Grabbers feast on Sonadia forest

• Encroachers cleared over 4,000 acres of forest 
• Encroachment continues defying SC order 
• Forest razed for shrimp and crab farming

Over 1,000 acres of protected mangrove forest on Sonadia Island in Moheshkhali upazila of Cox's Bazar have been razed since August 5 last year.

The encroachment, aimed at developing enclosures for shrimp and crab farming, came to light recently when grabbers set fire to piles of felled mangrove trees at night in an attempt to destroy evidence of their illegal activities.

The incident, which defied a Supreme Court ruling issued last year, sparked public outrage and led to criticism of the authorities for their inaction.

The upazila administration said it has launched drives against the encroachers.

On May 18, the Department of Environment (DoE) filed a case against 20 individuals, including a local BNP leader and several leaders and activists of the now-banned Awami League, for encroaching on at least 112 acres of forest land.

Over the years, encroachers have cleared over 3,000 acres of Sonadia's mangrove forest and established 37 shrimp enclosures. Last July, the DoE filed a case against 26 individuals, mostly linked to the AL, for grabbing 128 acres of forest land. That move temporarily halted the encroachment.

However, the illegal activities soon resumed.

On November 28 last year, the SC upheld a High Court order that directed the government to immediately stop the destruction of mangrove forests on Sonadia and neighbouring areas.

Following a petition, the High court on October 23 ordered concerned government officials to demolish all illegal shrimp projects from Sonadia Island and neighbouring areas, take appropriate legal action against those involved in the destruction of the mangroves, and submit a compliance report before this court within 90 days.

SM Rubel, journalist and environment activist based in Moheshkhali, said the latest case filed by DoE significantly underestimated the land encroached by some influential people.

He claimed that more than 1,000 acres of mangrove forest had been razed since August 5.

"If you stand at the edge of the razed area, you cannot see the end of it," said Rubel, one of the 12 petitioners in the HC case.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Hedayet Ullah said the latest encroachments occurred after the fall of the AL-led regime on August 5 last year, during a period of administrative transition.

"Opportunists took advantage of the situation and grabbed forest land due to a lack of oversight," he said.

Since taking office on December 5, 2024, the UNO said he has monitored the situation, deployed forces to prevent further encroachment, and conducted five drives against encroachers on Sonadia.

He said a detailed report on about 50 illegal occupiers has been prepared and will be submitted to the High Court soon.

He also said an estimated Tk 5 crore is needed to permanently remove the 45-kilometre-long embankments built for the shrimp enclosures on the island.

The UNO added that the trees might have been burnt in preparation for the upcoming shrimp cultivation season, but did not disclose the total area of forest destroyed since last August.

Requesting anonymity, another official of the upazila administration said the total destroyed forest area may well exceed the figures mentioned in DoE cases.

"If there are about 30-35 shrimp enclosures in the island and each enclosure has 70-100 acres of land, the encroached land may exceed 3,000 acres. In some estimates the total grabbed land may reach 4,000 acres," he said.

In the latest case filed on May 18, Md Abdus Salam, senior chemist at the DoE's Cox's Bazar office, said the latest encroachment occurred in the Paschimpara and Purbapara areas of the island.

"We found evidence that the grabbers set fire to felled mangrove trees to erase signs of destruction," Salam said.

The 20 named accused include Alamgir Chowdhury, general secretary of Kutubjom Union BNP; Sheikh Kamal, chairman of Kutubjom Union Parishad; his brother Sheikh Alamgir; Abul Kalam, president of Ward 2 AL; Abdul Monaf, his nephew; Swechchhasebak League leader Imtiaz Uddin; AL member Azizul Haque; Sonadia UP member Ekram Mia; Mohammad Shamsher Ullah, cousin of former MP Asheq Ullah Rafiq; and 12 others. An additional 25–30 unidentified individuals were also named in the case.

According to the case statement, the accused committed offences under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act by destroying mangroves in an ecologically critical area (ECA), building embankments, establishing shrimp and salt farms, and harming flora, fauna, and natural land and water features.

Maheshkhali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Kaisar Hamid said the DoE will investigate the case under the Environment Court Act 2010.

One of the accused, Sheikh Kamal Uddin, Kutobjom UP chairman and also an AL leader, denied his involvement.

"I was on the run after August 5, so how would I destroy the mangrove forest?" he said.

He claimed that his name had been included in the case by his political rivals to tarnish his image ahead of the upcoming union parishad election.He claimed to have joined anti-encroachment drives and said the encroachers are influential people of the Moheshkhali area, without identifying anyone.

Alamgir Chowdhury, secretary of Kutubjom union unit BNP, said the allegations against him were part of a conspiracy by his political rivals.

Contacted, Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said the previous government in 2017 allocated 9,467 acres of land on the island to the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) for an eco-tourism park.

The land grabbers had already started burning down the forest and setting up shrimp enclosures, she said, acknowledging that the destruction continued even after August 5 last year.

"After taking charge of the office, my first initiative regarding Sonadia was to bring the land back under the Forest Department's control from BEZA," she said.

She said only one step remains to complete this process as Cox's Bazar district administration has cancelled the allocation to Beza.

"Once the forest is officially recorded under the Forest Department, it can exercise legal authority in the area," said the adviser.

She said the last incident of forest burning occurred on April 27 this year.

"Joint forces have carried out several raids and demolished a number of shrimp enclosures there," she added.

"A full-scale operation is now required. The Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner has been instructed to lead the effort," she said, adding that local administration, navy, and other forces will take part in the major drive.

Asked about the fund needed for demolishing the embankments that encroachers built for their "ghers" [shrimp enclosures], she said, "The government is working to secure the necessary funds. The embankments built by the occupiers must be dismantled."

On May 5 this year, the government officially cancelled the land allocation to BEZA to help restore the island's environment and biodiversity.