According
to the Glasgow Herald newspaper, Edinburgh-based Cairn
Energy has announced in its annual report that it plans
to conduct research in an area that covers the Sundarbans,
an area of 3,500-square miles that crosses into eastern
India and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Friends
of the Earth habitats campaigner Craig Bennett said that
"accidents [during research] could allow oil into
the water or water courses could be diverted, affecting
conditions downstream in the Sundarbans."
"There
are also socio-economic issues. Building facilities for
large numbers of workers anywhere could cause migration
of people into the protected part of the forest adding
pressure to the area," Bennett added.
Cairn
Energy chief executive Bill Gammell, however, said Sunday
that exploration in the area would not affect the tigers
because they "don't intend to get involved in the
Sundarbans whatsoever." Instead, Gammell said, the
company is more interested in exploring for gas around
the city of Khulna, further inland from the Sundarbans
(Rob Crilly, Glasgow Herald, April 12).
A
Bengal tiger census in Bangladesh earlier this year suggested
the Bengal tiger population may be increasing. A 1993
survey had estimated the population at 350 to 400 (U.N.
Wire, March 11). Poaching and illegal logging are mentioned
as the main threats to the tigers (Crilly, Glasgow Herald).
Copyright,
National Journal Group, 2004
