Dhaka, June 15 (TIWN) The official advisory organisation on natural World Heritage has recommended putting the Sundarbans on a list of 'natural sites in danger' as Bangladesh has continued implementing a coal-fired power plant project near the forest.

But conservation groups, environmentalists and activists have strongly condemned the project. They argue that building a coal power plant just 14 kilometers (~8.7 miles) away from the Sundarbans could damage its fragile ecosystem, threatening not just its wildlife but also the livelihoods of the thousands of people who depend on the massive mangrove forest.

Now, a UNESCO report has confirmed these concerns. A mission to the power plant site found that the project will severely damage the Sundarbans and should be “cancelled and relocated to a more suitable location.”

“I believe that the Sundarbans does not just belong to Bangladesh, it belongs to the world. So UNESCO is correct and has rightly pointed out the issues about the proposed Rampal power plant and the Sundarbans.” Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, a professor of environmental science at Bangladesh’s Khulna University, told Mongabay. “If the Rampal power company doesn’t follow the UNESCO report’s recommendations, then Sundarbans will get gradually destroyed.”