<div>Deustche Bank’s decision to not fund the Adani’s contested port expansion project near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia may just be shrewd business sense rather than sudden environmental consciousness.<br /><br />At the annual general body meeting of Germany’s largest international bank Deustche last week, the co-chief executive announced that the bank will not fund Adani Group’s contested project plans for the expansion of the Abbot Point port in Australia. Largely the move is being viewed as a victory for the green activists, who have been protesting the project ever since the 99 year long lease was signed between the Indian Conglomerate and Australian government in 2011. The port located barely 25 kilometres in the from the Great Barrier Reef is aimed at aiding the evacuation of the coal mines estimated to be around 30 billion Australian dollars worth, in the Galilee basin of Queensland acquired by the Adani group.<br /><br />Though Deustche official announcement says that the main reason for withdrawing from the deal is the lack of consensus between UNESCO and Australian government on the danger to the Great Barrier Reef, experts say the move indicates the unwillingness of Deustche Bank to fund a project that is too risky. As seen in India and across the globe conflict with local resources, people or the environment are the key cause of reversal of approvals, withdrawal of clearances and stalled projects. Be it Vedanta’s mining project in Niyamgiri hills of Orissa, POSCO’s steel plant, ExxonMobil’s Pegasus Pipeline from Canada to USA or the Gyama Pollymetallic mine in Tibet operated by China. Sooner or later the conflict gains prominence – resulting in huge set back to investments and on-going production in such contested projects.<br /><br />The Australian project has been mired in controversy right from the start and some experts have claimed that the location and lack of infrastructure in the region have prompted international players to abandon their stakes. Investors like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton etc have given up their stakes in the port terminal, analysts believe because the multi-billion dollar investment is unfeasible since the mining boom has ended and worldwide market coal prices are on a slump. Plus the Galilee Basin is extremely remote with little infrastructure in and out.<br /><br />Adani and GVK are among the last remaining investors for the port terminal and while the former refused to comment, GVK has underplayed the withdrawal claiming it will have no impact on the ongoing projects. The project has already been stalled for two years due to protests of the environmental lobby, who have also been joined by tour operators and the general economic down turn. The Indian political scenario and more expensive coal may have also had a role to play in the project not having taken off so far. <br /><br />But coming back to the current port project, which has been cautioned against even by the world heritage agency – UNESCO as the reef is on the list of world heritage sites. The barrier reef is termed as the world’s “largest natural feature” and has been created over 600,000 years by billions of coral polyps, boasts of many under sea wonders like the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, 400 types of corals, 1,500 fish species and 4000 types of mollusc to name a few. The UN agency is scheduled to decide whether the port expansion will adversely impact the reef or not, later this month – so far it has only cautioned against construction expressing concern.<br /><br />It would appear the German bank has chosen to be cautious and not sorry – the best step given the increasing natural resources conflict worldwide. Whether due to environmental concerns or business interest the decision highlights the importance of the need for development and environment to go hand in hand. <br /><br /> <br /> </div>
