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.