors formal interests, actors always try to accomplish informal interests
(Table 1) those possibly have the distinct interests with positions either simultaneously. This is how informal rather than formal interests are at
in public or beyond it for the SMF are actively considered and inter­ the forefront of driving controversial issues underlying political, social
linked in this study. and economic issues ones within the actors’ purview. Positions of actors
Interests, according to Krott (2005:8), “are based on action orien­ are simply deliberate public statements or proclamations before bene­
tation, adhered to by individuals or groups, and they designate the ficiaries, shown as policy preferences on issues rather than disclosing
benefits the individual or group can receive from a certain object, such actors’ interests (Rahman and Giessen, 2014). Here, public media pre­
as a forest”. These are favours which are often kept secret (Krott, 2005) sent a dynamic role in displaying actors’ positions on important issues.
but that influence issues to be adopted and considered for imple­ Media comprise a powerful entity, as they can express, change and
mentation by politicians. Common interests are the major driving force control public opinions on any issue with or without interest. The
for all relevant actors to come forward under the same umbrella. The dissemination of information by the mass media is regarded as an un­
interests of politicians and parliamentary representatives become the disputed function in modern societies (Holzer, 1971). Media in this
engine of governance as a whole in a democratic system, which demands context play a predominantly passive role in the political process
analysis of the dynamic interplay of interests in relation to issues and through exchanging information among a variety of actors (Eilders,
actors (Myint, 2003). Also, interests lead the key players within the 2000). In this study, media are used to express claims and opinions
process to carry out actions in different respective strategic modes in publicly (Kleinschmit, 2012; Kleinschmit and Krott, 2008; Park, 2009).
order to win. Thus influential actors that pursue the ultimate objective of Generally, actors convey their public views and agenda initially by mass
the programme have a strong position among others, and they want to media (Wibowo and Giessen, 2015): it can lead to failure or confusion
uphold their self-interest as much as possible. Self-interests could be among the public if actors delivered these views only in private spheres
informal interests—to increase budgets, staff and fields of responsibility (Krott, 2005). Moreover, the role of the media is not restricted to
in the case of public bureaucracy, for example (Rahman and Giessen, transmitting available information, but also involves interpreting, dis­
2017). Due to the presence of apparent diversity of different actors, torting, undervaluing or over-emphasizing in the process of opinion
informal interests are often not disclosed, though they can be predicted. formation, linking with potential interests. On the other hand, observing
the information and discourse among relevant actors in the media helps
the general population to form opinions on specific issues with
Table 1 multi-dimensional interpretations.
Typology of Policy Actors and their exemplary application to the Sundarbans Understanding theoretical background on the above four variables
Mangrove Forest.
collocate an interlinked framework among them (Fig. 1). Actors are the
Actors Typology Example key players to the political discourse, those exists at different levels and
Broad Detailed use social, economic and environmental contexts of the issues in order to
Government and Head of the Prime Minister
accomplish their interests. Based on specific issues, interests could be
Administration Government
Domestic Ministry of Environment, Forest
Bureaucracies/ and Climate Change (MoEFCC),
Administrations Bangladesh Forest Department
(BFD), Department of
Environment (DoE)
Development Partners Bilateral: e.g., USAID, GIZ, FAO
etc. Multilateral: e.g., World
Bank, Asian Development Bank
etc.
Associations and Non-ruling Political Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Political Parties Parties (BNP), Bikolpo Dhara, 20-party
Alliance etc
National/International Asian Peoples’ Movement on
NGOs and Debt and Development (APMDD),
Organizations UNESCO, Winrock International,
Greenpeace etc.
Academics and Universities, Scientists, Research
Researchers Centers, Environmental Experts
etc.
Civil Society/ National Committee for Saving
Associations the Sundarbans; National
Committee to protect Oil, Gas,
Mineral Resources, Power and
Ports, Bangladesh Environmental
Network (BEN), Rights activists
etc. Fig. 1. Conceptual Framework: Links among variables—Issues, Actors, In­
Mangrove Forest Honey Collectors; Fishermen;
–
terests and Media (Adapted from Krott, 2005; Rahman and Giessen, 2017;
Users Timber Collectors; Community
Schusser et al., 2015, 2016).
Peoples etc.

3
M.F.A. Khan et al.
either formal—documented or informal—predicted or could be both,
those influence actors to state claims or arguments to fulfil itself. Issue-
specific public opinions including actors’ statements are reflected in
media, where multi-dimensional interpretations are also made and
consequently influenced issues to be interplayed by actors again.
1.2. Linking concepts into key arguments and hypotheses
The multiple uses of mangrove forests cause conflicts amongst the
interests of multiple actors (Adger et al., 2003; Krott, 2005). These
conflicts of interest remain latent until an actor involved mobilizes
material or non-material resources against conflicting uses, making the
conflict of interests publicly visible and advancing it to a policy issue
(Yusran et al., 2017). Media multiplies the actors’ public voice with their
preferences and make claims and arguments about an issue (Kleinsch­
mit, 2012). These actors may range from concerned individuals to
non-governmental organizations to government bureaucracies. Interest
theory suggests that political actors do not fully display their interests
and hide certain elements (Fatem et al., 2018; Hubo and Krott, 2013;
Krott, 2005; Rahman and Giessen, 2017). In particular, public actors,
such as ministries and agencies, are reported to display dual interests,
consisting of their formal interests, as publicly stated in their public
mandates, and their informal interests regarding responsibility for is­
sues, resulting budgets and staff resources (Giessen et al., 2014). The
formal interests of such actors are seen to be publicly stated and claimed
in public debates, such as media reporting or position papers, strategies
and the like. The informal interests around a policy issue are assumed,
not being displayed in public deliberations at all (Rahman and Giessen,
2017), though this is yet to be empirically proved. Using the case of the
multiple uses, interests and conflicts in the management of mangrove
Fig. 2. Location of the Sundarbans mangrove forest (source: Forest Department, 2015).
4
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
forests, we hypothesize that none of the actors’ informal interests are
displayed in the public discourse on the multiple policy issues—i.e. in
the public debate, claims and argumentations of the actors. In order to
scrutinize this, the study covers three research objectives: first of all, to
identify the current issues which are publicly debated in respect of the
multiple uses and management of the Sundarbans; secondly, to analyse
actors’ public claims and arguments concerning those issues; and
thirdly, to assess if only formal interests are reported or if actors’
informal interests are also partially revealed in the public deliberations.
2. Methodology
2.1. Study area: Sundarbans Mangrove Forest
The study focuses on the Sundarbans (Fig. 2), which encompasses the
largest contiguous single tract of mangrove ecosystem in the world
(Hussain and Karim, 1994; Siddiqi, 2001), containing the Royal Bengal
tiger.
Covering a vast delta which comprises a large area of mangrove
forest with rich biodiversity (Das and Mandal, 2016; Hussain, 2013), the
Sundarbans is an important area of discussion for conservation and for
investment, as it is very close to the country’s second largest seaport,
Mongla. Mangrove forests provide various economic, social and envi­
ronmental benefits. In a developing country like Bangladesh, mangroves
are an important source of livelihood through fishing, honey and wax
collection, ecotourism, wood and wood products. A recent initiative of
the government of Bangladesh to build the Rampal coal-based power
plant is also a considerable focus for this study.
M.F.A. Khan et al. Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090

Table 2
Issues, Actors and their Positions. (þ): positions detected in support of the issue; ( ) positions detected in opposition to the issue.
Actor Type Government and Administration Associations and Political Parties Mangrove
Forest Users

Issues Head of the Domestic Development Non-ruling National/ Academics and Civil Society/ Honey
Government Bureaucracies/ Partners Political International NGOs Researchers Associations Collectors/
Administrations Parties and Organizations Fishermen/
Timber
Collectors

Establishing Claim A: (þ) – – Claim A: (¡) Claim A: (¡) – Claim A: (¡) –

Rampal Prime Minister Harmful to APMDD urges a halt NC to protect
Power Plant (PM) argues the country as it will create OGMPP does
strongly for the Claim B: (¡) climate crisis not support the
power generation Anti-people plant due to it
project and being coal-
unprofitable based and near
project the Sundarbans
Protection of Claim A: (þ) Claim A: (þ) – – Claim A: (þ) – Claim A: (þ) –
Sundarbans PM has taken Home Minister Winrock NCSS criticizes
Forest Area various initiatives stated International government
to protect the establishment of supports research activities
Sundarbans more RAB camps activities
through coastal Claim B: (þ)
belt programme, UNESCO
afforestation, etc. recommends that
government takes
necessary steps
Environmental Claim A: (þ) – – – Claim A: (¡) Claim A: (¡) Claim A: (¡) –
Pollution PM emphasizes Industrialization Support of research The role of
stop to unplanned around the activities and government is
urbanization and Sundarbans will shows massive area worthless
industrialization in pollute the Pashur polluted due to Claim B: (¡)
order to reduce River spill away Pollution
environmental Claim B: (¡) Air Claim B: (¡) Coal- affects the
pollution pollution from coal carrying vessels habitat of
burning at Rampal might be disastrous fauna
power plant would to flora and fauna
cause premature
death and low birth
weights
Biodiversity Claim A: (þ) PM Claim A:(þ) BFD – – Claim A: (¡) Hot Claim A: (¡) Claim A: (¡) –
Conservation repeatedly claimed implemented a water discharged Industrialization in Government
different initiatives number of from power plant the ECA of the initiatives of
for the Sundarbans’ projects to will damage aquatic Sundarbans is permitting
biodiversity conserve life against own policy several
biodiversity of biodiversity industrial units
Claim B:(þ) All conservation threatened the
possible Claim B: (¡) Long- tigers’ habitat,
interventions term impact on the Sundarbans
were undertaken floral and faunal
Claim C:(þ) growth activities
Tiger Action Plan
(2009–2017)
prepared and
implemented
Reputation as Claim A: (þ) – – – Claim A: (¡) SMF Claim A: (¡) Claim A: (¡) –
Natural Important for will lose the Decreasing Sundari No one has the
World country’s Heritage Site trees leads to loss of right to gamble
Heritage Site existence, and designation if the Sundarbans’ with the SMF as
initiatives have natural resources attributes a World
been undertaken to are not protected; Heritage Site
expand the suggested the need
mangrove forest to take steps
Relevance for Claim A: (±) – – – – – Claim A: (¡) –
Climate Creation of Climate The
Change Change Trust Fund Sundarbans
Adaptation and coastal green offer natural
and belt by protection from
Mitigation afforestation the adverse
Claim B: (þ) effects of
Adaptation and climate change
mitigation
programmes have
been undertaken
Local People’s Claim A: (þ) – – – – – Claim A: (¡) –
Livelihoods Adaptation Government is
programmes reluctant for
(continued on next page)

5
M.F.A. Khan et al.
Table 2 (continued )
Actor Type Government and Administration
Issues Head of the Domestic Development
Government Bureaucracies/ Partners
Administrations
targeted to protect
people’s
livelihoods
PM: Prime Minister; BFD: Bangladesh Forest Department; APMDD: Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development; SMF: Sundarbans Mangrove Forest; NC:
National Committee; ECA: Ecologically Critical Area; OGMPP: Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports; NCSS: National Committee for Saving the Sundarbans;
RAB: Rapid Action Battalion.
2.2. Empirical methods
To identify the current discussed issues and the claims of active ac­
tors involved in Sundarbans policy and management, broadly two
different sources are used, taking into account a similar study carried out
by Rahman and Giessen (2014). Firstly, print media acts as an important
source of different actors’ deliberations in terms of the media discourse,
and the content is analysed (Sadath and Krott, 2013). While forest policy
decisions come from the government, public consent is badly needed,
and government machineries depend on print media as a good indicator
to show or endorse public concerns (Kleinschmit, 2012). Secondly, we
select actors’ opinions, discussions and debates in expert circles (Rah­
man and Giessen, 2014) to argue public claims on aspects of the Sun­
darbans. The dynamics of public discourses are widely elaborated in
expert deliberations on future impacts, as well as the perceptions of
generalists, who influence the government in managing crises.
At the first source of empirical methods in this qualitative content
analysis, two national newspapers (The Daily Prothom Alo and The Daily
Star) and one local newspaper (The Daily Purbanchal) were selected for
data collection. The selection of two national newspapers considers the
highest circulation in the country in the native language and in English
(similar to Rahman and Giessen, 2014). These two newspapers are
popular for covering contemporary environmental issues, and received
national environmental awards. On the other hand, the most circulated
newspaper is The Daily Purbanchal in the Khulna region—the very much
adjacent locality of the Sundarbans. Data collected from these three
newspapers were published between 2013 and 2017 and in the first four
months of 2018 in order to cover contemporary issues. Firstly, authors
collected data for the year 2017 by physically visiting the archives of the
newspapers’ offices and searching every day’s edition manually. After
that, data from the online news portal of those newspapers were
collected for the same year. Authors then verified and cross-checked all
the data from the two sources, and found high similarity between real
circulation and the website. The authors then established a dependable
method for collecting data for the remaining four years (2013–2016)
and the early part of 2018 through online-based sources (https://www.
prothomalo.com/, https://www.thedailystar.net/, https://purbanchal.
com/). In order to conduct study in efficient ways, important empir­
ical materials could be collected easily using online archives that re­
duces researchers’ time and costs (He and Han, 2017) and this idea
avoids the necessary research permission following complex bureau­
cratic process even if the same data are available in online archives
(Rahayu et al., 2019). The articles retrieved from all sources were then
read carefully in order to identify the issues that were discussed most;
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
Associations and Political Parties Mangrove
Forest Users
Non-ruling National/ Academics and Civil Society/ Honey
Political International NGOs Researchers Associations Collectors/
Parties and Organizations Fishermen/
Timber
Collectors
local people’s
livelihoods
Claim B: (¡)
Livelihoods of
local people are
being
jeopardized
due to
unplanned
development
the articles were simultaneously classified according to the issues or
topics. Around 250 articles were initially collected from these three
sources for further analysis. The authors found some duplication of
message among some of the articles in different newspapers. On the
other hand, some articles were found to be related to poetry or to the
love of nature, for example, which were not related to the focus of this
study. Finally, in May 2018, 110 articles were selected, which seems a
very useful number for analysing the discourse of different actors
addressing most discussed issues concerning the Sundarbans. The arti­
cles were categorized and grouped according to the identification of
issues (subject category), actors’ position and public discourse on the
Sundarbans for qualitative content analysis of the articles (e.g. Neuman,
2013; Rahman and Giessen, 2014). This type of data sources and
methods were used previously in media discourse analysis by several
authors (e.g., Logmani et al., 2016; Sadath and Krott, 2013; Sadath et al.,
2012, 2013; Wibowo and Giessen, 2012).
Additionally, to collect experts’ views and opinions on Sundarbans
issues, the authors selected three different sources. First of all, the au­
thors searched relevant government departments’ periodical journals as
an important source of expert deliberations. The Ministry of Environ­
ment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the supervising ministry
of the Department of Environment (DoE) and Bangladesh Forest
Department (BFD), and is considered the most relevant department in
relation to this study. National Tree Plantation Movement and Tree Fair
and Bangladesh Environment Journal are the two non-scientific journals
published annually by the BFD and DoE respectively (Rahman and
Giessen, 2014). These two professional journals publish the writing of
various of the country’s experts, offering their views and opinions on
actors’ position in the fields of forestry and the environment and
covering contemporary issues. After screening publications of these two
journals from 2013 to 2017, the contents were analysed for this study.
Secondly, some important strategic and informational publications,
plans and national policy documents of Bangladesh were followed in this
study (Rahman and Giessen, 2014). In this regard, Bangladesh Country
Investment Plan for Environment, Forestry and Climate Change
(2016–2021), Seventh Five Year Plan (FY2016–FY2020), Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDC), Vision-2021 of Bangladesh Govern­
ment, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Action Plan of Bangladesh,
Bangladesh Forest Investment Plan (2017), etc. were scrutinized and
qualitative content analysis carried out.
Finally, participants’ observation (Emerson et al., 2001) by the first
and second authors, long-standing civil servants in the bureaucracy of
Bangladesh for more than a decade at different national ministries, was
used as an important source to add value, especially in understanding
6
M.F.A. Khan et al.
the contexts and subsequent critical analysis. Using their professional
network, experiences and inter-personal relationships, information and
periodicals were collected from the archives of the stakeholder organi­
zations and databases of MoEFCC, BFD, Department of Environment and
Bangladesh Planning Commission, which would have been quite
impossible without the prior attachment to the civil service of the first
two authors. From media and expert deliberations, public claims and
arguments were identified, clustered and interpreted based on qualita­
tive content analysis (Rahman and Giessen, 2014).
3. Results
The issues identified in relation to the Sundarbans mangrove forest
management and policy in Bangladesh are broadly presented in two
sections. Firstly, issues for the Sundarbans are examined under the
purview of their relevance and evolution in the policy context, political
discourses, policy documentation and implementation according to
bureaucratic procedures are presented in appendix A. Relevant actors’
claims and arguments based on each issue, which clarifies the positions
of the active players, are sketched in Table 2 and presented here as
below.
3.1. Establishing Rampal power plant
Actors’ public claims and arguments
The National Committee (NC) to protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources,
Power and Ports (OGMPP) is a powerful actor representing civil society,
playing an important role to save the Sundarbans from the proposed
Rampal coal-fired power plant. In order to save the Sundarbans, this
committee appealed to global environmental organizations to observe 7
January as a global day to protest against the Rampal coal-fired power
plant project (DS, 2017a). The Member Secretary of this committee
stated before a coastal conference held on 9 March 2018 in Khulna (the
nearby big city where the plant is being built) that the Rampal power
plant is a threat to the people as well as the locality without any doubt,
as this coastal region, including the Sundarbans, has already become
vulnerable due to climate change The Daily Purbanchal (DP, 2018a). A
regional alliance, the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Develop­
ment (APMDD), also urged the President and Prime Minister to stop the
Rampal project (APMDD, 2018; DS, 2017,). The APMDD claimed that
the power plant would not only endanger the lives and communities
near the plant but would also contribute to the climate crisis and deepen
the vulnerability of Bangladesh to the effect of climate change. Ac­
cording to The Daily Prothom Alo (DPA, 2016a), Chairman Bikolpo Dhara
said that if the proposed plant is not harmful to the environment, why
did the Indian government not take the project near the Indian part of
the Sundarbans, and why had two projects been repealed already? On
behalf of a 20-party alliance, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
Chairperson urged the government to stop this plant as it was
anti-people and unprofitable. She also stated that in ignoring public
interests, this autocratic ruling government was implementing an
anti-people power project (DS, 2016b).
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh took a position strongly in favour
of the construction of Rampal power plant before the plenary session of
the 47th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, in January 2017 (DS, 2017c). She pointed out that the
proposed plant was being set up around 14 km away from the outer
boundary of the Sundarbans and was about 70 km off the World Heri­
tage site, but still a community opposed it with baseless and absurd
speech against the plant in order to mislead people (DP, 2017a). She also
argued that in Bangladesh, coal-based electricity accounted for a little
more than one per cent of total demanded, whereas in developed
countries, 40 to 98 per cent of electricity demand was fulfilled from coal
(DS, 2016a). Concerning environmental aspects, the Prime Minister
mentioned that ultra-super-critical technology would be used, which has
attributes of near zero carbon emissions, adding that CO2 would be
7
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
emitted though a 275-m chimney and would remain within a radius of
1.6 km (DS, 2016a, 2017c), whereas other sources revealed the tech­
nology was super-critical rather than ultra-super-critical (Power Divi­
sion, 2018b). She also claimed that the density of gases would be within
the tolerable limit recommended by the World Health Organization and
the coal would be the best quality, imported from Australia, Indonesia
and South Africa (DS, 2016a). The coal would be brought using covered
barges from the deep sea and, as project consultant, German group
Fichtneris had been appointed by the government to maintain the
highest standards.
3.2. Protection of the Sundarbans forest area
Actors’ public claims and arguments
The Prime Minister claimed that her government had taken various
initiatives to protect the Sundarbans through the coastal green belt
afforestation programme (DS, 2017c) and creating an artificial
mangrove forest (DS, 2017d). Her government would not undertake any
development activities which would harm the Sundarbans (DPA,
2017a). The Home Minister stated that the government would establish
four more Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) camps to protect and secure the
Sundarbans from any illegal activities (DP, 2018b). Research from
Winrock International showed that the Sundarbans saved US$ 485.29
million during Cyclone Sidr, a natural calamity that happened on 15
November 2007 (DPA, 2018a). A mangrove plantation on the southwest
coastal belt of Bangladesh, the prohibition of fish farming in a 10 km
surrounding zone and collection of firewood from the Sundarbans are
recommended for protection of the Sundarbans and to avert natural
disaster (DPA, 2018a).
On the other hand, the Member Secretary of the National Committee
for Saving the Sundarbans (NCSS) claimed that the Sundarbans had
already been destroyed to some extent due to various activities under­
taken by the government. Further industrialization, including the
Rampal power plant project, would hinder protection of the Sundarbans
forever, and greedy companies from home and abroad have come
without considering the principle of Sundarbans protection (DPA,
2013). UNESCO suggested the proposal of steps necessary to save the
Sundarbans from probable loss due to development initiatives (DPA,
2018b). The NCSS urged the government to protect the Sundarbans by
cancelling the approval of 320 new industries near the Sundarbans and
moving them further away (DPA, 2017b).
3.3. Environmental pollution
Actors’ public claims and arguments
A report from research assessing the impact of spill away of an oil
tanker in the Shella River on 9 December 2014 stated that an area of
more than 500 km2 in the Sundarbans was polluted by the incident, and
regeneration of the Sundari tree was affected (DPA, 2015). Environ­
mentalists mentioned that a vessel laden with 100 tonnes of coal sank on
13 January 2017 in the south of the Sundarbans, and this might have a
disastrous effect on aquatic life as well as being harmful to the forest, as
this low-grade coal contains several types of heavy metal including
sulphur, lead, cadmium, barium and mercury, along with toxic materials
(DS, 2017f). The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Re­
sources, Power and Ports claims that the role of government was useless
and it has not taken significant steps following this disaster (DPA,
2017c). UNESCO stated that apart from the problem of salinity intrusion
in the rivers of the Sundarbans, water pollution is a new addition in the
recent past, and the IUCN claimed that this type of pollution affects the
habitat of fauna in the Sundarbans (DPA, 2018b). The Bangladesh
Environmental Network (BEN) stated that the recent initiative to
establish industries around the Sundarbans will certainly pollute the
water of the Pashur River, as previously happened in the Buriganga
(DPA, 2017e). According to DS (2017d), the Prime Minister stated that
her government had taken effective steps to reduce environmental
M.F.A. Khan et al.
pollution by discouraging unplanned urbanization and industrialization.
Global environment organization Greenpeace mentioned that the
Rampal power plant would cause at least 6000 premature deaths and
low birth weights of 24,000 babies during its 40-year life due to air
pollution from burning coal (DS, 2017g).
3.4. Biodiversity conservation
Actors’ public claims and arguments
The Bangladesh Forest Department completed thirteen development
projects for the protection and management of the Sundarbans (BFD,
2014). The Seventh Five Year Plan (GED, 2015: 329) claims that all
possible interventions were undertaken to conserve the biodiversity of
the Sundarbans mangrove forests, and extraction of all types of tree was
stopped after Cyclone Sidr; furthermore, a proposal for a total halt to
harvesting forest resources in the SMF is now under active consideration
by the authorities. To protect the Royal Bengal tiger, the main flagship
wildlife species of Bangladesh, a Tiger Action Plan was prepared for the
period 2009–2017 and different conservation activities have been
implemented accordingly (GED, 2015: 448). The Sundarbans mangrove
forest is highly productive and provides abundant food and shelter,
which facilitates rapid growth of aquatic species (BFD, 2017). According
to DS (2014), the Prime Minister, in her inaugural speech, stated that her
“government will do everything for conservation of the tigers”. A civil
society actor of the NCSS stated that “these words sound rhetorical and
absurd since the government has also been planning several projects
threatening the Sundarbans’ survival, the main habitat of tigers in the
region. According to DS (2018), experts claim that the government
permitted the establishment of 190 industrial and commercial units in
the ECA of the Sundarbans over the last few years, which is against its
own policy and poses a serious threat to the biodiversity of the world’s
largest mangrove forest. An academic stated that the Sundarbans will
face a long-term impact from Rampal power plant through hindering the
physical growth of plants, and their flowering and fruiting. In the case of
fauna, the breeding capacity of birds and the wildlife of the forests will
be lost, he added (DS, 2014). UNESCO also argued that hot water and
chemicals to be discharged from the Rampal power plant into water
bodies would cause significant damage to aquatic life in the river and
canal networks in the Sundarbans (DS, 2016c). However, the Prime
Minister repeatedly claimed in different speeches that her government
had undertaken various initiatives to protect the biodiversity of the SMF
(DPA, 2017a).
3.5. Reputation as World Natural Heritage Site
Actors’ public claims and arguments
According to the UNESCO World Heritage Commission, after an oil
spill occurred on 9 December 2014, the WHC was seriously concerned
about the impact of oil spills on the World Heritage area (UNESCO,
2014). The Sundarbans will lose the honour of being a designated World
Heritage Site and fall into the World Heritage in Danger list if the gov­
ernment fails to protect the natural resources of this mangrove forest in
respect of the proposed Rampal power plant project (DPA, 2014), and
UNESCO prescribed three important steps necessary to uphold the her­
itage honour (DPA, 2016b). An environmentalist from the World Bank
Bangladesh Office claimed that the number of Sundari trees, which are
dependent on freshwater, is decreasing due to salinity intrusion in the
Sundarbans, leading to the loss of attributes of the mangrove forest as
well (DPA, 2017f). According to the DS (2017h), an NCSS member said
that “there are many ways to develop the country, many places to
establish power and other industrial units, but the Sundarbans is unique;
no one has the right to gamble with this unique mangrove forest and
world heritage site”. The Prime Minister said that the Sundarbans is not
only part of Bangladesh’s heritage, but is also important for the coun­
try’s existence and her government has taken initiatives to expand the
Sundarbans by creating artificial mangrove (DS, 2017d).
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Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
3.6. Relevance for climate change adaptation and mitigation
Actors’ public claims and arguments
The Prime Minister has claimed that the effect of climate change is
not created by countries like Bangladesh, but by developed ones. Her
government created the Climate Change Trust Fund with local funding
of $400 million, and took various measures to manage the adverse im­
pacts of climate change, like creating green belts in the coastal areas
through afforestation, and implementing various adaptation and miti­
gation programmes (DPA, 2017a; DS, 2017c). The Prime Minister also
stated that her government is dealing with the adverse impacts of
climate change through tree plantation, further emphasizing planned
urbanization and industrialization with a view to protecting the envi­
ronment (DS, 2017d). According to the DPA (2017d), the NCSS stated
that the Sundarbans is acting as a natural protector from adverse effects
of climate change and expressed anxiety about the development projects
undertaken around the Sundarbans by the present government.
3.7. Local People’s livelihoods
Actors’ Public Claims and Arguments
The Prime Minister has said “all of our activities have been targeted
toward adaptation to environmental changes with a view to protecting
human lives” (DS, 2016d), including those whose livelihood is based on
forest activities. A human rights worker said that the government is not
thinking about local people’s livelihood, which is being threatened, but
is rather considering the economic benefit by taking initiatives to
establish several industries around the Sundarbans (DPA, 2017b). Ac­
cording to the DS (2017i), a rights activist claimed that the livelihoods of
the people around the Sundarbans are being jeopardized due to un­
planned development and industrial works near this mangrove forest.
Other public claims by professional associations in respect of individual
enterprises in wood processing, bee keeping, timber collection, fishing,
etc. could not be observed.
4. Discussion
4.1. Claims, Arguments and Resulting Fields of Conflict among Actors’
Interests
The government and administration are found to be the most active
actors, presenting a strong position on all aspects of the issues related to
the Sundarbans, whereas associations were found to be the main actor in
the study by Logmani et al. (2016) on international forest issues in
Germany. Results in the analysis of international forest-related issues in
Indonesia by Wibowo and Giessen (2015) showed administration
(Ministry of Forestry) as active actors, which is very similar to this study.
This finding resembles Peters (2010) theory of bureaucratic politics,
which suggests only a single actor has a dominant role in a specific
sector. On the other hand, civil society and associations show their po­
sition on all issues, though their statements are in opposition to the
actions taken by the government. Their positions were not found to be
very different. Similar results were observed in Rahman and Giessen
(2014) in the case of international forest policy issues in Bangladesh.
Under the bureaucratic system, the Prime Minister gave more important
statements than other bureaucracies, which sometimes remained silent.
When the head of the government makes a statement on an issue, the
ministries or agencies are more likely to follow the instructions of the
Prime Minister and do not therefore have a reason to make official
statements to the mass media. This harmonization of lower bureaucracy
with the head of the government does not match the findings of Sahide
and Giessen (2015), who conclude that the main conflict of interests
between the core bureaucracies was in the case of tropical rainforest
transformation systems in Indonesia. Also, the findings of Logmani et al.
(2016) showed different positions of ministries, which were quite
vibrant and active actors in the media in the debate on forest policy
M.F.A. Khan et al.
issues. The present analysis has found the Rampal power plant to be the
most contentious issue which is creating conflicts among actors. Since
the government took the initiative to generating coal-based power a few
years back, other issues have fallen out of prime focus, except conserving
the Royal Bengal tiger. While making statements in favour of the Rampal
power plant, the government mostly linked other issues in positive
manner. Hogl et al. (2009) rightly mentioned that strong conflicts
among actors results in a general reluctance towards policy change,
whereas the government still argues about the Rampal project. Hence,
actors at the different level of the government and administration played
decision-making role in public policy outcome with varying interests,
abilities and power (similar to Maryudi and Sahide, 2017 Prabowo et al.,
2016; Sahide and Giessen, 2015; cf. Sahide et al., 2018). In contrast, civil
society and associations took a critical position on the government’s
reluctance to address the issues raised, while offering confrontation over
the Rampal power plant issue. Hence, civil society and associations seem
active for the betterment of the Sundarbans, as seen in their informative
arguments in statements. National and international NGOs were found
to be more active actors compared to the academics and researchers
group. This might be due to the number of institutions speaking out at
home and abroad, which is easier than for a single entity like a
researcher or an academic, and the media readily accept it. These two
actor groups have similar arguments in relation to the possibility of
losing outstanding universal characteristics of the mangrove forest by
initiating the Rampal project. There is no empirical evidence on the
formation of coalitions and joint statements to the media from different
actor groups standing together.
Interestingly, no statement on any issue was found from donors or
development partners and mangrove forest user groups. Since the
Rampal issue creates conflict between the government and other actors,
and development partners have their own official procedures to publish
any statement, they were absent from the media. This might be due to
the conflict between their financial involvement and their working
relationship with the government; international organizations, on the
other hand, took a critical stance on the Rampal issue. The study did not
confirm the role donors found by Rahman and Giessen (2014), where
they had slight involvement in arguments, probably because of the
sensitivity of the Rampal issue. The absence of statements from forest
user groups reveals the unorganized association of people on the basis of
profession or livelihoods; they were unable to show mass movement in
support of their interests, which does not align with the findings of
Logmani et al. (2016). This observation agnate to that pointed out by
Rahman and Giessen (2014) for their reduced activity as actors, which
might be seen as the user groups’ aloofness in respect of their own
benefits. Non-ruling political parties’ statements were observed only in
the case of the Rampal plant issue, as it is the most profound activity
around the Sundarbans; which might create conflict as well as drawing
attention of the people towards reducing mass support to the ruling
government.
4.2. Framing Issues with ‘the Sundarbans’ through Media and Policy
Documentation
The role of the media is not restricted to mediating information, but
includes disseminating their own opinions on the political system. Thus
the media tries to influence the thoughts of citizens and active actors,
or even the formation of policy decisions (Eilders, 2000). Since 2010,
when the government took the initiative to establish the Rampal power
plant near the Sundarbans, the media have covered the news on it,
linking to its pros and cons. Apart from that, news related to robbery,
promising aquaculture activities, tourism, nature, etc. is present to the
same extent as before. The Rampal project created a movement in
relation to conserving the outstanding universal characteristics of the
Sundarbans, gathering people together, followed by arguments from
active actors. The media have helped shape the public agenda by
drawing attention to issues, claims and supporters, and media attention
9
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
helps define public understanding about active actors, demands and
the path to social change within the movement (Andrews and Caren,
2010). From the analysis, conflicting arguments and views on the
Rampal project from different actors were clearly observed, which
creates media attention. The empirical evidence does not confirm the
actors’ usage of political language to support their positions in public
(Bo€cher, 2012; Kleinschmit and Krott, 2008; Logmani et al., 2016),
except in the case of the head of the government and civil societies in
this analysis.
Print media are used to promote policy decisions of active actors
(government and administration), and the democratic system’s civil
society actors use the media to publicize their views through rational
arguments (Kleinschmit and Krott, 2008). The study did not find any
arguments from donors or from forest user groups, suggesting a lack of
interests in the issues identified for the Sundarbans. Vobruba (2000)
rightly mentions that exclusion from and inclusion in the realm of
normality is driven by interests in belonging to it and participating in its
advantage. On the other hand, researchers and academics want to prove
their scientific thoughts, which are clearly observed in media as being
critical. It helps general people who have a poorer understanding on a
particular issue to rely on the information reported by the media
(Cuadrado-Ballesteros et al., 2014; Thogersen, 2006). However, the
media always aim to increasing sales by covering the news and state­
ments against the ruling government’s arguments. This complies with
the notion of negative bias in news about governmental affairs, where
Klite et al. (1998) concluded that 39 per cent of news stories are dedi­
cated to cases of crime and natural disasters, though it does not support
Ferna�ndez et al. (2012) result of a lack of media attention for environ­
mental issues that affect people less directly.
The Sundarbans has received proper attention, primarily in policy
documents in terms of conservation, protection and other issues within
the natural resources sector, though this attention is questionable for the
Rampal project, which belongs to the power sector. As public awareness
of environmental and social issues has risen sharply in recent years
(Cuadrado-Ballesteros et al., 2014), and the public sector is highly
committed in terms of information transparency due to its public re­
sources (García-Sa �nchez et al., 2013), climate change and other envi­
ronmental issues have come to the fore with the Sundarbans in terms of
the national policy design. The Seventh Five Year Plan—the most active
policy document for the current development of Bangladesh—has
received great attention in relation to the Sundarbans. Thus, the public
sector sets out policy action plans in order to disclose its commitment to
environmental issues, proving an image of informational transparency
to meet the demands of diverse areas of society, including the media
(García and García, 2008; Navarro et al., 2010). Bloch-Elkon (2007) and
Lee (1999) rightly mention that the degree of acceptance of certain
government policy actions is strongly correlated with media content,
public opinion and the role of the press in times of crisis. The MoEFCC
has also undertaken significant initiatives in terms of international ob­
ligations to formulate further policies with the aim of controlling in­
ternational ecological problems, haven’t seen the parsimonious view of
the country’s preferences of interests (Sprinz and Vaahtoranta, 1994).
Importantly, the BFD prepared the Integrated Resources Management
Plans for the Sundarbans (2010–2020), being the most relevant and
comprehensive policy guidelines for the Sundarbans, addressing the is­
sues identified in this analysis.
Additionally, policy planning documentation maintains an intrinsic
inertia and complies with the government’s vision, and so has no
connection with media dissemination. In just a few cases, the govern­
ment defends criticism of its initiatives. Therefore, media discourse has
only minimal influential power over policy changes in relation to Sun­
darbans issues, a similar observation to that made by Sadath and Krott
(2013) on forest policy in Bangladesh.
M.F.A. Khan et al.
4.3. Actors’ Display of Formal and Informal Interests
The government and administration, as an active actor, took the
opportunity to highlight its formal and informal interests. As the power
sector is one of the thirsty sectors in Bangladesh, and rapid infra­
structural development can arise from various sources of power, the
government proclaims interests in the development of infrastructure, for
which power is a need. Supporting claims in favour of the Rampal power
plant by government actors might reflect their informal interests in the
political process. Implementing development dogma, both formal and
informal interests can be revealed in various ways, to show the visibility,
presence and prospects of the ruling government. These interests are
often influenced by the development actors active in the market (e.g.
contract parties at national/international level). On the other hand, as a
natural feature, the SMF might not have immediate hazardous effect for
taking different development projects by the government taken around
it. Informal interests significantly influence actors in terms of their
retaining positions of power in the future, which is the case with the
Sundarbans, especially for the democratic state government, which
seeks to motivate a large number of people. Schusser et al. (2015) noted
that political strategies are predictable regardless of their diversity
though the concealment of the informal interests to people happens.
Hence both formal and informal interests of the government and
administration are often disclosed in public statements and in planning
documentation in a specified sector. The public sector dominates forest
policies in Bangladesh (Rahman and Giessen, 2014; Sadath and Krott,
2013) in terms of either informal or formal interests. DasGupta and
Shaw (2013) argue that local communities are in many cases motivated
by the local actors to achieve their political interests (here, informal
interests) rather than conserve the Indian mangrove forests, which is not
the case in this study.
In the case of civil society or other national and international orga­
nizations, formal and informal interests are driven by their own mission
objectives, and minimal differences were observed in the arguments.
They might showcase their activity at national and international forums
as a form of conservation effort. Rahman and Giessen (2017) argue that
international donor organizations have mandates as well as political
responsibility to achieve formal interests in a recipient country, and as
their informal interests are not officially recorded in policy documents,
differences are not displayed like formal interests. Researchers and ac­
ademics have not displayed their informal interests of disruption to the
ongoing research and academic effort if any risk occurs to the Sundar­
bans. Similarly, various kinds of management activity, along with the
funding, might be hampered for civil society and various associations if
any new challenges persist with the Sundarbans. Some other actors, like
non-ruling political parties, have taken the opportunity to criticize the
government’s activity to achieve their informal interest in demotivating
people with the ruling government, which was partly disclosed. As a
whole, it is obvious that different types of actors possess distinct in­
terests which are interlinked among each other with positions on the
SMF regardless of their interests are fully displayed either.
5. Conclusion
The unique characteristics of mangroves, located between dry land
and shallow marine areas with brackish water, bring complexities to the
management of the resource, and active actors compete among them­
selves with overlapping interests. Since the Sundarbans account for a
significant proportion of the forest coverage of Bangladesh, its presence
is considered hugely important, and a number of issues have been
perceived, in relation to which policy actors are presently arguing
10
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
different claims in public deliberations. Among the seven issues identi­
fied, establishing the Rampal power plant seems the main issue because
of recent initiatives undertaken by the government and the strong
discursive support by the Prime Minister, which also creates interna­
tional media attention. Since, the Prime Minister acts as the most vocal
actor in the government machinery favouring the mega issue of Rampal
project, other ministries and departments act in line with the head of the
government to follow the norms. Hence, as the responsible line ministry,
the MoEFCC has an option to play a more active role in each and every
issue related to the Sundarbans. Apparently, civil society and associa­
tions hold the opposite position to the government, though their aim is
to protect the outstanding universal value of the Sundarbans. This
analysis proves the strong commitment of all actors to the betterment of
this mangrove forest, which is similar to the findings in the study con­
ducted by Rahman and Giessen (2014) in relation to international
forest-related issues in Bangladesh, but contrary to the study on the same
issues of Indonesia by Wibowo and Giessen (2012). This study suggests
that future research should be address the historical trajectory of the
Rampal power plant issue, also addressing Prime Minister’s arguments
as well as environmental concerns of local and civil society actors. Policy
issues related to the Sundarbans, especially the Rampal plant issue, have
attracted important media attention. Therefore, there is a need to carry
out a further study on whether the spirit of media attention has any
significance on changes of policy by the government, considering the
argument of Andrews and Caren (2010), which states that media
attention helps define public understanding of active actors, demands
and the path to social change within the movement.
Formal and informal interests are not significantly different for civil
society and associations, whereas a distinct difference is observed in
case of government and administration, as well as non-ruling parties.
Non-ruling parties often form allies with similar voices, partly display­
ing informal interests in terms of decreasing people’s level of acceptance
of the ruling government. Civil society and organizations are basically
focused on long-term effects on the environment and human beings: this
has been displayed in publicly stated formal interests, while informal
interests are completely covered up. Though not all informal interests
are made public, the government states some which could be formal
interests in another sector, like the demand for power from any source.
This is due to the distinctive strength of the government, as it has the
responsibility and could be stated as ‘the generation of power is
demanded’ for all sectors. Therefore, actors state part of their informal
interests for specific purposes. Assuming this context of conflicting in­
terests in mangrove forests, it would be worthwhile to conduct further
research to map out policy interests of different administrations in
relation to the Sundarbans mangrove forests and to analyse the
bureaucratic rivalry within the government in relation to public claims
and policy interests in the Sundarbans.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by the Government of Bangladesh, for
pursuing doctoral study with Chair Group of Forest and Nature Con­
servation Policy, Georg-August University, G€ottingen, Germany. We
thank The Daily Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, The Daily Purbanchal,
Bangladesh Forest Department and Ministry of Environment, Forests
and Climate Change for providing valued data.
M.F.A. Khan et al.
Appendix A
Table A1
Policy Relevance and Evolution of the Identified Issues Applicable for the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest:
Issues
Establishing Rampal Power Plant
Protection of the Sundarbans Forest Area
Environmental Pollution
Biodiversity Conservation
Reputation as World Natural Heritage Site
Relevance for Climate Change Adaptation
and Mitigation
Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090
Policy Relevance and Evolution of the Issue
According to the government vision, Bangladesh needs 24,000MW of power by 2021, 40,000MW by 2030, and 60,000MW by 2041
(Power Division, 2018a), while the maximum production ever recorded was 11,623MW on 19 September 2018 (Power Division,
2018c). In view of this, the government has prepared a roadmap with many long- and short-term projects for generating power. The
Rampal project is a coal-based power plant, productivity of which would be 1320MW in total (Power Division, 2018b). The
government of Bangladesh has decided to build this power plant in Rampal, which is near to the Sundarbans, in order to meet the
growing electricity demand referred to in the Prime Minister’s statement according to The Daily Star (DS, 2016a). In the energy
strategy of Sixth Five Year Plan (FYP), domestic and imported coal should be used to provide energy options (General Economics
Division, 2011: 130).
According to the Indian Forest Act 1927, a full degree of protection was first documented in the concept of reserved forest, in which all
activities are restricted unless permission is granted by the competent authority (IFA, 1927). From the international perspective,
Agenda 21 (Chapter 11) of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio 1992 first formally
conceptualized combating deforestation with a view to protecting forest coverage (Humphreys, 2012). Subsequently, this issue
became significant in other international forums (Rahman and Giessen, 2014). Reduction in the extent of forest coverage is one of the
three degradation processes which has been raised as a concern in past decades (e.g. Iftekhar and Islam, 2004; IUCN-Bangladesh, 2001;
Siddiqui, 2001). To protect the Sundarbans, the Bangladesh government has adopted several policies and laws (BFD, 2018a) banning
encroachment and illegal cutting of timber and firewood, which are identified as major problems (Paul et al., 2017) resulting from the
growing demand for wood and unemployment of adjacent people. Out of 16 protected areas in Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is the
biggest protected area, and three wildlife sanctuaries among the four marine protected areas of Bangladesh are situated in Sundarbans
(GED, 2011: 454). Importantly, Government of Bangladesh (GoB) introduced the Statement of the National Forest Policy 1994 of
Bangladesh in an attempt to increase by 10 per cent of protected areas like wildlife sanctuaries (BFD, 1994). As per the provisions of
the Environmental Conservation Act 1995, the MoEFCC declared a 10km wide band surrounding the northern and eastern boundaries
of the Sundarbans an ecologically critical area (ECA), with the main objective of providing protection to the SMF (MoEFCC, 2018). The
Integrated Resources Management Plan for the Sundarbans, the first ever comprehensive plan document for the Sundarbans,
recommends protecting, restoring, sustaining and enhancing the biodiversity of the SMF and its interface landscape as Goal 1 (BFD,
2018c).
Human intervention in the natural environment was first voiced as a concern at the 1972 UN conference on the Human Environment
(UNCHE) held in Stockholm, though conceptualization of the notion came earlier (Haas, 2016). Later, Agenda 21 (Principle 13) from
the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio adopted that States will develop respective
national laws and cooperate to develop international law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other
environmental damage (UNCED, 1992). In principle, the environmental policy of Bangladesh recognized the concept of sustainable
development of the economy with a view to controlling environmental pollution (Afroz et al., 2016; Roy, 2017). The Bangladesh
National Forest Policy 1994 acknowledges the need to reduce wastage by increasing efficiency and modernizing the technology for
extracting forest resources (BFD, 2016). Consequently, the Sixth and Seventh Five Year Plans addressed the forest’s contribution to
protecting environmental pollution and the need to keep the bio-physical characteristics of the Sundarbans intact (GED, 2011: 199;
GED, 2015: 489). The BFD identified that pollutants find their way to the SMF wetlands through the Pasur-Sibsa river system to
Mongla port, where the country’s maritime activities happen and thus significant water pollution occurs (BFD, 2018c).
According to the World Heritage Commission, both terrestrial and marine environments are supported by the Sundarbans. Having high
biodiversity and characterized by unique mangrove influences (Islam, 2003), the coastal zone of Bangladesh is among the richest
ecosystems in the world. Bangladesh was a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 at the UN Conference on
Environment and Development addressing the conservation of biodiversity to protect the environment. As a contracting party to the
CBD, which is the most concrete instrument of the international forest regime (Humphreys, 2012), Bangladesh is committed to
initiating and implementing the conservation and sustainable management of its biological diversity according to the CBD principles
for sustenance for the present and future generations. Bangladesh is also a signatory to the Bonn Convention, which deals with the
conservation of migratory species of wild animals and the protection and conservation of fragile ecosystems.
Bangladesh has shown a profound commitment to biodiversity conservation through declaration of the Wildlife (Preservation and
Security) Act 2012 and the Bangladesh Biodiversity Act 2017. The National Forest Policy 2016 also emphasizes that the degraded
forests need to be enriched by conserving the biodiversity of the remaining natural habitat (BFD, 2016). Bangladesh declared the 10
km periphery of the mangrove forest the ECA in 1999, a couple of years after UNESCO listed it as a natural World Heritage Site and, as
per the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 (amended in 2010), no one is allowed to set up any factory in the ECA (DS,
2018). The Sixth and Seventh Five Year Plans have ascribed significant importance to conservation of the biodiversity of the
Sundarbans (GED, 2011: 464; GED, 2015: 489) with a view to taking further development initiatives. The BFD has also set strategic
goals and possible outcomes in favour of restoration of the biodiversity of the SMF (BFD, 2018c).
Three wildlife sanctuaries of the Sundarbans fell under the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, and it was also designated a Ramsar
Site of International Importance in 1992 (BFD, 2018b). According to the 1972 WHC Convention, a World Heritage Site is a special
place of outstanding universal value (OUV), containing features of high value. These values are paramount and should be conserved
and managed by the state party responsible with the help of the IUCN and the international community (UNESCO, 2012: 20).
The world community’s first attempt to promote the consideration of climate change issues came through the formation of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988, with a view to underpinning international negotiations on climate change
insights scientifically (IPCC, 2018). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty,
was signed in 1992 to bring the world together to curb greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaptation (UNFCCC, 2018); this
was adopted legally as the Kyoto Protocol at the third Conference of the Parties (Humphreys, 2012; UNFCCC, 2018). Bangladesh is one
of the signatories of the UNFCCC; it joined the Kyoto Protocol in order to address the climate change issue. In 2015, Bangladesh also
joined the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement, which is the biggest recent global climate deal for reducing carbon emissions and adapting to
climate change impacts. The country also submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) for implementing the
Paris Agreement and preparing the implementation roadmap to the UNFCCC in 2015.
Importantly, considering coastal protection and extreme climatic events, the Sundarbans mangrove forest acts as a strong barrier
against natural calamities like tsunamis and cyclones, thus protecting coastal inhabitants (Silori, 2010). Moreover, the mangrove
forest has proved in recent experiences to weaken wave energy and reduce damage in Southeast Asia (Latief and Hadi, 2007). Thus, the
Sundarbans draw attention to the policy context as an important consideration for mitigating climate change scenarios in the deltaic
land of Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh had already adopted the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) for
Bangladesh in 2005 as a response to the decision taken at the Seventh Session of the COP of the UNFCCC, followed by the Bangladesh
Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan in 2009 (Rahman and Giessen, 2014). For the forest sub-sector in the Seventh Five Year Plan
(continued on next page)
11
M.F.A. Khan et al. Ocean and Coastal Management 186 (2020) 105090

Table A1 (continued )
Issues Policy Relevance and Evolution of the Issue

Local People’s Livelihoods
(FYP), the goal is to conserve and protect forest biodiversity and overall environmental stability, with due emphasis on climate change
adaptation and mitigation as a follow-up strategy (GED, 2015: 331).
According to UNESCO (2018), millions of people are dependent on the Sundarbans, which acts as a shelterbelt to protect the people
from natural calamities. The sustainable livelihood of these people depends on this mangrove forest. The National Forest Policy 1994
of Bangladesh recognizes the local people’s forest livelihood through creating employment opportunities in forest-based rural
development with a participatory approach, ecotourism activities, etc. (BFD, 1994). The BFD designs activities to increase economic
development through forest-based employment opportunities (BFD, 2018d), which is linked to its mission to alleviate poverty through
people’s active participation (BFD, 2018e). The Seventh Five Year Plan has given due importance to the creation of alternative
livelihoods for SMF-dependent people in order to lessen the anthropogenic pressure on the forest (GED, 2015: 489).

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