Bangladesh: Threat to forests of Sondia Island, thousands of acres of mangroves cut for shrimp farms and salt fields.

The mangrove forests present on Sonadia Island of Bangladesh are being ruthlessly cut. Thousands of acres of forest were destroyed to expand shrimp farms and salt farms. Due to this, there is a big threat to the lives of animals and common people there.

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According to reports, in the last four years, about 7,000 acres of forest was destroyed to create 82 shrimp farms. Some reports even say that in the last five years, more than 10,000 acres of land has been cleared so that more than 300 farms can be opened. Let us tell you that Sondiya Island was declared ‘Ecologically Critical Area’ (ECA) in 2006 itself, which means that doing any kind of commercial work here is legally wrong.

Land allocation and government decision

In 2017, 9,466.93 acres of forest land was given to Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) for an eco-tourism park. But after this decision people started occupying the land and cutting trees. Seeing the worsening of the situation, the Land Ministry canceled this allocation of BEZA on 5 May 2025 and handed over the entire land back to the Forest Department.

New project to save environment

Now the interim government has started a project worth 3.38 crore taka (about 338,000 dollars) to bring back the greenery of this island. Under this project, work will be done to remove illegal encroachments, clean river channels and plant new mangrove trees. A team from the Environment Ministry went to the island on 26 October 2025 to talk to the local people and find ways for improvement.

Legal actions and cases

The government has taken strict steps against those who destroy forests:

• In September 2024, the police registered a case against 26 people, including Awami League leaders, who had cut 560 acres of forest. They can be jailed for up to 10 years.
• On May 17, 2026, the Environment Department registered a case against 20 people, including a BNP leader.
• The Coastal Forest Department has also filed separate cases against 30 leaders and workers of BNP, Jamaat and Awami League.
• Khandakar Mahmood Pasha, deputy director of Cox’s Bazar office, said that cases have been registered against 53 encroachers and their investigation report will be submitted to the court soon.

Impact on common people and animals

Local people and experts say that without these forests, the risk of sea waves and cyclones on the island has increased. Retired teacher Mokbul Alam warned that the mangroves used to act as a natural wall, whose removal has now made the island unsafe. This year, sea turtles did not come to lay eggs on the island, which is being considered an alarm bell for the environment.