The Rampal Power Plant,Ecological Disasters and Environmental Resistance in Bangladesh

This paper examines the conflict between state and society which surrounds the potential social and environmental impacts of the coal-based Rampal Power Plant in Bangladesh. The project, if implemented, would create a risk of serious social and environmental damage in Bangladesh and would potentially displace impoverished communities. Near Rampal, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a world heritage site – the Sundarbans – is at risk. Rampal brings the inherent contradictions of the vague ‘sustainable development’ slogan into sharp contrast. The ‘environmentalism of the poor’ is offered as an alternative source for solutions to environmental problems.