OneWorld.net (U.S.)

Bangladesh government has suspended gas exploration in an island due to fears of environmental damage, sources said.

“The government ordered a halt to gas exploration by Irish-owned firm Tullow Bangladesh Ltd. in ecologically fragile St. Martin’s Island because of fears of environmental damage,” a government official said yesterday. “We’ve halted the seismic survey of Tullow in St. Martin’s Island as it is an ecologically critical area,” an official in Bangladesh’s Environment Ministry told AFP.

“They were mistakenly given permission to carry out the survey in the area by a regional environment office. But we’ve canceled it as it is prohibited to carry out such survey there,” he said. Situated over 500 km south of Dhaka, St. Martin’s is Bangladesh’s lone coral island and is home to rare species of turtles. Tullow Bangladesh is part of Tullow Oil International Ltd. based in Ireland. Bangladesh environmental experts had expressed fears drilling could harm the island’s ecology and their calls prompted the government to declare it an environmentally critical area.

Source:Arab News