[🇧🇩] Save the Rivers/Forests/Hills-----Save the Environment

[Saif]

Source : https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/editorial/news/stop-disturbing-the-sundarbans-3572721

Stop disturbing the Sundarbans!​

Restrain traffic of ships through the forest

It is deeply concerning that on top of projects, megaprojects, illegal occupations and deforestation ravaging the Sundarbans, traffic of ships through the forest has increased dramatically in recent years. A recent report sheds light on how ships, discharging harmful fumes and sound pollution, and often carrying toxic materials through the forest, have nearly doubled in a decade—from 357 trips monthly in 2012 to 837 trips in 2022, and 701 trips monthly so far this year.

Under the first Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between Bangladesh and India, signed in 1972, lighter cargo vessels can operate between the two countries using the waterways mostly through the Sundarbans. A major route for these ships goes through at least 100 km of the river system inside the mangrove forest, which takes around eight hours for the vessels to travel. While any motor vehicle, including boats and ships, is strictly prohibited from operating through the forest after sunset till sunrise, ships continue to operate 24/7 unrestrained. The customs station in Angtihara, the entry point to the forest on this route, only logs the trips of the ships and does not monitor if any laws have been broken. While the customs and immigration in India close off at night, our customs office continues to operate throughout the night.
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By allowing these activities, we are now destroying the Sundarbans from the inside. The toxic fumes and loud sounds greatly impact wildlife habitats and breeding environments. The propellers disrupt the marine ecosystem, and the waves cause severe erosions. For instance, the width of rivers on this route has increased from 20-30 metres to 50-60 metres. Most of the ships on this route contain fly ash, coal, and stones from India for our riverside cement factories. In the last seven years, at least 15 such ships have capsized inside the forest, spilling these harmful materials directly into the river.

Bangladesh has now become a land of lost forestlands and dead ecosystems. We have irredeemably destroyed a number of forests and major sources of biodiversity throughout this delta, and even in the hill tracts. The Sundarbans is the last hope for any unique and great population of wildlife to survive. The government must ensure that any activity harming this forest is halted immediately, and look for an alternative route for maritime trade with India as well as consider moving major power plants and factories from the area.​

 

[Saif]

Save Sundarbans at any cost

National and international conspiracies are going on to destroy the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, speakers alleged at a programme yesterday.

www.thedailystar.net

Save Sundarbans at any cost​

Speakers tell event

To raise awareness among students regarding the importance of the world’s largest mangrove forest, artists perform at an event yesterday. Tour Operator Association of Sundarbans organised the programme at Khulna Lions School and College, marking Sundarbans Day. Photo: Habibur Rahman

National and international conspiracies are going on to destroy the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, speakers alleged at a programme yesterday.

Stressing that the Sundarbans is a vital part of Bangladesh's national identity rather than being just a forest, the speakers said the forest is crucial for the country's ecological balance, and economic well-being both at present and in future.

A group of environmentalists and rights activists joined a human chain demanding all illegal activities destroying the Sundarbans be stopped. It was organised by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon in Dhaka's Shahbagh area.

"Since the current government took office, development projects have been focused on the Sundarbans, which, according to our observation, has caused more harm than benefit. The trees, biodiversity, and waterways of the Sundarbans are being destroyed one by one," said Bapa president Prof Nur Mohammad Talukder, who chaired the event.

"The Sundarbans protected the country from all natural calamities that have occurred till date. If it survives, Bangladesh will survive," he also said.

"At the national and international levels, there are numerous plans and conspiracies to destroy the Sundarbans. Using its existing rules and regulations, the government must take decisive action to safeguard the forest at all cost," he added.

"Bangladesh will be a developed country in 2041. What will be the condition of the Sundarbans then? We don't want a developed Bangladesh by destroying the Sundarbans," said Shahidul Islam, Bapa co-chairman and professor of geography and environment department at Dhaka University.

Mihir Biswas, joint secretary of Bapa, alleged that the current government has consistently been approving projects that are harming the Sundarbans in the name of development.

Bapa general secretary Alamgir Kabir called upon the government to refrain from undertaking such projects.

Bapa joint secretary Hassan Yousuf Khan, executive members Halim Dad Khan and Parvin Akter, spoke among others.​

 

[Saif]

No highways or infrastructure in forest: Saber

The Environment and Forest Minister on Thursday said that forests must be viewed as a resource and that they cannot be destroyed by the construction of highways or any other infrastructure through them. Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said this at an event marking International Forest Day. He al

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

No highways or infrastructure in forest: Saber​

FE ONLINE REPORT

Published :​

Mar 21, 2024 18:51

Updated :​

Mar 21, 2024 18:57

The Environment and Forest Minister on Thursday said that forests must be viewed as a resource and that they cannot be destroyed by the construction of highways or any other infrastructure through them.
Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said this at an event marking International Forest Day.

He also said that laws are being formulated for forest conservation. Forest research will also be increased.

The environment minister said these things as the chief guest at a discussion programme organised by the Forest Department on International Forest Day with the theme "Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World".

The introduction of smart patrolling systems in the Sundarbans has resulted in effective forest monitoring and crime prevention, the minister said.

Mobile apps are being developed to enable tourists in the Sundarbans and other protected regions to purchase tickets and receive other services online, he said, adding that the existing laws, rules and regulations are being revised to achieve various targets.

Chief Forest Conservator Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury presided over the program, whereas Environment Secretary Farhana Ahmed spoke, among others.

Cheques were distributed to the beneficiaries of social forestry and prizes were given to the winners of the 'Tree Identification' competition held on the occasion of International Forest Day.​

 

[Saif]

Pollution claims 2.72 lakh lives in one year

Alarming levels of air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation, and exposure to lead caused over 2.72 lakh premature deaths in Bangladesh in 2019.

www.thedailystar.net

Pollution claims 2.72 lakh lives in one year​

Finds 2019 WB environment analysis on Bangladesh

The Louhajang river in Tangail is choking on toxic waste from factories in BSCIC Industrial Area. The heavily contaminated water is destroying the aquatic biodiversity and making life difficult for the locals. The photo was taken from Khudirampur in Sadar upazila recently. PHOTO: MIRZA SHAKIL

Alarming levels of air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation, and exposure to lead caused over 2.72 lakh premature deaths in Bangladesh in 2019.

Environmental degradation also cost the country Tk 92,081 crore, which was 17.6 percent of its GDP that year, according to the Bangladesh Country Environment Analysis of World Bank.

Pollution disproportionately harms the poor, children under five, the elderly, and women, says the report released yesterday.

Addressing an event where the report was launched, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, minister of environment, said combating environmental degradation was a main agenda of the government.

"We admit that there are many environmental problems in our country. The present government has taken a 100-day programme to address the most crucial environmental issues," he said.

Some environmental problems are caused here while others are caused by the developed nations, he said while speaking as the chief guest.

"Development partners should offer grants, not loans, to resolve the environmental degradation caused by climate change."

The World Bank report says household and outdoor air pollution have the most detrimental effect on health, leading to nearly 55 percent of premature deaths, which alone cost around Tk 43,529 core or 8.32 percent of the GDP in 2019.

The presence of PM2.5 was more than twelve times higher than WHO's annual air quality standard, mentions the report.

Particulate matter, especially PM2.5, is the fine particles that float in the air. It is linked to asthma, heart and lung diseases, cancer, respiratory illnesses, and premature deaths.

Lead poisoning is causing irreversible damage to children's brain development, resulting in an estimated annual loss of nearly 20 million IQ points.

Major rivers in Bangladesh experienced a severe decline in water quality due to industrial discharge and unmanaged waste, including plastic and untreated sewage, the report states.
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RIVER POLLUTION: About 60,000 cubic metres of toxic waste from more than 7,000 factories dumped into Dhaka rivers per day​

The rivers surrounding Dhaka receive about 60,000 cubic metres of toxic industrial waste every day from more than 7,000 industries mainly located mostly in Tongi, Hazaribagh, Tejgaon, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Ghorashal, and the Dhaka Export Processing Zone.

Untreated industrial waste and chemicals used for agriculture are significantly polluting the soil which ultimately affects the rivers through groundwater flows.

Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank country director for Bhutan and Bangladesh, said, "We have seen around the world that when economic growth comes at the cost of the environment, it cannot sustain. But it is possible to grow cleaner and greener without growing slower.

"To sustain its strong growth path and improve the liveability of cities and the countryside, Bangladesh simply cannot afford to ignore the environment."

Timely and urgent interventions for air pollution control; improved water, sanitation, and hygiene; and control of lead exposure could prevent over 133,000 premature deaths per year, he said.
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"We have seen around the world that when economic growth comes at the cost of the environment, it cannot sustain."
— Abdoulaye Seck WB Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan​

Other speakers said investments in cleaner power generation, cleaner cooking fuel, and stricter control of industrial emissions could help reduce air pollution.

Enforcing environmental regulations coupled with investments and other incentives for clean cooking, scaling up green financing, setting up efficient carbon markets, and raising awareness to reduce pollution should be emphasized, they added.

Ana Luisa Gomes Lima, World Bank senior environmental specialist and co-author of the report, said, "With timely and right set of policies and actions, Bangladesh can reverse its environment degradation."​

 

[Saif]

Eight ways to overcome waste pollution crisis

Breaking News, International News & Multimedia

thedailynewnation.com

Eight ways to overcome waste pollution crisis​

29 Mar 2024, 2:38 pm

UNB:
Humanity generates between 2.1 billion and 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste a year, according to UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

When improperly managed, much of that refuse—from food and plastics to electronics and textiles—emits greenhouse gases or poisonous chemicals.

This damages ecosystems, inflicts disease and threatens economic prosperity, disproportionately harming women and youth.

On 30 March, the world will mark the International Day of Zero Waste.

The observance, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), highlights the importance of proper waste management.

It also focuses on ways to rein in the conspicuous consumption that is feeding the waste crisis.

“Overconsumption is killing us. Humanity needs an intervention,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “On this Zero Waste Day, let’s pledge to end the destructive cycle of waste, once and for all.”
Here are eight ways to embrace a zero waste approach:
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1. Combat food waste​

Some 19 per cent of food available to consumers is wasted annually despite 783 million people going hungry. Around 8 to 10 per cent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the production of food that is ultimately squandered.

There are lots of ways to turn that tide. Municipalities can promote urban agriculture and use food waste in animal husbandry, farming, green-space maintenance and more. They can also fund food waste composting schemes, segregate food waste at source and ban food from dumpsites. Meanwhile, consumers can buy only what they need, embrace less appealing but perfectly edible fruits and vegetables, store food more wisely, use up leftovers, compost food scraps instead of throwing them away, and donate food before it goes bad, something made easier by a bevy of apps.
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1. Take on textile waste​

Less than 1 per cent of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new items, resulting in over US$100 billion in annual material value loss. The textiles industry also uses the equivalent of 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools of water every year.

To counter that, the fashion industry needs to become more circular. Brands and retailers can offer more circular business models and products that last longer and can be remade, governments can provide infrastructure for collecting and sorting used textiles, communicators—including influencers and brand managers—can shift fashion’s marketing narrative, and consumers can assess if their clothing purchases are necessary.

“Zero waste makes sense on every level,” says Michal Mlynár, UN-Habitat Acting Executive Director. “By retaining materials within the economy and enhancing waste management practices, we bring benefits to our economies, our societies, our planet and ourselves.”
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1. Avoid electronic waste​

Electronics, from computers to phones, are clogging dumpsites around the world as manufacturers continually encourage consumers to purchase brand-new devices.

Through robust policymaking, governments can encourage consumers to keep their products for longer while pushing manufacturers to offer repair services, a change that would bring a host of economic benefits. They can also implement extended producer responsibility, a policy that can ensure producers of material goods are responsible for the management and treatment of waste. This can keep raw materials and goods in the economic cycle and inspire consumer waste prevention, eco-design, and optimization of waste collection.

“As the world drowns in waste, humanity must act,” says Sheila Aggarwal-Khan, Director of UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division. “We have the solutions to solve the waste pollution crisis. We just need commitment, collaboration and investment from governments, businesses and individuals to implement them.”
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1. Reduce resource use in products​

Raw material use has more than tripled over the last 50 years, driving the destruction of natural spaces and fueling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.

Producers can follow nationally determined eco-design standards to reduce energy and resource use while minimizing hazardous chemicals in production. These standards also ensure products are durable, repairable and recyclable while use.

This should be part of a larger effort to design products through what is known as the lifecycle approach. This entails reducing resource use and emissions to the environment throughout all stages of a product’s life, from production to recycling.
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1. Crack down on plastic pollution​

Plastics are commonly used in electronics, textiles and single-use products. Some 85 per cent of single-use plastic bottles, containers and packaging end up in landfills or are mismanaged. Because plastic does not biodegrade, it contributes to major health impacts as microplastics infiltrate food and water sources.
In addition to phasing out single-use plastics and improving waste management, establishing a global monitoring and reporting system can help end plastic pollution.
​

1. Take on hazardous waste​

Chemicals are prevalent in daily life – electronics can contain mercury, cosmetics may have lead and cleaning supplies often have persistent organic pollutants. Chemical and hazardous waste require specialized treatment and disposal, yet some governments fail to meet standards set in the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) conventions. Hazardous chemicals and waste cross borders, unauthorized or even illegally.

Governments can commit to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), like the BRS conventions, which institutionalize intergovernmental and cross-sectoral cooperation through binding targets and action plans.

Citizens can educate themselves about substances and waste types that are restricted or banned under the MEAs and demand that governments and industries remove them from the global market.
​

1. Rethink how cities are designed and managed​

By 2050, 68 per cent of the world is expected to live in cities. Investing in energy-efficient buildings leads to long-term reductions in construction and demolition, which generate significant amounts of waste and account for 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
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1. Bolster waste management through investment and training​

Globally, around 25 per cent of waste is left uncollected, while 39 per cent is not managed in controlled facilities. Global waste management incurs a total net cost of US$361 billion annually. By ending uncontrolled disposal, reducing waste generation, and increasing recycling, governments can generate an annual net gain of US$108.1 billion by 2050.​

 

[Saif]

Why do policymakers care so little about pollution?

Each day of inaction translates to more lives lost

www.thedailystar.net

Why do policymakers care so little about pollution?
Each day of inaction translates to more lives lost

Visual: Star

That pollution is killing us is no news. What is shocking, however, is the harrowing extent of the environmental crisis gripping our country. According to the recently published Bangladesh Country Environment Analysis of World Bank, alarming levels of air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation, and exposure to lead caused over 2.72 lakh premature deaths in Bangladesh in 2019. The economic burden of environmental degradation amounted to Tk 92,081 crore, a staggering 17.6 percent of the GDP of that year. These figures are not mere statistics; they represent the profound suffering inflicted upon our people, particularly the most vulnerable among us—the poor, children under five, the elderly, and women.

The World Bank highlighted the devastating health impacts of air pollution, especially from household and outdoor sources. Levels of PM2.5, fine particles known to cause respiratory illnesses and premature deaths, far exceed WHO standards, posing a grave threat to public health. Moreover, lead poisoning, primarily affecting children, is robbing our future generations of their potential, with an estimated loss of 20 million IQ points annually. Our rivers, once lifelines of our nation, are now choked with industrial waste and untreated sewage, jeopardising both human health and ecosystem stability.

What is even more alarming than these statistics is the apathy of our policymakers to reverse the current trend, leaving us wondering if they truly grasp the magnitude of the situation. Time and time again, we have seen government agencies either turn a blind eye towards pollution or actively participate in the process of environmental degradation, prioritising ruthless development and their own personal benefit over the future of the nation. Despite repeated appeals, in this column and elsewhere, our rivers continue to be killed, our air remains thick with pollutants and our land saturated with toxins. Industrial regulations exist in theory alone, and promises of clean energy remain unmet, with the government still insisting on investing in dirty energy that is not only unsustainable but also expensive.

We are glad to hear from Saber Hossain Chowdhury, minister of environment, that combating environmental degradation is a main agenda of the government and that he has undertaken a 100-day programme to address the most crucial environmental issues. Sadly, we have heard such promises before, only to be proven ineffective. We fervently hope that the government's actions match the rhetoric this time around. Ad hoc solutions cannot save the country—we need an all-out effort and the declaration of a public health emergency—to address the loss of valuable years of our lives to preventable pollution. Our policymakers need to change their priorities and align them with those of the people. Each day of inaction translates to more lives lost, more ecosystems irreversibly damaged, and more economic potential squandered.​

 

[Saif]

Forest officer killed during drive

A forest official was crushed under the wheels of a mini truck during a drive against hill cutting at Harinmara in Cox’s Bazar early Sunday....

www.newagebd.net

HILL CUTTING
Forest officer killed during drive
Our Correspondent . Cox's Bazar | Published: 16:29, Mar 31,2024 | Updated: 00:08, Apr 01,2024

Md Sajjaduzzaman.

A forest official was crushed under the wheels of a mini truck during a drive against hill cutting at Harinmara in Cox's Bazar early Sunday.

The deceased Sazzaduzzaman, 30, a native of Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj, was in-charge of Dochari forest beat of Ukhiya range.

According to the forest department, on information that a group of soil lifters was cutting hills in Harinmara area to steal soil, the forest officer went to the spot on a motorcycle.

However, the truck, also known as dumper, ran over him and fled the scene, leaving him dead on the spot.

Ukhiya Range officer Gazi Shafiul Alam said that police recovered the body and sent to Cox's Bazar Sadar hospital for post-mortem examinations.

The divisional forest officer of the Cox's Bazar South Forest Department, Md Sarwar Alam, who visited the spot, said that Sajjad gave his life to protect the forest.

Contacted, Md Shamim Hossain, officer-in-charge of Ukhiya police station, told New Age that no case was filed till 9:45pm. But a case was under process over the incident, he added.

Meanwhile, a group of citizens sent a letter to the chief conservator of forests on Sunday, demanding exemplary punishment for the killer through legal process immediately.

They also demanded proper compensation for the families of Sazzaduzzaman and Md Yusuf, another forest officer who was killed in 2020.

They have also requested taking necessary measures to combat the recurrence of such incidents in the protection of the country's forests, including ensuring protection for the workers who are at risk of land robbers and taking initiatives to create safe workplaces.

Signatories to the statement included Sultana Kamal, founding president of the Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation, Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori, Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, and Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh's struggle with GHG emissions in textile and RMG

Growth is crucial, but it should never come at the expense of the environment and human life.

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Bangladesh's struggle with GHG emissions in textile and RMG

VISUAL: STAR

Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) sector contributes 15.4 percent of the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while the textile sector emits 12.4 percent, leading in carbon emissions and posing a challenge to achieving GHG reduction targets set in the Paris Agreement. On the other hand, despite contributing significantly to the GDP, these industries suffer from operational inefficiency, exacerbated by the use of outdated machinery and ineffective energy management.

The surge in industrial energy intensity raises concerns, casting a shadow over Bangladesh's ability to manage escalating energy demands while meeting its GHG emission reduction commitments. Textile and RMG manufacturers grapple with insufficient financial incentives, a shortage of technical expertise, and an absence of an enabling environment, which hinder energy-efficient practices.

Failure to overcome these barriers jeopardises Bangladesh's nationally determined contributions (NDC). The updated NDC commits to a 6.73 percent GHG reduction in the unconditional scenario and an additional 15.12 percent reduction in the conditional scenario with international support by 2030.

The textile and RMG industries in Bangladesh exhibit high energy intensity. Inefficient production processes and limited natural resource supply significantly contribute to elevated energy consumption, resulting in heightened CO2 emissions. The adoption of energy-efficient technologies poses a substantial financial hurdle for many enterprises. Additionally, Bangladesh heavily depends on fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas for its energy mix. This reliance on non-renewables accentuates the industries' carbon footprint.

Furthermore, these industries generate significant volumes of waste, encompassing chemicals and by-products from dyeing and finishing processes. Inadequate waste management practices amplify environmental pollution, placing additional strain on the ecosystem. Finally, the industry's notable contribution to water pollution arises from the discharge of untreated waste into water bodies, posing risks to both the environment and human health.

In response, Bangladesh Bank introduced the Program to Support Safety Retrofits and Environmental Upgrades in the Bangladeshi Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Sector Project (SREUP) in 2018. With 64.29 million euros in consortium support, this project has extended credit fund support to 23 factories and granted investment fund support to seven factories.

One such success story is Snowtex Outerwear Ltd, whose factory achieved significant reduction in light energy consumption, decrease in carbon footprint, and savings in machine energy usage. This case emphasises the broader potential for positive transformation within the industry through strategic interventions and collaboration.

Beyond Bangladesh, success stories from Welspun India and Mavi in Turkey showcase proactive sustainability integration in the textile industry. Welspun India prioritises sustainability through advanced water management, solar power integration, and responsible raw material sourcing. The company's commitment extends to sustainable farming practices, ensuring environmental and social well-being in its supply chain, showcasing how major players can actively contribute to environmental conservation, reduce carbon footprints, and champion ethical business practices.

Mavi, a well-known Turkish denim and apparel brand, has been actively involved in sustainable practices within the RMG industry, showing a commitment to using organic cotton and recycled materials into its manufacturing processes, reducing the environmental impact of raw material production.

As Bangladesh endeavours to harmonise economic growth with environmental responsibility, key steps include incentivising energy-efficient initiatives, nurturing technical expertise, and formulating policies that champion sustainable practices. This would involve encouraging textile and RMG manufacturers to embrace energy-efficient practices through a comprehensive incentive system comprising tax breaks, subsidies, or financial benefits, igniting motivation for investments in energy-saving technologies.

To address the shortage of technical expertise, the establishment of training programmes and partnerships within the textile and RMG sectors can be a strategic move. Collaborating with educational institutions and industry experts to craft specialised courses and workshops will also be pivotal. The development and implementation of a robust policy framework are imperative, setting clear environmental standards, offering guidelines for energy-efficient processes, and enforcing compliance to ensure businesses adhere to sustainable practices.

Facilitating collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors should urge dialogue and partnerships that unite government agencies, businesses, and non-governmental organisations. This can help both sectors address challenges, share best practices, and collectively work towards shared sustainability goals.

Lastly, an independent body should be set up and tasked with regularly assessing and reporting on the environmental impact of the textile and RMG industries. By weaving sustainability into their fabric, these industries can stitch together a narrative of resilience, meeting global standards not merely as an obligation but as a promise to the communities they call home. In each conscientious choice, they can thread a tapestry of hope, leaving an indelible mark that resonates not only with the industries but with the very soul of our shared future.

Growth is crucial, but it should never come at the expense of the environment and human life.
​

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Erica Shuvra Halder is a private sector expert, currently working with SREUP project in Bangladesh.
Mohammed Norul Alam Raju is a development practitioner and currently studying development policy and management in Belgium.​

 

[Saif]

Drive against resorts occupying Gazipur forest land soon: Saber

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury yesterday said that operations will be conducted soon against the resort and other establishments illegally established by occupying forest land in Gazipur

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Drive against resorts occupying Gazipur forest land soon: Saber

PHOTO: PID

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury yesterday said that operations will be conducted soon against the resort and other establishments illegally established by occupying forest land in Gazipur.

A map of illegal forest land encroachment will be prepared. Irrespective of government institutions, private individuals, and organisations encroaching on forest land, action will be immediate. There will be no compromise on this, he said.

The minister said 26,000 acres of forest land have been restored. Urgent measures will be taken in the districts around Dhaka.

Saber Hossain said these things at the meeting held in the conference room of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change today regarding the protection of forest land and the control of environmental pollution in Gazipur.

Saber said due to excessive pollution, even vegetables cannot grow in some areas of Gazipur, and fish cannot survive. The challenges here are clear, not all problems will be solved at once. If accountability is ensured, then no one can encroach on forest land or harm the environment in the future.

Dumping stations will be designated for the development of waste management. Gazipur will be developed as a model city through the overall development of the environment.
The minister said to the officials that working with transparency and coordination will improve the environment.​

 

[Saif]

Why the Himalayan Third Pole is crucial in climate governance

The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is of seminal importance to climatic changes affecting our planet.

www.thedailystar.net

Why the Himalayan Third Pole is crucial in climate governance

Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are melting at unprecedented rates and could lose up to 75 percent of their volume by 2100. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

The future of the Himalayan region is linked inextricably with three Cs: Climate, Connectivity, and Community. Of these, perhaps the climate cluster is primus inter pares among them; the other two feed into it as they walk hand in hand, weaving into our lives and existence, and affecting the survivability not only of our planet but also of our own species.

The UN secretary general, during a press conference at the UN in July 2023, famously said, "Humanity is in the hot seat… Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning… The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived… The air is unbreathable. The heat is unbearable… And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable.

Leaders must lead… No more hesitancy. No more excuses. No more waiting for others to move first. There is simply no more time for that."

At COP28 in Dubai, he asserted, "We are miles from the goals of the Paris Agreement—and minutes to midnight for the 1.5-degree limit… We cannot save a burning planet with a firehose of fossil fuels… So, allow me to have a message for fossil fuel company leaders: your old road is rapidly ageing. Do not double down on an obsolete business model."

The UN secretary general is perhaps the conscience of humanity, but humanity appears to be paying scant attention to him.
The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is of seminal importance to climatic changes affecting our planet. Stretching as it does 3,500 kilometres across, from China in the east to Afghanistan in the west, it is referred to by climatologists as the world's "Third Pole," because of the vast ice contained there. Together with the oceans, it comprises over 71 percent of Planet Earth. The vast forested areas scattered across our seven continents, the hills and valleys through which rivers flow and which connect the mountains to the oceans, the ice caps of the Arctic, Antarctic, and the Hindu Kush Himalaya comprise one holistic ecosystem that has sustained Planet Earth for millennia, through maintaining an equilibrium between themselves, governing the variations in the climate through a natural process of balancing air flows and precipitation cycles.

The Himalayan glaciers help sustain several major rivers in Asia. These rivers provide nearly two billion people with drinking water and irrigation systems used for farming. Additionally, they hold the potential for harvesting hydropower for millions of people living in South and Southeast Asia. They play a part in regulating the regional climate, as they influence monsoon patterns and help to ensure an ecological balance in the surrounding areas.

ALL scientific data in recent decades point to an alarming decrease in ALL these three ice poles. According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are melting at unprecedented rates and could lose up to 75 percent of their volume by the end of the century. Some other estimates project a higher volume of loss. This would result in dangerous flooding and water shortages for nearly two billion people who live downstream of the rivers that originate in the Himalayas, with flash floods and avalanches becoming commonplace events. This would also seriously adversely affect availability of fresh water for at least 240 million people who live in the Himalayan region, as well as 1.65 billion who live downstream of the 12 rivers originating from the Himalayas.

Current adaptation measures have proven to be grossly inadequate. Data reveal that the Mt Everest glaciers have lost 2,000 years of ice in just 30 years, while the Himalayan glaciers have disappeared 65 percent faster since 2010 than in the previous decade. These losses of glaciers, snow, and permafrost are unprecedented and perhaps largely irreversible. Glaciers across the entire Himalayan region will lose 30-50 percent of the volume by 2100 at 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius warming above pre-industrial levels. However, glaciers in eastern Himalayas, Nepal and Bhutan will likely lose up to 75 percent at 3 degrees Celsius warming and 80 percent at 4 degrees Celsius warming.

Flows in the region's 12 river basins, including the Ganges, Indus and Mekong, are likely to peak around the mid-century with adverse consequences for the more than 1.6 billion people who depend on these waters. The rise of waters in these rivers from increased glacier melt will not be manifested as a steady flow, but as possibly violent flash floods from bursting of glacier lake dams that store huge quantities of fresh water. In 2022, record high temperatures in March and April in the high peaks of Gilgit-Baltistan resulted in abnormally rapid melting of the Shisper Glacier, creating a lake that swelled and burst through a glacial dam. A torrent of water and debris flooded the valley below, damaging fields and houses, wrecking two power plants, and washing away parts of the main highway and a bridge connecting Pakistan and China. At least 200 glacier lakes are identified as being in a dangerous state and in danger of bursting. However, after the initial deluge following such outbursts, water supplies of rivers will dwindle exponentially thereafter.

The consequences of losing this cryosphere are unimaginably foreboding. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the annual mean global near-surface temperature for each year between 2023 and 2027 is predicted to be between 1.1 degrees Celsius and 1.8 degrees Celsius higher than the 1850-1900 average, skewing snowfall and rainfall patterns increasingly out of sync with seasonality, adversely affecting all life species. There are reports of yaks having died due to a lack of food in India, Nepal and Bhutan, leaving farmers with huge income losses. Other unique species also threatened by adverse changes to the climate of the diverse ecosystems include tropical and subtropical rainforests and temperate coniferous forests. Fourteen species of butterflies have already reportedly become extinct from the Murree Hills of Pakistan, while endemic frog species are among the most impacted by climate change as they experience breeding problems and developmental deformities.

The loss of the Himalayan ice cap has grave consequences, as described above, not only for the people of the Himalayan region, but also for those living in the plains and the deltaic region and the Bay of Bengal as well. It will trigger a cascading set of chain reactions adversely impacting all parameters of human security: water security, food security, health security, habitat security, and livelihood security. At the very local level in Bangladesh, which connects the Himalayan mountains with the Indian Ocean through the Bay of Bengal, our ambitious development plans, such as the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2041 or the even more ambitious Delta Plan 2100, will come crashing down on us, with unimaginable consequences for the country and the region.

While climate change is a global problem, it is increasingly clear that efforts so far toward a global solution, in which every player enthusiastically participates, are not going to happen any time soon. We are all aware that the aeroplane we are on is going to crash into a mountain soon. While many countries are already working desperately to stave off disaster, woefully they all work in silos. Our ready embrace of the Westphalian model of nation-state and state sovereignty with inviolable borders led to our partitioning not only our lands but also the vast ecologically important commons that constitute our shared hydrosphere and natural commons. Most perniciously, it partitioned our very mindsets.

Commons that can only thrive and survive and continue to sustain us are dying because the ecological integrity that had held them together—the mountains, the valleys, the forestry, the wildlife—and kept them healthy for millennia, are now hostage to different versions of "resource nationalism." While European Westphalian states, from whom we blindly accepted the model of state sovereignty at our independence, learnt long ago to pool their sovereignty to manage their shared ecosystems, and in the process also arrived at innovative ways of deriving benefits from these commons without undermining their national or cultural integrity, our stubborn reluctance to go that route for fear of ceding sovereignty is actually slowly stifling the life of these ecosystems.

In South Asia, the partition of the subcontinent spawned in us this accursed "Partition Syndrome," severing connectivity that used to be the driver of trade, economic development, as well as movement of not only humans, but other species across natural migration borders, and goods and services, ideas and cultural exchanges. It is this same syndrome that keeps us prisoners from engaging in cooperation that would address our development dilemmas and also translate into climate mitigation measures of beneficial consequence for all.

We all need power as fuel for our industrial engines to chug at speed, without hiccups. While we in the region have a vast but latent, untapped reservoir of clean renewable energy that we could transition to very easily if we wanted to, we have all fallen to being heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, which are now clearly identified as the darkest culprit in global warming, and for which we pay exorbitant costs. Our ambitions are huge, but our quick realisation of those are stymied by an acute shortage of reliable power—and our singular inability, or sheer unwillingness, to work on regional collaborative ventures.

I had once dreamt, and openly and actively espoused, that at least in the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) sub-region of the subcontinent, we could collaboratively move towards putting in place an interlinked power grid of symbiotic interdependence that would not only be derived from clean, renewable energy, but also impel us on water basin management in a holistic manner beneficial to all. But our movement in that direction has been inordinately long and slow. The recent summit level decision between Nepal and India to identify and upgrade a dedicated grid line in India to connect with Nepali, Bhutanese and Bangladeshi grids is a huge leap forward, but we need to move fast to operationalise it. Questions related to the origin of investment funds for such power projects continue to bedevil this process. They can be overcome by entering into joint venture schemes with other partners, like international development agencies or acceptable private sector, or the countries together forming a joint stock company and raising monies regionally through clean energy bonds.

We must also restore those severed connectivities, to restore trust among the partitioned peoples of the subcontinent. But we must not forget that at the heart of those connectivities are the communities of peoples who populate our lands. We must make them active participants in such activities.

While a global operational solution to our global climate disaster appears to be a stubbornly elusive dream, the myriad local and national solutions that we are striving at can be given greater relevance through synergising those activities in a collaborative manner, through cooperation across communities within the nation states, and then enlarging and expanding them to collaboration between states in the region. The new globalisation has to be a bottom-up, community-level fanning outwards, grassroots-spawned process.
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This column is based on the author's keynote address at the inaugural session of the Himalayan Future Forum Conference, held in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 16, 2024.​

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Tariq Karim is a retired ambassador of Bangladesh, and is currently the director of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), and concurrently distinguished visiting research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies in the National University of Singapore (NUS).​

 

[Saif]

Afforestation and forest conservation

HUMANS are mainly responsible for the current climate change and warming crisis in the world. So everyone has something to do to get rid of this crisis...

www.newagebd.net

Afforestation and forest conservation
Md Zillur Rahaman | Published: 00:00, Apr 09,2024

— UNB

HUMANS are mainly responsible for the current climate change and warming crisis in the world. So everyone has something to do to get rid of this crisis. Due to urbanisation, industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture, the environmental crisis is increasing alarmingly. But it is not at all possible to stop or reduce the speed of industrialization and urbanisation. So there is a need to try to maintain a balance between development and conservation. In this regard, forestry can play the most important and effective role. Every human can contribute to the conservation and growth of plants. So everyone should plant as many trees as possible around the house or in open spaces during the planting season every year. Only then will nature, the environment, and human life and health be good.

Many may remember that in May 2020, Super Cyclone 'Ampan' hit the coast, but the loss of life was minimal due to the Sundarbans, and it was a relief at that time. Earlier, Cyclone Bulbul on November 9, 2019, Cyclone Sidor on November 15, 2007, and Cyclone Aila on May 25, 2009, hit with devastating force but were weakened by the Sundarbans. The loss of life and property was much less than expected. The Sundarbans acted as shields and sentinels to protect the people of the south-western coast of the country and adjacent areas from natural calamities.

The Sundarbans of Bangladesh is the single largest mangrove forest in the world, located on the Bay of Bengal coast. Many say it is the Amazon of Bangladesh. Rich in biodiversity, the Sundarbans is one of the most attractive places for people all over the world. It is the favourite habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger. The Sundarbans stands proudly after facing natural calamities like Cyclone Sidor, Aila, Fani and Bulbul. But the existence of this forest is becoming endangered. Those who have done research on this forest say that the sundarbans is one of the forces of biodiversity and environmental protection. However, the existence of the Sundarbans is threatened due to development projects and commercial activities in and around it.

Forestry protects us from the harmful effects of green house, provides essential food, supplies oxygen, keeps the environment clean by absorbing excess carbon dioxide from the air, protects the living world by purifying the harmful polluted air, provides cool shade, prevents soil erosion, organic matter in the soil, protects soil fertility by summing substance, retains adequate amount of water in the soil, provides fuel, supplies raw materials for valuable life-saving medicines, acts as a safe habitat for animals, birds and other wildlife, prevents natural disasters from storms and floods, helps in building houses and in making valuable furniture, prevents salinity, acts as an insurance in case of human accidents, keeps the soil pure and clean by absorbing harmful toxic substances from the soil, keeps the air clean, reduces the heat of the atmosphere and keeps the weather cool, absorbs air pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, the leaves of the trees prevent the movement of storms and winds, create rain and prevent desertification, maintaining the balance of the natural environment as well as making nature magical and beautiful.

That is why more and more afforestation is very important and significant. Global warming is increasing day by day, desertification is increasing, carbon dioxide is increasing in the air, and the amount of chlorofluorocarbon, methane, and nitrous oxide, which is harmful to biodiversity, is among the problems we are constantly facing due to a lack of sufficient forest land and trees. Increasingly, the weight of the atmosphere is cracking, allowing harmful ultraviolet rays to reach Earth. Along with acid rain and rising temperatures, the sea level is rising due to the melting of ice in the polar regions and Antarctica. Bangladesh is among the most affected countries, and there is no alternative to massive afforestation.

For one, global warming has increased by 0.74 degrees Celsius over the past hundred years. If global warming continues like this, it is expected that the temperature of the earth will increase by 1.70 degrees Celsius by 2050. If the level of climate change increases like this, then nature, people and the environment will face many problems. People's rights to food security, clean water and natural resources, housing, and other infrastructure facilities will be threatened. Scientists fear that in the next 50 years, due to the increase in sea level, a large part of the coastal region of Bangladesh will disappear under the sea. Climate change will adversely affect Bangladesh's agriculture and food security, biodiversity, health, fresh water and coastal areas. Climate change will increase rainfall and floods, reduce food production by 30 per cent, increase the number of hungry and poor people, increase temperatures, and melt the Himalayan glaciers. We will face disaster.

The forest area under government control in Bangladesh is about 23 lakh hectares, which is about 15.58 per cent of the country's total area. Out of this, the amount of forest land controlled by the Forest Department is about 16 lakh hectares, which is about 10.74 per cent of the country's area. The government has time and again pledged to protect the forest land and raise it to more than 24 per cent by 2025. But, its actions speak otherwise, as the government has continued to disregard forests and the environment in its development policy. There are many instances where government agencies have grabbed forest land or allowed the construction of industries on forest land. As a result, the country's forests and wildlife are under threat today.

As the lives and livelihoods of people are directly connected with forest resources, the protection of biodiversity, nature and the environment is also inextricably linked with forest protection. For this reason, there is no alternative to extensive afforestation and the conservation of forest land.

Md Zillur Rahaman is a banker and columnist.​

 

[Saif]

Trees are Dhaka’s saviours

Things seem dire as people brace for the imminent fight against heat waves and air pollution.

www.thedailystar.net

Trees are Dhaka's saviours

PHOTO: FILE PHOTO

Rising temperature is now perceived as an existential threat to humans. In recent years, heatwaves in European countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK have resulted in numerous deaths and wildfires. In Bangladesh, we experienced extreme heat last year, leading the government to shut down primary schools as temperatures surged over 40°C in June. According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the temperature broke a 58-year record in Dhaka city.

With heatwaves becoming more frequent and prolonged, there will be more severe impacts in cities like Dhaka where buildings are densely packed together and the number of trees and amount of greenery are dwindling.

Although the rising temperature has a global effect on liveability and poses threats to species worldwide, the impact of temperature increase in urban areas is likely to be magnified multiple times compared to other areas, due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect—a phenomenon characterised by higher temperatures in cities compared to surrounding rural areas.

According to an article published in Theoretical and Applied Climatology, temperatures in some areas of Dhaka are 3°C higher than in its boundary areas, and the warmest and coldest temperatures in Dhaka city are approximately 7°C and 5°C higher than outside the city. This temperature difference is mainly attributed to the higher number of heat-absorbing surfaces, less tree coverage in the city, and anthropogenic waste heat (from industry, cars, cooling systems, and others).

Increasing tree canopies have been used the world over as a crucial tool to control urban heat by leveraging the natural characteristics of trees. Trees can help regulate temperature in two main ways: 1) by providing shade, which blocks direct sunlight from reaching the surface; and 2) through evapotranspiration, which acts as a cooling process. Therefore, maintaining a liveable and comfortable temperature in cities by increasing tree canopies and protecting existing ones should be a key concern for urban planners and policymakers
In efforts to protect and monitor trees, there is a need for a proper database of tree canopies.

Recently, the Geographic Research Unit of Bengal Institute undertook a pioneering initiative to map the tree canopies in Dhaka city, preparing a comprehensive and detailed database for all the tree canopies in the city. According to this study, the total canopy cover of Dhaka city is 4,169 hectares, accounting for 13.71 percent of the total area of the city. Tree canopy coverage is higher in areas under Dhaka North City Corporation, approximately 15.39 percent, while only 10.31 percent of trees are present in Dhaka South City Corporation areas.

Experts suggest that a minimum of 25 percent tree coverage is needed for a city to be considered liveable. Nearby mega-cities present disappointing figures as well. Kolkata has lost 30 percent of its tree coverage in just 10 years, leaving only 1.8 percent of tree coverage in 2021, as reported by The Times of India. For Bangkok, the percentage is nearly 5.2 percent, according to Global Forest Watch. If we look at European cities, those well-known for liveability have higher percentages of trees. For example, Oslo has 72 percent, Bern has 53 percent, Berlin has 44 percent, and Madrid, Brussels, and Vienna have 39 percent, 37 percent, and 34 percent, respectively, of tree coverage. Trees claim to have overwhelmingly positive effects on human health in these cities, where programmes to increase greenery, as well as efforts to maintain it, are operational.

Despite their significant environmental benefits, trees are facing the harshest blow in Dhaka city. With the increasing number of heat-absorbing surfaces (buildings, pavements, roads, and impervious surfaces), greenery is decreasing. Trees are being felled mercilessly to accommodate development activities in Dhaka and, on many occasions, for the commercial benefits of a few. In recent times, this cruelty towards trees has been evident on Satmasjid Road in the capital's Dhanmondi area, where hundreds of trees were reportedly felled for road divider renovation.

In May 2021, a similar incident occurred in the historic Suhrawardy Uddyan, where hundreds of old trees were cut down to make way for seven restaurants, a flower market, toilet facilities, and a children's park—all in the name of development and public service. While many believe that the design could have been altered to preserve trees in the area, commercial profits took precedence over the environment. This incident was protested by numerous environmental activist groups, and a writ petition was filed to halt the tree felling. However, reportedly there was a brazen flouting of the high court order, and the continued felling of trees persisted.

In some instances, deforestation is happening on a much bigger scale. According to the Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association (Bela), 1,100,000 trees have been cut to facilitate 2,000 plots at Purbachal, meaning an average of 550 trees of different sizes were felled to prepare a single plot. The majority of the trees cut were sal trees, and despite the requirement for special permission to cut sal trees, none was obtained during the tree felling for the plots.

The scenario does not look good for trees and the livability of Dhaka city, as deforestation is an ongoing process happening openly during daylight. The lack of initiative to protect greenery, coupled with negligence from the respective authorities, is likely to exacerbate the condition of greenery in Dhaka City. Things seem dire as people brace for the imminent fight against heat waves and air pollution. Infrastructure development at the cost of trees will not be sustainable and healthy. Among numerous problems in Dhaka city, trees could provide us with breathing space in this concrete forest, acting as lights at the end of the tunnel. The question now is: are we willing enough to reach that end, or will we simply lay back and witness the destruction of the trees, and turn this city into a hostile place to live?​

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Bandhan Dhar and Sanjoy Roy are research and design associate and coordinator of the Geographic Research Unit (GRU) respectively, at the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes, and Settlements in Dhaka, Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Forester's murder in Cox’s Bazar: Mastermind among 2 arrested

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested two people including the alleged mastermind behind the killing of forest officer Sazzaduzzaman in Cox’s Bazar

www.thedailystar.net

Forester's murder in Cox's Bazar: Mastermind among 2 arrested

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested two people including the alleged mastermind behind the killing of forest officer Sazzaduzzaman in Cox's Bazar.

The arrestees are Kamal Uddin, 39, of Harinmara area in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya upazila and Helal Uddin, 27, of Tuturbil area of the same upazila, reports our Cox's Bazar staff correspondent.

Kamal was arrested from Sitakunda of Chattogram while Helal was arrested from Kotbazar area of Ukhiya yesterday in separate drives, said Lt Col HM Sajjad Hossain, commanding officer (CO) of Rab-15 in a press briefing today.

Sajjad said the forest officer was killed in a pre-planned way. The arrestees plotted the murder as Sazzaduzzaman prevented them from cutting hills and selling soil.

During the primary interrogation, the arrestees revealed that a gang led by local Kamal, Helal, Gafur, and Babul in the Harinmara area has been illegally cutting hills of reserved forest lands and selling soil for a long time.

"There are about 10/12 dumpers and a few dredgers under the gang. They used to cut the hill in the dark of the night and sell it for Tk 900 to 1,200 per dump truck," the Rab official said.

"Sazzaduzzaman, a beat officer of Dochhari forest beat of Ukhiya range under Cox's Bazar South Forest Division, was known as a brave and honest officer. He conducted several drives, seized five earth-cutting dredgers and several dumpers, and filed several cases under the Forest Act against the criminals involved in the hill cutting" he added.

One of the seized dump trucks belonged to the arrested Kamal, said the official.

On March 31, Sazzaduzzaman tried to stop a dump truck carrying stolen earth from a razed hill at Harinmara reserve forest in Ukhiya of Cox's Bazar when the truck ran over him and left him dead on the spot.​

 

[Saif]

Climate change: Apathy and cluelessness

Most human beings are unaware of most of the potential disasters that may wipe out mankind. This is natural because human beings don't think they are responsible for their own actions and consider nature as separate. It's perceived as external. Thus humans are unable to comprehend complex disaster

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Climate change: Apathy and cluelessness
AFSAN CHOWDHURY
Published :
Apr 15, 2024 21:48
Updated :
Apr 16, 2024 21:23
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Most human beings are unaware of most of the potential disasters that may wipe out mankind. This is natural because human beings don't think they are responsible for their own actions and consider nature as separate. It's perceived as external.

Thus humans are unable to comprehend complex disasters like climate change caused by their own cumulative actions. Earthquakes, floods, heat waves etc., are much easier to grasp by their simple mind. It's beyond their capacity to understand that those very disasters could be caused by causes more complex than the so-called "natural "causes". The result has been global disregard for the issue of climate change and impending disaster. People don't even know what it is and how it impacts on their life, let alone create political pressures for their collective survival.

Not that it matters as ruling classes everywhere consider themselves immune to the baneful effects of climate change. Thus we have a lot of words, including those churned out at the global level, but not much else. The UN Climate chief has recently said that there are only two years left to take actions before the window for acting against global disaster shuts. One supposes it's time to get ready for the "end of the world" as we know it and which we never expect to happen.

The UN Chief's words are important but reflect the position of leaders who speak without power and represent the ineffectual. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has said that the next two years are "essential in saving our planet". Otherwise the climate changes status and future scenario. And he was addressing politicians, business leaders and the rest of those who are supposed to matter unlike the UN.

Scientists say halving climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is crucial to stop a rise in temperatures of more than 1.5 Celsius that would unleash more extreme weather and heat. However, last year, the world's energy-related CO2 emissions increased to a record high. Current commitments to fight climate change would be grossly inadequate to manage global emissions by any count by the critical year of 2030.

All hope is not entirely lost but time has certainly run out. "We still have a chance to make greenhouse gas emissions tumble, with a new generation of national climate plans. But we need these stronger plans, now, "Simon said. So where does the problem lie? It's very simple. Only 20 leading economic powers are responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions and that sort of explains the entire scenario. And they don't have to listen to anyone.

These 20 countries basically run the world and decide what is going to happen and where. These super countries if you will have all the power in the world whether it's the US or China and they are hardly about to think about to back down let alone try to figure out how it's done. It's not about a good state or a bad state but preserving its status and capacity and it doesn't matter how that has to be done.

The UN keeps setting priorities which the world happily ignores. But it's not just bad intentions or selfishness but also inability to know how it's done. Nobody has any practical ideas about how to retain or reach prosperity without increasing carbon gasses and that is driving the reality of global policy application.

Many are asking why the UN's climate change reduction policies aren't working. The UN's principal objective is for its members to agree to a new target for climate finance "to support developing countries struggling to invest in shifting away from fossil fuels and fighting climate change."

The UN says that objectives can be achieved through several means such as debt relief, cheaper financing for economically weaker countries, developing new sources of financing such as tax on emissions reforms of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"Every day finance ministers, CEOs, investors, and climate bankers and development bankers direct trillions of dollars. It's time to shift those dollars," said the UN climate change related boss. He has been pushing for reforming capital requirements and expansion of its use of Climate Resilient Debt Clauses, which suspends debt repayments in the event of natural disasters in the WB and the IMF.

So far none have paid much attention and there is no evidence to show that they are likely to listen to the UN soon.

The situation may not be particularly different at the national level whether Bangladesh or elsewhere. Researchers and activists have pointed out the woefully inadequate management of projects and priorities.

Governments are more active at the international level seeking funds which goes to the ministries. But what happens at the operational level is rarely discussed other than blanket statements about "projects completed". Nor does anyone say about the impact of completion.

Once as a media panel member of a major anti-corruption outfit, we saw incredible levels of corruption in this sector. It basically means that projects are funded but they are not really useful except for making a lot of money by some.

However, it bothers none as the powerful behave locally and internationally the same way. As a result the situation has become unchangeable and the damages in many cases irreversible. There is little evidence that the situation is about to change.

Like it or not, we are seeing the same power-gain model at work. The powerful countries ignore the plight of the poorer countries, and in the poorer countries, the top elite ignores the powerless.​

 

[Saif]

Climate change to wreck global income by 2050: study

Researchers in Germany estimate that climate change will shrink global GDP at least 20% by 2050. Scientists said that figure would worsen if countries fail to meet emissions-cutting targets

www.thedailystar.net

Climate change to wreck global income by 2050: study

Photo: Deutsche Welle

A study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday claimed that climate change is poised to wipe out some 20% of global GDP by 2050.

Researchers at PIK said their calculations were based on the prospect of countries such as Germany achieving their emissions-cutting goals. Currently, most countries look unlikely to achieve these targets, meaning the financial impact could be greater still than the drastic damage projected.

According to the study's calculations, the economic burden of climate change could reach $38 trillion (€35.6 trillion) annually, a sum six times higher than the estimated cost of limiting global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Those least at fault will be hit hardest

The study points out that despite damage affecting different regions to different degrees, poorer regions and those contributing least to global warming will be hit hardest.

"Countries least responsible for climate change are predicted to suffer income loss that is 60% greater than the higher-income countries and 40% greater than higher-emission countries," said Anders Levermann, a senior PIK scientist.

Researchers projected, for instance, that the industrial economies of Germany and the United States would shrink by roughly 11% by mid-century (13% for France), even if climate action is successfully taken.

PIK scientists analyzed 40 years of climate data collected across more than 1,600 regions for the study, they excluded, however, the cost of damage caused by natural disasters such as storms and fires, which have also intensified with climate change. These would drive damages significantly higher.

"High-income losses are projected for most regions, including North America and Europe, with South Asia and Africa being the hardest hit," according to Maximilian Kotz, one of the study's authors. "These losses are caused by a wide range of economically relevant effects of climate change, such as consequences for agricultural yields, labor productivity and infrastructure."

Inaction still costs more — 60% of GDP by 2100

Fellow researcher Leonie Wenz underscored the danger of complacency, noting that the current calculations dealt with the effects of carbon already released into the atmosphere, pointing out that society quickly needs to find ways to mitigate the impact of climate change.

"In addition, we must drastically and immediately reduce our CO2 emissions — otherwise the economic losses will be even higher in the second half of the century and will amount to a global average of up to 60% by the end of the century," she said.

According to the World Bank, global GDP surpassed $100 trillion in 2022 and would double by 2050 — if not for the drag of climate change.

Observers say the PIK estimate is likely an undercount of the actual economic impact.

Others pointed out that the new study appears to confirm conclusions similar to those in the so-called Stern Report, which was produced by economist Nicholas Stern in 2006 at the behest of the UK government.

Stern, too, projected that climate change would take a 20% bite out of global GDP by the middle of the century, as well as arguing that the cost of combatting climate change was far less than the cost of dealing with the damage it would cause.​

 

[Saif]

Chattogram keeps losing its hills to greed

What are the relevant agencies doing about it?

www.thedailystar.net

Chattogram keeps losing its hills to greed
What are the relevant agencies doing about it?

Visual: Star

A photo on the front page of this paper yesterday showed the brutal and indiscriminate destruction of Nagin Pahar, a large hill in Chattogram. Chopped off from the top by local influentials, it has lost a large chunk of its height to make way for the construction of residential buildings. This relentless hill cutting in Chattogram has been going on for decades, destroying the natural beauty of this scenic city with devastating consequences. Apart from the loss of greenery and the habitat of hundreds of birds and plant species, when hills are cut the risk of landslides is increased, often leading to human deaths.

The spree of real estate development has taken a heavy toll on these precious hills cleared away for construction. In the last four decades, around 120 hills out of 200 have disappeared from Chattogram city. So how is this killing spree of hills being allowed to go on unabated? In 2012, despite multiple court orders to protect the hills of Chattogram area, one of which specifically mentioned those in the Akbar Shah area, a hill was cut. In 2023, a councillor of Chattogram City Corporation destroyed parts of a hill to build a primary school in the Akbar Shah area. According to a report in this paper, over several years he made plots by cutting the hills and selling them to people. He did this without any permission from the Department of Environment (DoE) which is mandatory. The DoE has filed cases against the councillor for destroying the hills. But the question is, how did he get away with it for so many years?

Unfortunately, the government bodies responsible for protecting these hills, have done precious little to prevent their demise. The Chattogram City Corporation, district administration, and the DoE seem to instead have allowed influentials to carry on cutting one hill after another. Thus, despite the persistent endeavours of environmental activists to stop hill cutting and in spite of the court's orders, the killing of hills continues.

Unless the government takes serious steps to enforce the law and hold its agencies responsible for enforcing it accountable, as well as appropriately punishes violators, we may have to witness Chattogram city being reduced to a flat land with concrete high-rises all over the skyline where once there were lush green hills.​

 

[Saif]

Don’t dump on the environment

The hillocks of the port city must be protected from unscrupulous razers

www.thedailystar.net

Don't dump on the environment

Visual: Star

It is highly disappointing that Chattogram's Banshkhali municipality authorities are building a garbage dumping station by destroying two hills, putting the environment of the area in danger in the process. Almost 10,000 square feet of the two hills have reportedly been cut. Two excavators were spotted razing the hills, while three dump trucks were seen transferring the soil by a reporter of this daily. According to sources, these hills have been cut down over the previous three to six months. A local municipality councillor has even claimed that the mayor has chosen the hilly area over other alternative sites so that the hillocks can be razed and the soil can be sold for a profit. If true, this is not only alarming, but downright horrific.

Local leaders should not be able to misuse their power in such a manner, especially when it is common knowledge that the action will cause damage to the environment on a grand scale. The mayor's alleged actions are criminal, and must be dealt with by the authorities as such. The applicable fines and imprisonments should apply to the person(s), no matter their proximity to power.

We are also appalled by the sheer callousness shown by the various relevant authorities regarding this matter. Cutting a hill without the approval of the Department of Environment (DoE) is prohibited under the Bangladesh Environment Protection Act, 1995 (amended in 2000), but this is still a common practice even after years of protests and activism on this issue. As per data from the Bangladesh Environment Forum, 120 hills disappeared from Chattogram city over the last four decades. The port city had 32.37 square kilometres of hills in 1976, which has declined to 14.02 square kilometres in 2008. According to the statistics, there were 200 hills in the port city 40 years ago, and 60 percent of those have now vanished. This raises the question of whether this is just callousness or a case of criminal negligence by the local administration and the DoE.

Unscrupulous parties have been destroying the natural beauty of Chattogram city for personal gains for a long time. This needs to be stopped immediately. The Department of Environment (DoE) needs to step in and assert its authority to stop this onslaught on the environment. The local administration also has the duty to intervene to curb this blatant abuse of power by the politically influential quarters. In this case, the local UNO said that the mayor had promised to take legal action against those involved in the illegal act. But the question remains: why were steps not taken earlier, before the hills were cut down?

Even if the DoE charges the parties responsible for cutting down the hills with fines, it is unlikely that the larger trend of hill cutting for financial gains will stop in the port city. Though many businesses have been fined by the DoE already, razing still goes on unabated. It is clear that something more comprehensive is necessary to stop this hill-cutting spree in Chattogram. The local administration as well as the government must prove their political commitment to work together to protect the environment of the city.​

 

[Saif]

Dying rivers in independent Bangladesh

DURING the liberation war, people of this land chanted, ‘[The River] Padma, Meghna, Jamuna is our destiny (Padma, Meghna, Jamnuna, tomar amar thikana’). Bangladesh — the birth of the nation...

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Dying rivers in independent Bangladesh
Pavel Partha 07 April, 2024, 21:55

DURING the liberation war, people of this land chanted, '[The River] Padma, Meghna, Jamuna is our destiny (Padma, Meghna, Jamnuna, tomar amar thikana'). Bangladesh — the birth of the nation and the struggle for its independence were inspired by the rivers of this land. As we celebrate 53rd Independence Day, do we dare to ask how the rivers that bore witness to the heroic struggles and sacrifices of our freedom fighters and carried the dead bodies of ordinary citizens when families were not allowed to bury their dead are doing? Are streams of our rivers enjoying the freedom of flowing freely in an independent nation? Has the geography of the rivers been evolving without any hindrances in the past decades? The environmentally insensitive anti-river development policy has paved the way for the slow death of many rivers. Many rivers are now part of forgotten history. Every day, almost every day, newspapers are burdened with stories of their deaths. The silent cries of dying rivers are ringing, but the state remains unperturbed. Rivers are stolen in plain sight. Barely anyone cares. No brave environmental court is there to speak for the rights of the dying rivers.

Have we always been an anti-river nation? Vernacular history does not say so. Historically, our lives revolved around the rivers of Bangladesh. Yet, a recent report by the National River Conservation Commission says that of the 770 rivers that historically flowed through the country, only 405 have survived. More than 100 rivers have been lost since independence. How did it happen? On Independence Day, we must raise the river question to understand the lost love for our rivers. Why are rivers disappearing? It is because economic development is happening at the cost of our ecological integrity. The neo-liberal development model that successive governments adopted failed to recognise the historical significance of the river for Bangladesh and its people. Sadly, the government celebrates the country's graduation from the least developed country to a developing nation, standing on the graves of many rivers.

NATURE, ecosystem, life-philosophy, economy, and politics in our country evolved around the river system. All the rivers — Brahmaputra, Padma, Surma, Teesta, Meghna, Karnaphuli, Naaf, Sitalakhya, Mogra, Feny, Dakatia, Monu, Rakti, Kopotakhya, Langla, Dhaleshweri, Karotoa, Ichamoti, Raymangal, Sangkha, Halda, Kangsha, Titas, Piyan, Ubdakhali, Jadukata, Simsang, Boral, Baleswar, Garai, Turag and many more — are either dying or struggling to maintain their mark on our national map.

In the river basins, different forms of production systems developed. The development of capital and the expansion of trade relations also followed the river basins. In 1722, almost 300 years ago, the construction work of the Kantajee temple began in Dinajpur. The terracotta on the walls of this temple has scenes from many boat journeys. Not too far from this temple is the River Tepa, which is now in really bad shape. The way the River Ganga is the god of water, Khoyaz Khizir and Badar Gazi are similarly the prophets of water. This is how the river remains central to the belief system of the subaltern lives. The history of Muslin and Zamdani is intrinsically linked with the river basins of Buriganga and Sitalakhya. Many weaving traditions in Bangladesh — Pabna taat, Tangtail taat, Bana taat of Hajongs and many weaving techniques from the Chittagong Hill Tracts — are also dependent on the local rivers. Many varieties of paddy and diverse agricultural traditions are embedded in the history of the river in Bangladesh. The saying that Bengalis live on rice and fish ('Mache-bhate Bangali') is situated in this unique history.

The neoliberal development process has defied the natural growth and life of a river and disrupted the economy dependent on the river system in Bangladesh. In the 1960s, Norman Ernest Borlaug, an American agronomist, was awarded the Noble Peace Prize for his discovery of high-yield crops, which then prompted what is now known as the Green Revolution. This mode of agriculture is technology-dependent and encourages groundwater extraction and the use of chemical fertilizers. In the long run, this mode of agriculture has proven to be harmful for the farmland and ecology in general. Before the introduction of high-yielding agricultural systems, farmers were dependent on rivers, ponds, rainwater, and other forms of natural sources of water. People were following the grammar and philosophy of nature. However, in independent Bangladesh, successive governments uncritically adopted the philosophy and technology of the green revolution, discrediting farmers' knowledge, silencing the voices of subaltern people, and killing their relationship with the river and their surrounding nature. In the name of food security, through the farming of high-yield crops, subsidised access to chemical fertilisers poisoned the farm land, and the unregulated extraction of groundwater depleted water resources. When rivers and other water bodies are considered the lifeline of forests and biodiversity, the agricultural policy of the government launched an implicit and explicit destructive campaign.

ONE after another, industrial units are established. The largest multinational corporate apparel units, such as Adidas, Hilfiger, Philip Maurice, and Nike, supplied from Bangladesh. These factories serve the profit-seeking interests of the global and local business elite but have no regard for our rivers as they are discharging their industrial waste into rivers. The tanneries in Hazaribagh were responsible for the death of the River Buriganga. The shrimp industry in the north-western region destroyed the river system in the region. The commercial tea gardens, tobacco farming, aggressive acacia and eucalyptus gardens, and farming of hybrid corn contributed to the slow death of our rivers. All these were continued in the name of economic development.

All economic and industrial sectors — agriculture, fishery, apparel — one way or another are responsible for the death of our rivers. Such is the state policy. No one is made accountable; no one is brought to justice. As if the death of rivers would liven up our economy and improve our GDP. And the calculation of GDP follows the logic of capitalism. In the way neo-liberal corporate capital penetrates our economy, it invades our development philosophy with an anti-river mentality.

THE origins of the main rivers of Bangladesh are in India, Myanmar, Tibet, or China. Hence, the violence against rivers is not restricted within national boundaries. Neighbouring countries are equally oppressive and violent towards transboundary rivers. The Farkka barrage, the Teesta barrage, the Tipaimukh dam, and many hydropower projects in India have obstructed river flows, caused flash floods, or contributed to serious water crises in Bangladesh. The corporate-sponsored unplanned coal mining in north-eastern India also influenced our river system, particularly in the Sylhet division. Yet, river diplomacy in Bangladesh is not river-friendly. The state takes pride in not signing the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (the Water Convention) and promotes pro-dam development policy.

Scientific studies now confirm that the arbitrary withdrawal of water upstream across the border by India is slowly but steadily killing Bangladesh's two major rivers and associated socio-economic and aquatic systems. Recent research conducted by a group of national and international researchers observed that the river's health has progressively deteriorated since the opening of the Farakka Barage across the River Ganga in India. In the past decades, the water flow in the river Padma has decreased by 26 per cent and the river's permanent water area has shrunk by 50 per cent during the dry season. The study conducted on a 70-kilometre area of the Padma from Godagari to Sarada in Rajshahi concluded that nearly one-third of the native fish species that were available in 1982 had disappeared. The permanent water area and the depth of the river have also significantly reduced, from 140 square kilometres in 1984 to 70 square kilometres in 2019. India has diverted an increased proportion of flow to the river Hooghly through the Farakka Barrage, which has contributed to the declining river health in Bangladesh.

The anti-river neoliberal development psyche of the state must be challenged. The tide and ebb of a river is its natural right to live that a state must protect. The rivers of Bangladesh can liven up Bangladesh's sovereign, self-reliant economy. Rivers are not private property or any form of material property that can be owned, but the state's indifference towards the ecological life of rivers has allowed vested quarters to feast on rivers. There is a High Court directive declaring rivers as legal entities and assigning the National River Protection Commission as the legal guardian to act as their parents in protecting the rights of waterbodies, canals, beels, shorelines, hills, and forests. Yet, violence against rivers continues unabated.

In riverine Bangladesh, how much more injustice to our river should we tolerate? We need real ecological emancipation of our rivers. In this struggle for emancipation, in which the ecological and environmental integrity of the nation will be treated as equally significant as the national economy, we must commit to the cause of our rivers. On the occasion of the 53rd Independence Day of Bangladesh, if we want to remain true to the historic slogan, 'Padma, Meghna, Jamuna (also Karnaphuli, Simsung) is where we belong', we must commit to the cause of rivers and resist any violence against our rivers.

Pavel Partha is a writer and researcher. Translated from Bangla by Anmona Zoardar.​

 

[Saif]

Dhaka seeks global urgent actions to cut carbon emissions

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury has held a meeting with Dr Jörg Kukies, State Secretary for Economic, Finance and European Affairs at the German Federal Chancellery

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Dhaka seeks global urgent actions to cut carbon emissions

The photo is taken from BSS.

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury has held a meeting with Dr Jörg Kukies, State Secretary for Economic, Finance and European Affairs at the German Federal Chancellery.

The meeting was held in Berlin on the sidelines of Petersberg Climate Dialogue yesterday, focusing on key issues related to environmental sustainability and climate change adaptation and mitigation, according to a message received in Dhaka today.

During the meeting, Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury and Dr Jörg Kukies exchanged valuable insights and ideas on various initiatives aimed at addressing the pressing challenges induced by climate change.

They underscored the need for collaborative efforts between government entities and international partners in implementing effective strategies to combat climate change and protect natural resources.

Minister Saber Chowdhury emphasised the urgent need for concerted action to reduce carbon emissions, promote renewable energy sources, and conserve biodiversity.

He commended Dr Jörg Kukies for his commitment to advancing environmental priorities within the Federal Chancellery and expressed optimism about future collaboration between their respective offices.

Dr Jörg Kukies reiterated the German government's unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and climate resilience.

He highlighted the significance of bilateral cooperation in advancing sustainable development goals and reaffirmed Germany's support for initiatives aimed at preserving global ecosystems.

The meeting concluded with both parties expressing their mutual dedication to fostering closer cooperation and sharing best practices in the field of environmental conservation and climate change adaptation.​

 

[Saif]

To protect Dhaka’s future, balance urbanisation with greenscapes

The city's destiny hinges on all urbanites’ collective commitment to sustainable urbanisation.

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To protect Dhaka's future, balance urbanisation with greenscapes

Imagine a Dhaka where integrated greenways, adorned with trees, shrubs, and native plants, would offer respite from the concrete jungle that it is today. FILE PHOTO: NAIMUR RAHMAN

Rapid urbanisation, soaring temperatures, and the urgent need for sustainable solutions—are what currently defines the city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The recent temperature surge in the city has been unprecedented. In April, it witnessed its second-highest temperature ever recorded, at 40.2 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature in Dhaka's history remains 42.3 degrees Celsius, recorded in April 1960. Heatwaves during the dry month of Chaitra, the Bangla calendar month that coincides with the period of mid-March to mid-April, intensified the discomfort, urging for a rethink of the country's urban strategies.

The intense heat absorbed by building walls and roofs from direct sunlight exposure can significantly raise temperatures, especially for top-floor flats in multistorey buildings in a city like Dhaka. Inadequate shade exacerbates this issue, leading to prolonged air conditioner use for comfort, resulting in higher energy consumption. The escalating demand for cooling devices has surged in Dhaka due to rising temperatures, which have increased by around three degrees Celsius over the past two decades, according to the Institute of Planning and Development (IPD).

This overuse of air conditioners has led to increased energy consumption both at the household and national levels. Studies have highlighted that a significant portion of electricity consumption in residential buildings is attributed to cooling purposes, with the latter noting that 38 percent of consumption is for cooling comfort provided by electric fans. According to a World Bank analysis in 2010, the majority of urban households in Dhaka consumed between 100 and 400 kWh of power per month, with wealthier households using over 400 kWh primarily due to increased air conditioner usage. This is ironic as air conditioners contribute to global warming.

Dhaka has been transforming into a city of roads, flyovers, and high-rises. Unfortunately, this development has come at the cost of widespread tree loss. Trees, crucial for heat mitigation, are being uprooted during road and flyover construction. Foliage gives way to concrete, and the microclimate within the city diverges significantly from rural surroundings. Dhaka's outdoor temperature registers 1-1.5 degrees higher than the adjacent regions. While development is essential for progress, preserving trees is equally critical. These natural air conditioners absorb heat, release moisture, and maintain ecological balance. Striking the balance between urban growth and safeguarding green spaces is vital for Dhaka's resilience against extreme temperatures and ensuring a sustainable future.

The metro rail system has emerged as a popular mass transit solution for Dhaka. Its expansion promises efficient connectivity and reduced traffic congestion. Integrating metro lines with greenways and blue nodes can revolutionise urban mobility. Imagine a network where metro stations seamlessly blend with green corridors. These integrated greenways, adorned with trees, shrubs, and native plants, would offer respite from the concrete jungle. At strategic points, blue nodes, natural water bodies, or revitalised canals become urban oases. Imagine strolling along a tree-lined path with glimpses of shimmering water, a harmonious blend of nature and infrastructure.

These authors conducted several studies on the plausible impact of integrated greenways in ameliorating street canyon microclimates of residential Dhaka, ensuring pedestrian thermal comfort for the urbanites, between 2016 and 2023. These studies revealed that Dhaka's street canyons are thermally uncomfortable for pedestrians with raised air temperature (TA), mean radiant temperature (MRT), reduced relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (WS) during hot summer days. The authors steered field investigation in 13 points of eight street canyons for bare (no tree) and green or greenway (large green trees on either side of the roads) canyons. The field investigation showed that the greenway identical street canyons showed lower TA by 0.73-1.34 degrees and higher RH up to 0.44-1.58 percent than the bare canyons.

Dhaka's roads are mostly categorised into primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. While tertiary roads mostly serve as residential access routes, primary and secondary roads can be strategically integrated with greenways. Transforming selected roads into greenways while preserving the alternative ones for vehicular access enhances thermal comfort. Even tertiary roads, transformed into partial or half greenways or fully orthodox pedestrian greenways, effectively moderate temperatures.

Outside Dhaka, cities following similar development trajectories should reevaluate their strategies. Preservation should take precedence over relentless construction. While development is important and inevitable, it should be harnessed for climatic advantage. Incorporating blue and green networks during planning ensures a sustainable future. Reducing reliance on air coolers and promoting natural ventilation by keeping windows open enhances comfort. Transforming hard surfaces into softscapes, such as porous pavements, improves the microclimate. These materials allow for evapotranspiration, cooling the surroundings. Cool pavements, including PICP, can tremendously reduce daytime TA and MRT.

Edifices can contribute significantly to temperature reduction. Green roofs act as insulators, absorbing excess heat and providing additional green space. Vertical green walls enhance aesthetics, improve air quality, and reduce heat absorption. Urbanisation does not need to come at the cost of green spaces; rather, it should harmonise with them.

With the support of the UK-based Wellcome Trust, Griffith University, the University of Sydney, BMT, and Buet jointly conducted a three-year research project on the escalating heat exposure at garment factories in Bangladesh and its impact on workers. Workers at RMG factories endure physical discomfort from excessive heat exposure exacerbated by global warming, significantly reducing their productivity. This reduction is projected to reach five percent of the workers' total work hours by 2030.

Bangladesh is predicted to experience an increase of temperature by two degrees Celsius by 2050, which will lead to more frequent heatwaves, posing challenges for RMG factories. Increased reliance on air conditioners, as well as coal and gas for power generation, exacerbate the situation. However, proactive measures can reduce temperatures by two to three degrees through natural heat control methods, preserving work hours and minimising worker discomfort. A pilot project implementing climate change heat reduction recommendations can pave the way for sustainable solutions.

Dhaka thrives as a city of possibilities, a place where progress aligns with nature, ensuring comfort, resilience, and well-being for all. Its destiny hinges on all urbanites' collective commitment to sustainable urbanisation. Let Dhaka be a city where progress coexists harmoniously with nature, a beacon of sustainable urban living, ensuring comfort, resilience, and well-being for all.

Dr Md Ashikur Rahman Joarder is professor of environment and energy at the Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).​

 

[Saif]

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé among top plastic polluters: Study

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé have been identified as the top three contributors to global plastic pollution in a new study published in the journal Science Advances on April 24.....

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Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé among top plastic polluters: Study
Staff Correspondent 27 April, 2024, 18:51

This photo taken on April 26, 2024 shows plastic wastes floating on water in river Buriganga in Dhaka. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé have been identified as the top three contributors to global plastic pollution in a new study published in the journal Science Advances on April 24. | Sony Ramany.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé have been identified as the top three contributors to global plastic pollution in a new study published in the journal Science Advances on April 24.

The study, involving over 100,000 volunteers and cataloguing 1.8 million pieces of plastic waste from 84 countries between 2018 and 2022, identified 56 companies as responsible for over 50 per cent of branded plastic waste worldwide.

Among the companies, Coca-Cola is the biggest contributor, causing 11 per cent of global branded plastic pollution, followed by PepsiCo at 5 per cent, Nestlé and Danone each at 3 per cent and Altria at 2 per cent respectively.

The study, led by scientists at Dalhousie and a dozen different universities in the United States, Australia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Estonia, Chile, Sweden, and the UK, disclosed that 19,586 companies were accountable for all branded plastic, with major corporations in the food and tobacco industries emerging as the primary polluters in their respective regions.

The study highlighted that around 9,10,000 out of over 1.8 million plastic pieces had visible brands, while noting that plastic items can lose their brand identification due to exposure to sunlight and weather conditions.

It found over 50 per cent of plastic items unbranded, underscoring the necessity for improved transparency regarding the production and labelling of plastic products and packaging to enhance traceability and accountability.

The study observed that if the largest polluters phased out single-use and short-lived plastic products, it could significantly reduce global plastic pollution.

The countries used in the analysis represented a combined population of 6.5 billion people or about 81 per cent of the global population, based on July 2022 population estimates.

To effectively combat global plastic pollution, the study suggests that corporate producers of plastic waste must reduce the amount of plastic in their products and refrain from using regrettable alternatives.

This involves phasing out nonessential and avoidable single-use products and adopting safe, sustainable product designs that decrease the global demand for new items while promoting reusability, reparability, and recyclability, it added.​

 

[Saif]

To protect Dhaka’s future, balance urbanisation with greenscapes

The city's destiny hinges on all urbanites’ collective commitment to sustainable urbanisation.

www.thedailystar.net

To protect Dhaka's future, balance urbanisation with greenscapes

Imagine a Dhaka where integrated greenways, adorned with trees, shrubs, and native plants, would offer respite from the concrete jungle that it is today. FILE PHOTO: NAIMUR RAHMAN

Rapid urbanisation, soaring temperatures, and the urgent need for sustainable solutions—are what currently defines the city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The recent temperature surge in the city has been unprecedented. In April, it witnessed its second-highest temperature ever recorded, at 40.2 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature in Dhaka's history remains 42.3 degrees Celsius, recorded in April 1960. Heatwaves during the dry month of Chaitra, the Bangla calendar month that coincides with the period of mid-March to mid-April, intensified the discomfort, urging for a rethink of the country's urban strategies.

The intense heat absorbed by building walls and roofs from direct sunlight exposure can significantly raise temperatures, especially for top-floor flats in multistorey buildings in a city like Dhaka. Inadequate shade exacerbates this issue, leading to prolonged air conditioner use for comfort, resulting in higher energy consumption. The escalating demand for cooling devices has surged in Dhaka due to rising temperatures, which have increased by around three degrees Celsius over the past two decades, according to the Institute of Planning and Development (IPD).

This overuse of air conditioners has led to increased energy consumption both at the household and national levels. Studies have highlighted that a significant portion of electricity consumption in residential buildings is attributed to cooling purposes, with the latter noting that 38 percent of consumption is for cooling comfort provided by electric fans. According to a World Bank analysis in 2010, the majority of urban households in Dhaka consumed between 100 and 400 kWh of power per month, with wealthier households using over 400 kWh primarily due to increased air conditioner usage. This is ironic as air conditioners contribute to global warming.

Dhaka has been transforming into a city of roads, flyovers, and high-rises. Unfortunately, this development has come at the cost of widespread tree loss. Trees, crucial for heat mitigation, are being uprooted during road and flyover construction. Foliage gives way to concrete, and the microclimate within the city diverges significantly from rural surroundings. Dhaka's outdoor temperature registers 1-1.5 degrees higher than the adjacent regions. While development is essential for progress, preserving trees is equally critical. These natural air conditioners absorb heat, release moisture, and maintain ecological balance. Striking the balance between urban growth and safeguarding green spaces is vital for Dhaka's resilience against extreme temperatures and ensuring a sustainable future.

The metro rail system has emerged as a popular mass transit solution for Dhaka. Its expansion promises efficient connectivity and reduced traffic congestion. Integrating metro lines with greenways and blue nodes can revolutionise urban mobility. Imagine a network where metro stations seamlessly blend with green corridors. These integrated greenways, adorned with trees, shrubs, and native plants, would offer respite from the concrete jungle. At strategic points, blue nodes, natural water bodies, or revitalised canals become urban oases. Imagine strolling along a tree-lined path with glimpses of shimmering water, a harmonious blend of nature and infrastructure.

These authors conducted several studies on the plausible impact of integrated greenways in ameliorating street canyon microclimates of residential Dhaka, ensuring pedestrian thermal comfort for the urbanites, between 2016 and 2023. These studies revealed that Dhaka's street canyons are thermally uncomfortable for pedestrians with raised air temperature (TA), mean radiant temperature (MRT), reduced relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (WS) during hot summer days. The authors steered field investigation in 13 points of eight street canyons for bare (no tree) and green or greenway (large green trees on either side of the roads) canyons. The field investigation showed that the greenway identical street canyons showed lower TA by 0.73-1.34 degrees and higher RH up to 0.44-1.58 percent than the bare canyons.

Dhaka's roads are mostly categorised into primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. While tertiary roads mostly serve as residential access routes, primary and secondary roads can be strategically integrated with greenways. Transforming selected roads into greenways while preserving the alternative ones for vehicular access enhances thermal comfort. Even tertiary roads, transformed into partial or half greenways or fully orthodox pedestrian greenways, effectively moderate temperatures.

Outside Dhaka, cities following similar development trajectories should reevaluate their strategies. Preservation should take precedence over relentless construction. While development is important and inevitable, it should be harnessed for climatic advantage. Incorporating blue and green networks during planning ensures a sustainable future. Reducing reliance on air coolers and promoting natural ventilation by keeping windows open enhances comfort. Transforming hard surfaces into softscapes, such as porous pavements, improves the microclimate. These materials allow for evapotranspiration, cooling the surroundings. Cool pavements, including PICP, can tremendously reduce daytime TA and MRT.

Edifices can contribute significantly to temperature reduction. Green roofs act as insulators, absorbing excess heat and providing additional green space. Vertical green walls enhance aesthetics, improve air quality, and reduce heat absorption. Urbanisation does not need to come at the cost of green spaces; rather, it should harmonise with them.

With the support of the UK-based Wellcome Trust, Griffith University, the University of Sydney, BMT, and Buet jointly conducted a three-year research project on the escalating heat exposure at garment factories in Bangladesh and its impact on workers. Workers at RMG factories endure physical discomfort from excessive heat exposure exacerbated by global warming, significantly reducing their productivity. This reduction is projected to reach five percent of the workers' total work hours by 2030.

Bangladesh is predicted to experience an increase of temperature by two degrees Celsius by 2050, which will lead to more frequent heatwaves, posing challenges for RMG factories. Increased reliance on air conditioners, as well as coal and gas for power generation, exacerbate the situation. However, proactive measures can reduce temperatures by two to three degrees through natural heat control methods, preserving work hours and minimising worker discomfort. A pilot project implementing climate change heat reduction recommendations can pave the way for sustainable solutions.

Dhaka thrives as a city of possibilities, a place where progress aligns with nature, ensuring comfort, resilience, and well-being for all. Its destiny hinges on all urbanites' collective commitment to sustainable urbanisation. Let Dhaka be a city where progress coexists harmoniously with nature, a beacon of sustainable urban living, ensuring comfort, resilience, and well-being for all.

Dr Md Ashikur Rahman Joarder is professor of environment and energy at the Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

Zarrin Tasnim is lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Fareast International University (FIU).​

 

[Saif]

Environmental issues to be included in textbooks: minister

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury today said his ministry has initiated the inclusion of issues related to environmental conservation and climate change mitigation in the curriculum for students from Class 3 to 8

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Environmental issues to be included in textbooks: minister

Saber Hossain Chowdhury. Star File Photo.

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury today said his ministry has initiated the inclusion of issues related to environmental conservation and climate change mitigation in the curriculum for students from Class 3 to 8.

"The ministry is undertaking such initiatives to instill awareness in children from a young age," he said.

The minister made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the National Seminar on "Citizen Roadmap to Advance Sustainable Urbanisation and Environmental Protection", organised by Counterpart International with funding of USAID, held at a hotel in the capital.

Saber said everyone must be more mindful of plastic usage, city authorities must have a proactive role in waste management. The government cannot address these issues alone; collaboration with all stakeholders is essential and called for a caucus in parliament involving 46 MPs, who had pledged to address waste management.

He said effective measures are being taken to combat air and noise pollution.

Muhammad N Khan, director of the Office of Economic Growth at USAID; Katie Croake, chief of party at Counterpart International; Gwendolyn Appel, vice president of programmes at Counterpart International, and Ijaz Hossain, former professor and dean at the Department of Chemical Engineering at BUET, were also present.​

 

[Saif]

Govt to enhance eco-tech in rice cultivation: Saber

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury today shared plans to boost the adoption of eco-friendly technologies in rice cultivation, aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions

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Govt to enhance eco-tech in rice cultivation: Saber

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury today shared plans to boost the adoption of eco-friendly technologies in rice cultivation, aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Embracing such technologies not only mitigates carbon footprints but also optimises resource utilisation, potentially unlocking opportunities for international carbon crediting.

The minister shared these insights during a meeting with a coalition comprising the Asian Development Bank, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries, and Cisco, convened at his residence in Dhaka's Paribagh.

Acknowledging the efforts of the Asian Development Bank and Cisco in launching a pilot project in the Barendra region, Saber emphasised the significance of technology in resolving water scarcity and slashing carbon emissions.

He expressed readiness to endorse initiatives that address these critical issues, urging stakeholders to submit proposals through the Ministry of Agriculture.

Highlighting the pivotal role of the private sector and farmers, he underscored the importance of implementing carbon-reducing smart agricultural practices to bolster productivity and yield positive outcomes while grappling with challenges like dwindling groundwater levels and the imperative of decarbonisation.

The delegation commended Bangladesh's proactive stance and pledged support in advancing environmental sustainability endeavours.​

 

[Saif]

Climate victims testify at Americas rights court in historic case

From Mexicans left homeless by rising seas to Colombians affected by coral bleaching, hundreds of people are telling the top human rights court in the Americas what climate change means to them in a historic case that could shape international law

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Climate victims testify at Americas rights court in historic case

Activists and residents hold a banner reading 'Climate emergency' while standing near houses destroyed by rising sea levels, forcing villagers to relocate, in El Bosque, Mexico November 7, 2022.

From Mexicans left homeless by rising seas to Colombians affected by coral bleaching, hundreds of people are telling the top human rights court in the Americas what climate change means to them in a historic case that could shape international law.

Environmental lawyers also hope the hearings at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which were requested by Colombia and Chile, will define the duties of states to confront the climate crisis and stop it from infringing on human rights.

As well as receiving submissions from climate victims, the Costa Rica-based court, which started its inquiry in Barbados in April, will hear from UN agencies, legal experts, grassroots environmental campaign groups, and youth groups.

The next sessions are due to be held in Brasilia and then in Manaus, Brazil at the end of May, and an advisory opinion is expected by May 2025.

"We're hoping that the court's legal opinion is a guide and reference for Mexico, and other states, to develop public policies from a climate justice perspective," said Nora Cabrera, a lawyer and head of Our Future, a Mexico-based youth climate justice campaign group.

"And that it includes loss and damage compensation for affected communities, and adaptation policies for those not yet directly affected by climate change," said Cabrera, who will be speaking at the next hearing in Manaus.

In January, Colombia and Chile asked the IACHR to issue an advisory opinion, saying that they were experiencing the "daily challenge of dealing with the consequences of the climate emergency," including fires, landslides, droughts and floods.

"These events reveal the need for an urgent response based on the principles of equity, justice, cooperation and sustainability, with a human rights-based approach," they said in their petition.

"There is a close relationship between the climate emergency and the violation of human rights," they added.

It is this link between climate change and human rights that the IACHR will seek to define, while also examining how climate change affects migration and looking at the disproportionate effect on children, women and Indigenous people.

Chile and Colombia also asked the court for clarification on a state's duties to protect environmental activists.

Latin America is the most dangerous place in the world for environmental and land defenders, according to advocacy group Global Witness. Around 90% of the 177 killings of environmental activists recorded in 2022 took place in the region.

"The hearing aims to ask for clarity about human rights obligations and the climate crisis," said Jacob Kopas, senior attorney at the Earthjustice environmental group, one of a group of lawyers who spoke at the Barbados hearing on April 26.

"It will help to create a more concise framework to guide state behavior and policy to confront the climate crisis and protect human rights," said Kopas.

WE'RE LIVING CLIMATE CHANGE NOW

Among those submitting testimonies will be the residents of the El Bosque fishing community in Tabasco, Mexico, where rising sea levels caused by climate change have swept away about 200 meters of coastline.

Since 2019, the school and more than 50 homes have been destroyed, forcing about 200 people to leave.

El Bosque community leader, Guadalupe Cobos, said she and 10 neighbors will probably have to leave within a year and resettle in an area about 12 km away, where new homes are being built by the government.

"We depend on the sea but coastal erosion has affected our way of life. It's important for the court to know that we're living climate change now and that this isn't something that will happen in the future in 20 or 50 years' time," said Cobos.

"We want the court to hear our experiences and to know that our rights have been violated, that we have been forced to migrate," Cobos told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The court's advisory opinion could have important implications for climate litigation across Latin America and the Caribbean and make it easier for communities living with the effects of global warming to take legal action.

The opinion will apply to all signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights, most of whom are members of the Organization of American States. The United States and Canada have not ratified the treaty however.

The advisory opinion will help shape the region's legal systems as many countries incorporate its jurisprudence into their laws and constitutions.

"We're hoping that the court makes the link between the climate crisis and human rights violations and that it recognizes climate displacement," said Cabrera, whose organization has been supporting the El Bosque community.

FUTURE CLIMATE LITIGATION

The IACHR is known for its progressive stance on climate justice and human rights.

In March, it recognized that citizens in Peru have the right to a healthy environment when it ruled in favor of people living in the Andean mining town of La Oroya, who had suffered from decades of environmental pollution.

Other courts are also breaking new ground in this sphere.

In Colombia in April, in response to a lawsuit filed by a farming couple who were driven out of their home by flooding caused by heavy rains, the country's constitutional court recognized the links between environmental disasters and climate change and people being forcibly displaced.

Across the world, other top courts are also examining the connection between human rights and climate change. On April 9, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.

Two other courts - the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) - are also expected to give advisory opinions on the international legal obligations of states regarding climate change.

Kopas said the IACHR ruling could lead the way by delivering a "forward-reaching and progressive" advisory opinion.

"It's historic because of the climate crisis we are in. This is the crisis of our lifetime and of all future generations."​

 

[Saif]

Sundarbans fire rages on

Firefighters yet to start working to douse the blaze for lack of water

www.thedailystar.net

Sundarbans fire rages on
Firefighters yet to start working to douse the blaze for lack of water

Photo: Collected

A fire that broke out at Chandpai range of East Sundarbans in Bagerhat this afternoon is yet to be doused for lack of a nearby water source.

The fire originated in Latif's Chila area near Amurbunia patrol post of the mangrove forest around 3:30pm, said Kazi Mohammad Nurul Karim, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans eastern division, reports our Bagerhat correspondent.

Mohammad Kayamuzzaman, station officer of Mongla Fire Station, said on information, fire service members from Morrelganj and Mongla stations rushed to the spot but could not start working to control the fire due to lack of water.

They said the nearest source of water (Bhola river) is about two kilometres away.

"We will start working to douse the fire tomorrow morning," added Kayamuzzaman.

Rana Dev, assistant conservator of forests (ACF) of Chandpai range of Sundarbans, said forest guards and locals first saw the fire in the forest and tried to control it.

Later in the evening, the firefighting units reached the spot.

Meanwhile, DFO Kazi Mohammad Nurul Kabir and Morrelgonj UNO Md Tareque Sultan also visited the spot.

The forest officials are yet to confirm how the fire broke out.​

 

[Saif]

A novel approach to waste management

Can DNCC’s cash-for-waste initiative help tackle dengue?

www.thedailystar.net

A novel approach to waste management
Can DNCC's cash-for-waste initiative help tackle dengue?

VISUAL: STAR

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) under its current leadership has been known to approach civic issues with a degree of innovation sometimes, even though its impact hasn't been widely felt. Innovation is still necessary and should be encouraged with proper supervision given the magnitude of the problems facing the city. One of these is littering or improper waste disposal leading to pollution of water bodies, environmental degradation, diseases, etc. Against this backdrop, the recent initiative by the DNCC to purchase discarded items from residents as a means of combatting dengue deserves to be acknowledged.

The month-long campaign will encourage residents to collect and exchange these waste items for cash. According to officials, purchasing rates will vary from item to item: Tk 1 for each packet of chips, Tk 2 for each coconut shell, Tk 10 for each ice-cream packet, and Tk 50 per kilogramme for discarded polythene. Furthermore, containers made of clay, plastic, melamine, or ceramic will be purchased at Tk 3 each, abandoned tyres at Tk 50 each, and abandoned commodes and basins at Tk 100 each. These items and containers are potential breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, and the DNCC aims to take them out before the monsoon season begins.

We have to admit that if done right and later scaled up to include a large number of residents, the project has the potential to help in our fight against the menace of plastics. But it is crucial to ensure transparency in the process as public funds are involved. More importantly, it is important that such initiatives are taken as part of a bigger plan to address our plastic problem of which a dengue outbreak is but a side-effect. Plastic pollution needs holistic interventions that not only incentivise waste collection but also ensure proper disposal and recycling of all plastic products.

We, therefore, urge the authorities to ensure that all such initiatives are properly planned, aligned and executed. The city corporations and municipalities also must ensure that their own waste management departments function properly to advance these goals.​

 

[Saif]

Sundarbans fire now under control: ministry

A fire that broke out in the Amurbunia area at Chandpai range of the Sundarbans East Zone yesterday afternoon is now under control

www.thedailystar.net

Sundarbans fire now under control: ministry

Photo: Collected

A fire that broke out in the Amurbunia area at Chandpai range of the Sundarbans East Zone yesterday afternoon is now under control.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change issued a statement in this regard this afternoon.

"Although the fire is under control, fire extinguishing activities will continue for the next few days," the statement read.

Apart from the forest department, several units of fire service, navy, police, district administration, upazila administration, public representatives, Community Patrol Groups, volunteers, and locals are assisting in extinguishing the fire.

Besides, an air force helicopter assisted in extinguishing the blaze by spraying water from above, it added.

A three-member committee has already been formed by the DFO, east of Khulna Circle of the forest department, to investigate the exact cause of the fire.

The Forest Department workers, fire service, and other related government agencies reached the spot immediately after the fire was first reported around 3:30pm yesterday, added the statement.​

 

[Saif]

Brick kilns on river question govt’s will to protect rivers

The sorry state of rivers is blamed, among others, on an unabated grabbing of river land by entrepreneurs and individuals enjoying political and moneyed clout. Some entrepreneurs setting up brick kilns, as a photograph with...

www.newagebd.net

Brick kilns on river question govt's will to protect rivers
06 May, 2024, 00:00

The sorry state of rivers is blamed, among others, on an unabated grabbing of river land by entrepreneurs and individuals enjoying political and moneyed clout. Some entrepreneurs setting up brick kilns, as a photograph with a number of kiln chimneys sprouting on the river that New Age published on May 5 shows, on the Dhaleshwari at Sirajdikhan in Munshiganj shows the extent of river land grabbing and the nonchalance of the authorities concerned. Dhaleshwari river land grab have made headlines many times in the past, too. A lawmaker is reported in 2018 to have set up a power plant on the Dhaleshwari. The Inland Water Transport Authority in 2019 identified 256 illegal structures on the river banks, conducted eviction drives and reclaimed some land. Local people then alleged that the authorities only evicted small grabbers, leaving out influential grabbers and large industries. Even the areas reclaimed went back into the hands of grabbers within months. Such incidents appear to characterise all river land reclamation efforts.

It largely appears that eviction drives, often conducted on court orders, have done nothing to sort out the problem. In most eviction drives, influential people manage to somehow save themselves and the land grabbed. The court intervened a number of times and ordered the government to make a list of grabbers. The government made such lists, too, but failed to take a holistic approach to reclaim the grabbed land and save the rivers. The lists of grabbers, as various official estimates say, vary in the ranges of 50,000–65,000 and the grabbers include not only people with political clout but also public agencies. The court asked the government to prepare an action plan detailing the timeframe, logistics and resources required to free rivers of encroachment and demarcate river boundaries for their protection, evict encroachers and restore the rivers to their original state. The court also asked the government to make the National River Conservation Commission an independent and effective institution, but the commission has lived to be a mere 'recommending body', without any statutory power of intervention or implementation. All this points to a worrying lack of political will on part of the government.

The authorities concerned must, therefore, take action against those who set up brick kilns on the Dhaleshwari. Most important, the government must take a holistic approach to save all rivers from being encroached. The government must draw up a comprehensive plan to reclaim the rivers, restore them to their original state and establish a mechanism to make the reclamation sustainable. It is high time the government drew up the plan and effectively executed it to end the circle of reclamation and reoccupation.​

 

[Saif]

ADB's climate financing should be concessional, says finance minister

Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali has called upon the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to make its climate financing concessional. The minister said this while placing five specific proposals regarding measures for tackling immediate economic concerns of the developing member countries (DMC) at the turb

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

ADB's climate financing should be concessional, says finance minister
FE ONLINE DESK
Published :
May 05, 2024 15:17
Updated :
May 05, 2024 19:42

Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali has called upon the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to make its climate financing concessional.

The minister said this while placing five specific proposals regarding measures for tackling immediate economic concerns of the developing member countries (DMC) at the turbulent time.

In placing the proposals on Sunday, he said geo-political uncertainties are disproportionately affecting impoverished segments of the globe, reports UNB.

Taking macro economic predicaments into consideration, policy-based support and concessional financing would be instrumental in tackling immediate economic concerns of the developing member countries, Ali said while delivering his statement at the business session of the Board of Governors 57th ADB Annual Meeting in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.

"We expect that ADB's climate financing should be concessional," he said.

Moreover, the Bangladesh finance minister said, as rightly expressed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, climate finance must also meet three other criteria: sufficiency, regularity, and accessibility.

He called upon ADB to undertake more projects to minimise existing digital disparities on the one hand and unlock the potential of 4IR technologies on the other hand.

Due to heightened volatility and a widening spread of commodity prices, Ali said the prime minister has given directives that not a single inch of agricultural land be kept unused.

"Aligned with her vision, we want ADB will undertake projects to induce smart technologies in our agriculture, facilitate modern marketing facilities and eliminate barriers to fully unlock the potentials of agro-businesses," said the finance minister.

Under fiscal constraints, he said, Bangladesh seeks ADB's upstream knowledge support for framing strategies to meet its immediate energy needs.

Moreover, Ali said, it wants ADB to bring more investment in renewable energy with appropriate tech solutions.

"As our own Asian Bank, to ADB we held higher expectations. I have strong hopes that this conference will set the just vision for us to steer through a muddled world, determine strategies for addressing real challenges, scale up concessional climate finance, and harness newer opportunities in digital economic cooperation and building regional connectivity," he said.

Ali said they are currently living in a world that is plagued by weak and uneven global growth, decades-high inflation, reduced fiscal space, high real interest rates and elevated debt incidences.

"Facing all these odds, our assembling here at the crossroads of East and West drums up the urgency of building robust connectivity as well as consolidating our collective actions for bridging to the future," he said.

With a clear national vision and under the prudent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the minister said, Bangladesh rode on a high growth trajectory before the pandemic.

"ADB lent to us fitting support in this epic journey. However, for prolonged war, rising geopolitical tensions and frequent raids of extreme weather events, Bangladesh, like many other developing economies, is currently experiencing persistent headwinds and continued volatility," Ali said.

For Bangladesh, he said, the challenge is now how to manage macro fundamentals while pursuing a path for sustained higher growth.

"Our challenge is now how to garner additional funds while counterbalancing debt accumulations," he mentioned.

President of ADB Masatsugu Asakawa and Chair of the Board of Governors Lasha Khutsishvili, among others, were present at the event.​

 

[Saif]

Fire in the Sundarbans: How can we stop it from happening again

Repeated fires in the Sundarbans cannot be overlooked.

www.thedailystar.net

Fire in the Sundarbans: How can we stop it from happening again

PHOTO: COLLECTED

People in Bangladesh, and even the rest of the world, view the Sundarbans with a certain reverence. But, unfortunately, policymakers and those who are responsible for taking care of the mangrove forest do not view it the same way.

For Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is its protector. It protects our land from various natural disasters. Particularly, cyclones coming from the southwest are impeded by the Sundarbans. However, although the forest protects us, we do nothing to protect it. Whether it is through deforestation, or polluting the waters around it, or building industrial plants around it—we have continued to take on activities that severely harm this natural body.

Now, speaking of the fire that we learnt of on Saturday, this is not something that has happened for the first time. This sort of incidents have been common during this time of the year for quite some time. So this fire should not be viewed as an accident that could not have been prevented. Firstly, as this is something that keeps happening every year, we need to figure out the underlying reasons that cause it. And the process through which this investigation is to be conducted should be made transparent and inclusive. Furthermore, it should be communicated to the local people. Without transparency and decisive action, this would become yet another administrative exercise in our country that serves no purpose other than lining the pockets of a select few. Thus, the first thing that must be done is to identify the problem, and the second thing should be making sure that those who were responsible for it are held accountable before the public.

As activists who have been working in and around the Sundarbans for years know quite well, fires can start naturally. It could also be because of intruders who enter the forest. It could be from the cigarettes they smoke. It could be done intentionally by poachers who want to attack wild animals. In fact, there may even be particular reasons for starting fires. There is a fish called Kain Magur (Black eeltail catfish) that is prevalent in the Sundarbans area, which is difficult for fishermen to catch due to the vines and leaves sprouting from the forest floor. So, some fishermen start fires to clear off these vines and leaves so they can catch the fish easily.

It is also important to note that we did not get to know immediately about the fire in question. In this era of information technology and instant communication, this is an anomaly. It is also not like Bangladesh is behind in terms of technology. We are advancing on par with the world. We have a science and technology ministry. We regularly allocate budget for technological advancement in various areas. We are trying to become Smart Bangladesh and have become so in many aspects. The important point to note is that we do have the capability to protect the 6,500 square kilometres of this mangrove forest, and we do keep watch. If a university student flies a drone even 70 kilometres deep into the forest, then he is caught using technology. Yet, when there has been a fire, technology suddenly fails us. In truth, we lack the mindset and the determination to protect the Sundarbans. We are unable to properly use the technology available to us. There is no proper monitoring in place.

As the Sundarbans is a World Heritage Site, upon UNESCO's repeated requests, the Bangladesh government eventually undertook its Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in 2020. But following on from this assessment, the goal of which was to see if the Sundarbans was being harmed in any way, what remedies have been taken? In the end, these goals were not achieved. To make sure that the Sundarbans is not brought into consideration, they called it the SEA for the southwest region. They did not cover Barguna in it, nor did they cover Patuakhali. Here, the intention was to find out loopholes. Thus, we could not get the benefits from this assessment that we could have gotten. This is only helping those who are making investments in industry around the area and harming the Sundarbans and our country.

In order to show a strong commitment to protecting the Sundarbans, the government must identify exactly why this fire started and take preventative measures so similar incidents does not occur again. We must take actions against those who are responsible for it. Then, if there is a fire again, we should analyse it again to see what steps should be taken.

Sharif Jamil is coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh and member secretary of Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA).​

 

[Saif]

Is the last stronghold of Bangladesh’s tigers at risk?

The increased disturbances of the Sundarbans such as Saturday's fire will force the wildlife to venture out and into human habitats for food.

www.thedailystar.net

Is the last stronghold of Bangladesh's tigers at risk?

Firefighters spraying water on a smouldering fire at the Amurbunia forest of eastern Sundarbans in Bagerhat yesterday. The fire was spotted Saturday afternoon but the firefighting was initially delayed due to a lack of water sources nearby. PHOTO: TANJIR H RUBEL

The fire that broke out in Amarbunia, under the Chandpai range in the eastern region of the Sundarbans in Bagerhat on Saturday afternoon (May 4), continued to burn for nearly three days before rain doused it completely. On top of that, several units of the Fire Service, Bangladesh Navy, police, district administration, upazila administration, public representatives, and locals worked to control the fire in the Sundarbans during this time, according to the latest update from the chief conservator of forests.

It harks back to May 3, 2021, when a fire broke out in Bharani under the Sarankhola range, which is not far from Amarbunia. Before that, in 2016, there were four different incidents of fire in the eastern part of the Sundarbans.

This time, the distance of the fire from the nearest water source—almost two kilometres—proved to be a particular challenge, hindering the efforts to extinguish the fire. Along with the Forest Department, the Fire Service, Community Patrolling Groups (CPG), Village Tiger Response Team (VTRT), and members of the navy, air force, police, and coast guard joined the operation, helping to cut off the fire line the next day.

We understand that in the past 22 years, the Sundarbans East Forest Division has faced 32 fire incidents. And every time, the community joined the Forest Department and fought against the fire risking their lives. They are driven by a sentiment, which is Sundarban Mayer Moton (motherly Sundarbans). The Sundarbans protects them from cyclones, gives them food and shelter, and nurtures them the way a mother would.

I had the opportunity to become one of the founders of WildTeam, a national conservation organisation that engages the community through its Village Tiger Response Teams (VTRT), BaghBandhus (friends of tigers), Tiger Scouts, and Forest Tiger Response Teams (FTRT) to protect the Sundarbans and its biodiversity, including the majestic Bengal Tiger. Today we have about 450 such volunteers spread around the 76 villages of the Sundarbans. We believe people are the solution. Under the leadership of the Forest Department, we successfully engaged these volunteers during any natural or anthropogenic crisis in the Sundarbans. Our friends in the Indian part of the forest have replicated our model.

Our slogan is "Save Tigers, Save Sundarbans, Save Bangladesh." Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in one of his speeches in 1972, said that were it not for the Sundarbans, we wouldn't be able to protect Bangladesh (he was specifically talking about natural catastrophes, meaning the Sundarbans acts as a shield—as we saw during a number of cyclones in recent times). Tigers are the natural guards of the Sundarbans. Thus, they are the guardians of the Sundarbans.

The increased disturbance of the forest cover caused by fires such as the one this week will force the wildlife to leave the forest in search of food inside the villages, which will enhance the chances of human-wildlife conflict.

We used to have tigers in almost all the forests in Bangladesh. Today, Sundarbans is the last stronghold of Bangladesh's remaining tigers. According to the last tiger survey in 2018, Bangladesh has 114 tigers. However, we feel concerned about the fact that three tigers have reportedly died in the last five months.

On November 25, 2023, the Forest Department recovered a tiger's carcass from the Kachikata area adjacent to the Raimangal River in Satkhira range. On February 12, 2024, a dead tiger was spotted in the Kachikhali area of the Sarankhola range located under the Sundarbans East Forest Division. On April 30, 2024, the forest guards recovered a floating carcass of a tiger from the Karamjal area in the Sundarbans east.

The Forest Department is the custodian of the country's forests and wildlife. They are forced to work with huge limitations in the Sundarbans. We need to focus on these foresters by increasing their capacity and facilities—the sooner the better. At the same time, we need to engage the community as well and build up their social capital, before we lose our national pride: the Sundarbans and the Bengal Tiger.

Then again, on April 20, 2024, we lost one of the honey collectors in the Sundarbans. He was attacked by a tiger at Notabeki under Satkhira range. The tiger attacked Maniruzzaman and tried to drag him into the deep forest. His fellow honey collector rescued him from the clutches of the tiger, but he died soon after. Maniruzzaman was a resident of Gabura, where most of the "tiger widows"—whose husbands died in tiger attacks—live. He, too, left behind two wives.

Most of the breadwinners living around the Sundarbans largely depend on the forest resources. Infertile and inhabitable land, habitat loss, dense population and climate change make the situation complex. Researchers predict that due to climate change and sea level rise, there will be no remaining tiger habitats in the Sundarbans by 2070. About 3.5 million people live on the fringes of the Sundarbans, where fishing, honey and wood collection are their mainstays for living.

More than 40 percent of the people are on the edge of poverty. Salinity, siltation, and climate emergencies make people's lives much harder. Poison fishing, unsustainable fishing, and many other anthropogenic threats are on the rise. These days, the fish catch has gone down, which forces the community to venture inside the forest, making them easy prey to tigers.

The Forest Department is the custodian of the country's forests and wildlife. They are forced to work with huge limitations in the Sundarbans. We need to focus on these foresters by increasing their capacity and facilities—the sooner the better. At the same time, we need to engage the community as well and build up their social capital, before we lose our national pride: the Sundarbans and the Bengal Tiger.

Enayetullah Khan is founder of WildTeam and editor-in-chief of the United News of Bangladesh (UNB) and Dhaka Courier.​

 

[Saif]

Strict oversight is vital to end the tree-cutting bonanza

Latest incident saw the startling transformation of Altadighi National Park

www.thedailystar.net

Strict oversight is vital to end the tree-cutting bonanza
Latest incident saw the startling transformation of Altadighi National Park

VISUAL: STAR

The High Court's nod on reining in tree-cutting practices by forming supervisory committees at the district and upazila levels could not have come at a more appropriate time. Despite the recent heatwave that turned out to be the longest in 76 years, tree felling by both public and private entities continues unabated, setting the stage for an even warmer future. You hear news of Bashundhara mowing down trees along the main road of its residential area. You hear of the forest department moving to cut down 2,044 trees on four roads in Jashore, similar to previous attempts targeting century-old trees on the Jashore-Benapole highway. You hear of the LGED felling trees in Patuakhali in the name of canal restoration.

These developments represent a dangerous disregard for trees and forests that keep temperatures down, among other things. One particularly disturbing development of late, as reported by this daily on Wednesday, saw over 1,000 trees felled at the Altadighi Lake in Naogaon as part of a government project. The multi-crore undertaking—initiated by the forest department three years go—aims to restore and conserve biodiversity at the historic lake and surrounding areas that now form part of the Altadighi National Park. Part of the plan is draining and re-excavating the lake, which is almost done. The forest department says the trees were removed to facilitate excavation, adding that those were invasive species harmful to the environment.

That may be the case, but why was it done without any prior environmental assessment? And why were those trees planted in the first place? Locals say the forest surrounding the Altadighi lake once boasted diverse wildlife. Subsequently, however, native trees were replaced by invasive or exotic varieties while the pond itself became shallower, causing the disappearance of many native species and even migratory birds.

The whole episode once again highlights how harmful policies and practices, often by government agencies, have contributed to the growing devastation of wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems in the country. The time has come to put an end to this. While the High Court's assessment is rooted in the principle of engaging local experts in decisions to fell trees, if necessary, we feel it will require strict central supervision to limit harmful tree-cutting practices. For that, the relevant authorities must first be made accountable for their activities.​

 

[Saif]

Dealing with climate change in a capitalist world

Why we should care about remote others in time and space.

www.thedailystar.net

Dealing with climate change in a capitalist world
Why we should care about remote others in time and space when combating climate change

In order to combat climate change, we need to cultivate a mindset driven by the need to care about remote others in time and space. FILE PHOTO: AFP

The moral world is concerned about climate change, the capitalist world less so. Much of the current discourse is about technological solutions, especially in energy production and distribution. Much less comfortable is the discourse about changing present behaviour in the event that our technological luck will run out—exercising the precautionary principle, the sacrificial trade-off over time for the sake of future people and their spaces who are unknown to us, and remote from us and our immediate moral attachments. Many observers like Anthony Giddens (The Politics of Climate Change, 2009) have pessimistically argued that distant threats are too unreal to trigger altruistic sacrifice, with the implication that a regulatory state is needed to enforce behavioural change. Is that possible through democracy reliant on popular voting, where immediate self-interested preferences prevail, whether individual or national? If, therefore, the appeal to altruism is weak, and a strong regulatory state unlikely, where are the human motives to be found to avoid self-destruction of our species?

This can be addressed through thinking about time preference behaviour, concentric circles of moral proximity, elements of well-being, and the problematic of free riding. These are all conceptual ingredients for sustainable development that are not unrealistically altruistic. Our time horizons are before and after us, stretched as a function of moral attachments. My grandfather was born in 1874. I was 30 and just a father when he died in 1975. My grandchildren might just be alive for the next century. That gives me a morally attached and thus meaningful time span of 226 years—Long enough to track significant changes affecting my cognitive bloodline. Everyone on the planet has a version of this story of intergenerational empathy. My grandfather was undoubtedly concerned for me in his future, as I am for my grandchildren.

In that way, we are time traders with a set of discount preferences which determine how we allocate behaviour between the present and future, determined by moral attachment that can be understood in terms of concentric circles of moral proximity. Our moral commitments to immediate and then wider kin are usually stronger and more comprehensive than to successively outer circles of friends, neighbours and broader identities (communities and nations). Moral attachments within these inner circles are more likely to be over longer periods of time, and thus vertical, not just horizontal, and contemporarily reciprocal. These conditions represent the intergenerational bargain within a vertical line of descendants acting with the interests of others in mind, bound to us by moral attachment. Not purely altruistic, in other words.

As we move to outer circles, attachments are likely to be less moral and comprehensive and more instrumental and specific. While it may be easier to understand intimate intergenerational bargains within inner concentric circles of moral attachments, the greater challenge is to understand such time preference bargains at the outer circles of instrumentality. In other words, why might we care for strangers in the present time but remote space? This is the arena of collective action between strangers and the underpinning for a longer-range institutionalised policy and strategic planning, which gives the concept of sustainability its meaning. Is a propensity for such collective action driven by well-being? Both objective and subjective senses of well-being represent the cognitive and social bases of sustaining behaviours. It is a feature of human and social existence that an individual's well-being is also a function of others' well-being—arranged through these concentric circles of moral proximity.

These questions underpin the case for green economy and green capitalism, another "great transformation" in which excessive commodification and alienation is reset not just for decent work, but for green well-being. We shift from knowing the price of everything to the value of everything, with multidimensional and multi-period values dismantling the present marginal utility determinants of price. A shift driven by the self-interested need to care about remote others in time and space, derived from the link between moral attachments and the common good.

My more immediate sense of well-being is thus a function of securing a sense of well-being not only for myself but for others too: common good as an essential prerequisite for personal well-being. Furthermore, inequality and poverty in those outer circles beyond kin can also convert into the politics of envy and actually threaten my own well-being: an international concern, not just national. So humans are not interactive social beings out of a sense of altruism, but because they have to as a condition of their own security and interests, which underpin well-being. Thus, we do not have to rely upon altruism to save us, or upon utopianism about which Giddens is rightly sceptical.

So far, therefore, we can explain vertical intergenerational behaviour within inner concentric circles. We can also explain horizontal intragenerational behaviour towards outer circles via a combination of interdependent common good and instrumentality reasoning. Crucially though, we have not yet explained diagonal behaviour: i.e. intergenerational behaviour towards morally remote descendant strangers.

By combining these two logics (vertical through time and horizontal within time), we can arrive at the following axiom: the well-being of my intimate descendants is itself dependent upon the well-being of their contemporaries; ergo I have to be concerned about the well-being of remote strangers in the future in order to maintain and protect the well-being of my direct offspring or near kin with whom I have moral attachments. This way of understanding human motivation for sustainable behaviour does not then rely upon altruism, which can only refer to helping those with whom one has no direct interest such as moral attachment. In this path of reason, therefore, we can imagine collective intergenerational bargains embracing outer circles of moral proximity as a precondition for serving inner, more morally attached, circles. This surely has to be the key principle of continuing human existence.

If our realism steers us towards precautionary behaviour but not derived from altruism, then it must also acknowledge free riding, which cannot simply be wished away, nor oversimplified. Precautionary behaviour redistributes harm over time periods, most obviously in the form of immediate consumption sacrifice for future benefit of remote others, as well as between people in present time, usually under conditions of inequality.

Any given population will comprise a demographic distribution across the life cycle, prompting a spread of differential interests in consumption at any one point in time. These distributions entail a variable of "distance" between individual self-interest and immediate as well as longer-term collective interest with respect to climate harmful consumption. At any one time, through these consumption choices, there will always be a proportion of the population (nationally and internationally) which seeks in effect to "free ride" both more than others in the population, and more than at other times in their own lives. Can the net amount of aggregated free-riding resulting from a profile of consumption spreads be managed for sustainability through precautionary action, requiring interference with the prevailing distribution of the propensity for unsustainable consumption? To achieve this requires replacing material consumption as the primary condition for well-being, thereby defined less in terms of status and identity, and more as spiritual and emotional experience. This tunnels deep into the psyche of capitalism.

What if, for example, the pursuit of the principle of sustainability makes it necessary to be motivated by forms of well-being, which send signals to the market in contradiction to incentives for destructive technological innovation, and incentives thereby for profit? Perhaps we are starting on this road with increasing public commitments (US and UK perhaps?) to the green economy, and willingness to envisage longer time horizons. Perhaps the catalytic experience of climate change in these countries and elsewhere—including, for example, Dhaka winter pollution—is finally changing mindsets, lowering discount rates and thereby favouring precautionary behaviour. Can precautionary well-being as a cultural form become the cultural underpinning of sustainable capitalism? Can such mind and behavioural changes send different signals to the market, thus redirecting investment in technology and skill sets?

These questions underpin the case for green economy and green capitalism, another "great transformation" in which excessive commodification and alienation is reset not just for decent work, but for green well-being. We shift from knowing the price of everything to the value of everything, with multidimensional and multi-period values dismantling the present marginal utility determinants of price. A shift driven by the self-interested need to care about remote others in time and space, derived from the link between moral attachments and the common good.

To reach this state of mind and behaviour, capitalism has to be confronted: for its individualism and competition; for rewarding free-riding; for its narrow profit conception of efficiency; for its misuse of the term "welfare"; for its logical necessity to reproduce inequality through the appropriation of the surplus value of labour, thereby inexorably linking growth to poverty; for the subordination of nature and natural resources to upper quintile usufruct, thereby removing the principles of common property and citizens' wealth; and for framing human motives as venal and alienating us all.

In the meantime, in the words of the American poet Frank Scott (brought to my attention by Leonard Cohen):

This is the faith from which we start:
Men shall know commonwealth again
From bitter searching of the heart.

We loved the easy and the smart
But now, with keener hand and brain,
We rise to play a greater part.

The lesser loyalties depart,
And neither race nor creed remain
From bitter searching of the heart.

Not steering by the venal chart
That tricked the mass for private gain,
We rise to play a greater part.​

 

[Saif]

Stop razing hills, discarding imperishable wastes

Speakers tell meeting on Ctg waterlogging

www.thedailystar.net

Stop razing hills, discarding imperishable wastes
Speakers tell meeting on Ctg waterlogging

Hills being cut by a syndicate, led allegedly by a local influential, in Brahmanbaria's Kasba upazila. Locals have claimed that the gang has long been cutting hills in broad daylight and selling the soil for illegal gains. According to the Environment Protection Act, no one is allowed to cut hills without permission from the DoE. However, the upazila administration seems to have turned a blind eye towards this practice that is degrading the environment. The photo was taken recently. PHOTO: MASUK HRIDOY

Razing hills and dumping imperishable wastes on drains and canals need to be stopped to tackle waterlogging, said speakers at a coordination meeting in Chattogram today.

They also emphasised on cleaning dirt and silt from the canals.

The coordination meeting was held at Chattogram City Corporation's conference room where representatives from CCC, Chattogram Development Authority, Chattogram Water and Sewerage Authority, Chattogram Port Authority and Bangladesh Water Development Board were present.

A total of four projects worth Tk 14,389.36 crore are being implemented by CCC, CDA, and BWDB to address the port city's waterlogging woes.

CCC Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, who presided over the meeting, said the port city residents are worried as monsoon is knocking at the door.

"The few hours of rainfall in a day last week caused waterlogging in Muradpur and different other low-lying areas in the city. People have become aggrieved for this," he said.

"The main task of the four ongoing projects is to extract earth from the canals, but I don't know how much earth has been extracted from the canals so far," he also said.

"Lifting earth from the canals' surface and building retaining walls on both sides is not enough. Earth will have to be lifted from the canals' depths," the mayor further said.

"Another main task is to stop hill cutting. The rainwater washes the loose soil from razed hills which ends up clogging the drains. Silt traps will have to be installed on the hill slopes," he added.

The mayor placed emphasis on forming a quick response team comprising representatives from CCC, CDA, CWasa, BWDB and Chattogram Port to act rapidly in case of any emergency during monsoon.

CDA chairman Mohammad Yunus echoed him.

"The Department of Environment will have to play a pivotal role to stop razing of hills as the CDA does not have the mandate in this regard," he said.

"The third Karnaphuli Bridge has been built as a pillar bridge, thereby causing siltation on the riverbed and also in the adjacent Chaktai Canal. If it was a hanging bridge, there would not have been any problem," he added.

CWasa managing director AKM Fazlullah said there were a total 76 canals in the port city as per the Cadastral Survey, but currently 19 canals no longer exist due to encroachment by influential people.

"We will have to reclaim these canals to ease waterlogging," he added.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh could earn billions from carbon trade: experts

Bangladesh could earn a few billion US dollars from global carbon trading each year if carbon reduction projects are properly implemented in the country, according to speakers at a discussion.

www.thedailystar.net

Bangladesh could earn billions from carbon trade: experts

Bangladesh could earn a few billion US dollars from global carbon trading each year if carbon reduction projects are properly implemented in the country, according to speakers at a discussion.

The global carbon trading market was worth $4.5 trillion in 2022 and may reach $8.98 trillion by 2050, they said.

However, Bangladesh is not ready to tap into this market as it lacks the adequate information, legal framework and expertise required from both the public and private sectors, they added.

Carbon trade is the buying and selling of credits that permit a company or other entity to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

In case a company or entity does not need their excess credits, then they can sell it to another company or entity for actual money.

Each carbon credit is measured as 1 tonne of carbon dioxide, with the International Monetary Fund having proposed an average price of $75 per unit.

However, the unit price varies in different parts of the world depending on the demand.

So far, Bangladesh has only earned a few hundred million US dollars from carbon markets.

But as the country is one of the lowest carbon emitters in the world, accounting for only 0.5 percent of global emissions, it has the potential to earn significantly more.

In the proposed Bangladesh Green Growth Framework of the World Bank, Eun Joo Allison Yi, senior environment specialist of the multilateral lender, urged for strengthening environmental governance and accounting systems.

Additionally, YI stressed the need for enabling energy independence through energy efficiency and trade in renewable energy, and to promote inclusive connectivity through green transport and logistic systems.

She also suggested investing in new green industries and human capital to promote job creation and green innovation, fostering liveable green cities through urban regeneration and building new smart cities.

Yi was speaking as a panellist at a discussion on the "Application of Carbon Financing: Challenges and Policy Options for Bangladesh" at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka yesterday.

Shams Mahmud, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said garment factories can be run with green energy but fabric production requires fossil fuel.

He said many special economic zones (SEZs) are not yet ready for industrial units even though the central bank already said the setting up of new industries will not be allowed outside of SEZs.

State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan said the government aims to generate 40 percent of the country's energy requirement from renewable sources by 2041.

Mahfuz Kabir, research director of the BIISS, presented the keynote paper, titled "Pathways of Carbon Financing: Imperatives for Bangladesh".

In his presentation, Kabir said the existing buyers of carbon credits include Microsoft, Shell, BP, Nestle, Amazon, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Coca-Cola, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs.

Some countries that buy carbon credits include Canada, the US, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, the UK, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Iceland.

Besides, garment exporters in Bangladesh are also potential buyers of carbon credits, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Sea-level rise in Bangladesh: Faster than global average

Bangladesh is experiencing a faster sea-level rise than the global average of 3.42mm a year, which will impact food production and livelihoods even more than previously thought, government studies have found.

www.thedailystar.net

Sea-level rise in Bangladesh: Faster than global average
Government studies find

Bangladesh is experiencing a faster sea-level rise than the global average of 3.42mm a year, which will impact food production and livelihoods even more than previously thought, government studies have found.

Twelve coastal districts, where the impacts are expected to be severe, would be subjected to waterlogging, high salinity, crop damage, high temperatures, and excessive rainfall.

People will lose their homes, and poverty will increase, according to forecast studies, which were concluded recently but were yet to be made public.

The average annual sea-level rise for the Ganges tidal flood plain, the Meghna estuarine flood plain, and the Chittagong coastal plain is found to vary from 3.6mm to 4.5mm, 3.7mm to 4.1mm, and 3.1mm to 3.7mm between 1993 and 2019.

"Due to the present rates of local sea-level rise, more than 1 million people may be displaced," found the study titled "Estimation of Sea Level Rise (SLR) in Bangladesh using Satellite Altimetry Data" conducted by the Department of Environment.

Asked whether sedimentation was considered during the study, Prof AKM Saiful Islam, principal investigator of the study, said the study determined the trend of water level on Bangladesh's coast using satellite altimetry data.

He said they considered sedimentation and subsidence and still found the sea-level rise to be much faster than the global average.

He said the faster rate of rising sea-level on Bangladesh's coast will increase the vulnerability of coastal people and their livelihoods.

Salinity, coastal inundation, and storm surge height will increase. It could impact agriculture, food security, disaster management, health, drinking water supply, and coastal infrastructure.

The world's largest mangrove forest and its ecosystem will be affected by rising sea-level and salinity.

The DoE conducted a study on sea-level rise using tidal gauge data in 2016.

Project director of both studies, Mirza Shawkat Ali, director (climate change) at the DoE, said that experts had recommended validating the findings of the 2016 study using satellite altimetry data and assessing the impacts of sea-level rise.

The DoE then went for the study funded by the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund and conducted by the Institute of Water and Flood Management of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Centre for Environmental and Geographical Services (CEGIS). Prof AKM Saiful Islam and Motaleb Hossain Sarker, director of CEGIS, led their teams in the study.

Researchers utilised data from satellite missions, like Nasa and the French aerospace agency's Topex/Poseidon, and its follow-up missions like Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3, which track sea levels from space.

Focusing on the Bay of Bengal and Bangladesh, they employed Sen's slope (a non-parametric method used to estimate the magnitude and direction of trends in time series data) to discern overall trends in sea-level rise over time.

"There are a number of meticulously crafted maps that will serve as invaluable tools for policymakers, helping them identify priority areas for both short- and long-term adaptation strategies and risk management along Bangladesh's coastline," Mohan Kumar Das, one of the authors of the study, told The Daily Star yesterday.

IMPACT

The impacts of sea-level rise were also assessed through a study titled "Impacts of Projected Sea Level Rise on Water, Agriculture and Infrastructure Sectors of the Coastal Region".

The study projected the sea-level rise along the coastal belt of Bangladesh for 2030, 2050, 2070, and 2100 and assessed its impact on sectors.

It found that sea level rise induced flooding will cover 12.34 percent to 17.95 percent of areas of the coastal zone by 2100.

The inundation will affect Bagerhat, Barguna, Barishal, Bhola, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Gopalganj, Jashore, Jhalakathi, Khulna, Laxmipur, Narail, Noakhali, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira, and Shariatpur, the study found.

"In almost all future scenarios, Jhalakathi, Pirojpur, and Barishal will be most inundated, as most of them are not polder-protected... These districts are affected by the sea-level rise as they do not have a comprehensive flood protection system. The areas flooded are mostly inner coastal areas that are not protected by polders. So, the flood protection for these areas should be considered as a priority."

Polders are areas of lowland that have been separated by dykes to prevent water covering an area.

The study found that salinity levels will rise further inland. "The higher the SLR, the higher the salinity ingress in the coastal areas. This will affect mostly the south-central region heavily and reduce these regions' agricultural productivity."

The study also found that sea-level rise induced flooding will cause a 5.8 to 9.1 percent loss in Aman crop production.

"Barishal, Patuakhali, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur districts are identified as the most vulnerable and affected areas where most damages occur. Some coastal regions had been saved from flooding by the existence of polders and embankments."

The study predicted that annual rainfall in coastal regions would be five percent to 16 percent higher between 2050 and 2080.

The temperature may increase by 1.4 degrees Celsius to 2.7 degrees Celsius in the 2080s.

The study suggested establishing automated tidal and surge gates to regularly monitor sea-level rise.

Noted climate expert Ainun Nishat said that the sea-level rise resulting from global warming due to the melting of snow in the various mountains and from Antarctica, Greenland, and Iceland will be a major concern for Bangladesh.

Nishat, who reviewed the study "Impacts of Projected Sea Level Rise on Water, Agriculture and Infrastructure Sectors of the Coastal Region", said that in 60-70 years, low-lying deltaic areas of the southwestern region would face high salinity levels and may face higher levels of storm surges.

The districts in the central part of the country, like Gopalganj, Madaripur, Faridpur, Shariatpur, Pirojpur, and Jhalakathi, would need special protection against sea-level rise and increasing salinity.

"Already the water of Madhumati in Gopalganj is saline during the dry season."​

 

[Saif]

Forests must not fall victim to business

Safeguarding nature should be our priority

www.thedailystar.net

Forests must not fall victim to business
Safeguarding nature should be our priority

VISUAL: STAR

Over the years, we have witnessed many forests falling victim to business and development—the one in Chattogram's Tulatoli area is just one of them. It started when 5,000 trees were felled in a five-acre area of the forest, and a ship-breaking yard took their place. But then, the Forest Department fought back leading to the yard being sealed off last year, with the lease agreement cancelled. Unfortunately, however, the department's efforts were then thwarted as the divisional commissioner overruled the order last month, allowing the yard to resume its activities, as per a recent report. This is most certainly a depressing turn of events.

What possible reason could there be for the divisional authority to support the destruction of nature? The lease agreement—signed in February 2022 between the district administration and yard owner Kohinoor Steel—was to use part of a 400-acre mangrove forest developed in 1983-1984 to protect the locality from natural disasters. It's ironic that the administration let the yard authorities cut down 5,000 of these life-saving trees—that too illegally, as they did not take Forest Department's permission. After the latest setback, the department is reportedly preparing to take the matter to court. But until a favourable decision comes, the forestland lies at the whim of businessmen.

A ship-breaking yard operating there will likely lead to severe environmental pollution, as toxic spills from ship-breaking operations are known to contaminate coastal ecosystems and devastate local communities. It is hard to comprehend why a country that pledged to stop deforestation by 2030 would let this happen. But it shouldn't be surprising, as we have seen nature being sacrificed like this countless times: plans to fell 2,044 trees in Jashore, building a safari park at Lathitila forest, efforts to take power lines through a reserved forest—the list goes on. These examples, all government undertakings, reduce its pledges to mere lip service.

If the government is really sincere about keeping its promise, it must put a stop to these incidents. The administration must remind the agencies and bodies working under it that safeguarding the environment, not business, is paramount. No entity, whether public or private, should skirt or break environmental laws, and commercial operations must be assessed and monitored for their environmental impacts. The ongoing heatwaves in the country are a reminder that without forests and trees, we are doomed.​

 

[Saif]

Don’t ruin country, yourself saving a little money of waste management: PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasizes on the need for environment-friendly industrialization and waste management system to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change during her address at the 11th National Small and Medium Enterprises Fair.

en.prothomalo.com

Don't ruin country, yourself saving a little money of waste management: PM Hasina
BSSDhaka
Published: 19 May 2024, 20: 46

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the opening ceremony of the 7-day 11th National Small and Medium Enterprises Fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at Agargaon, Dhaka on 19 May, 2024BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday asked all concerned to build a waste management system while constructing industries for environment-friendly industrialisation to save the country and its people from the adverse impact of climate change.

"We have to construct industries. But all have to build an industrial waste management system. I request you all that don't ruin the country and yourself to save a little money for chemicals (to be used in the waste management system)," she said.

The prime minister made the appeal while opening the seven-day 11th National Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) at Agargaon here this morning.


She said they want industrialisation to be environment friendly and for that, the country's industrialisation must have to be planned and worthy for health.

"Wherever you build industry, you have to keep in mind that the waste of your industries doesn't go to the rivers and water. Keep a special eye to ensure that the waste doesn't pollute the water and the soil," she added.

Sheikh Hasina called upon all to pay attention so that the country doesn't incur losses by adverse impact of climate change due to any negligence.

Apart from this, she asked the industrialists to ensure proper work environment and safety for workers alongside upgrading their livelihoods aimed at increasing industrial production.

The prime minister said they want mechanisation of the industries with world class machines.

But, she asked all to be cautious that mechanisation of industries doesn't decrease the number of labourers.

The prime minister asked all concerned to build labour intensive industries as they want to employ more workers.


She said Bangladesh is marching ahead so it requires more entrepreneurs.
"I call upon the youths not to run after the jobs (only). ---prepare yourselves as entrepreneurs and give jobs to others," she said.

Sheikh Hasina asked all concerned to make more opportunities for the womenfolk to make them entrepreneurs in large numbers.

She said the men can take initiatives bringing their wives and sisters in the SME business by enjoying opportunities of SME facilities that include taking loans at four per cent interest rate.

The prime minister expressed her satisfaction as 60 per cent of the SME entrepreneurs are women.

She said it has been possible as additional facilities are now being given to the women entrepreneurs.

The prime minister stressed the need for mechanisation of agriculture to increase food production for ensuring food security.

She also asked all concerned to produce small and medium machines for agriculture as it has local and foreign demand.

The prime minister instructed all to build locality-based agro-processed industries across the country keeping in mind which food grains are largely produced where.

She called for increasing production of exportable products alongside creating local markets for produced products.

She also instructed Bangladesh missions abroad to find out the most demandable products of the respective countries as Bangladesh can export those products there.

The prime minister said she has already asked Bangladesh missions abroad to work for economic diplomacy alongside the politics to increase export, business and trades.

She said her government has established rights on a vast maritime area which has huge resources.

The SME entrepreneurs can also invest in maritime resources to exploit its maximum benefits, she said.

The prime minister expressed her satisfaction over unveiling the work plan for 2024-28 by the Industries Ministry and said if all the ministries can do it; the country's development will be quickened.

After opening the SME fair, Sheikh Hasina said the fair will encourage others to be entrepreneurs.

She described the SME entrepreneurs as driving forces of the country's development, saying, "We want to create more SME entrepreneurs to foster the country's development".

The prime minister recalled the contribution of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for taking measures for the first time for industrialisation in Bangladesh.

At the same function, she handed over the National SME Award-2023 to seven small, medium and start-up entrepreneurs that includes a crest and accreditation certificate.

Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, its senior secretary Zakia Sultana, president of FBCCI Mahbubul Alam and SME Foundation Chairperson Dr Md Masudur Rahman spoke at the function.

The fair will continue till May 25 under the aegis of the SME Foundation as it will remain open for visitors from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm daily.

More than 300 entrepreneurs are taking part in the fair as almost 60 per cent participants are women entrepreneurs.

The SME fair will showcase 100 per cent local products. More than 350 companies will participate in this year's fair.

This year's fair will see the largest number of 75 participants from the garment sector. Besides, 42 participants will showcase jute products, 38 will display handicrafts, 32 to showcase leather products and 27 to present processed agricultural products.

Moreover, 23 will display light engineering products, 14 to present food products, 13 to display IT-based services as 12 SME cluster entrepreneurs will take part in the fair from different parts of the country, 5 participants will showcase herbal industry products and 5 more will display jewellery products.

Four stalls will display plastic products, three to showcase electrical and electronics items, 3 to present furniture items and 19 others will display various government organisations products.

Besides, 30 banks, 15 public-private organisations, business clubs of 5 universities and about 50 other organisations will provide services to participants in the fair.​

 

[Saif]

Danger of faster sea level rise

American south is witnessing an alarming rise in sea level affecting coastal communities across eight US states, says a Washington Post analysis reported last month (April 29). The tide gauges of the water level monitoring stations at more than eight points from Texas to North Carolina found that s

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Danger of faster sea level rise
SYED FATTAHUL ALIM
Published :
May 20, 2024 21:47
Updated :
May 20, 2024 21:47

Photo- UNDP

American south is witnessing an alarming rise in sea level affecting coastal communities across eight US states, says a Washington Post analysis reported last month (April 29). The tide gauges of the water level monitoring stations at more than eight points from Texas to North Carolina found that sea levels were 6 inches higher than they were about a decade and a half ago (in 2010, to be specific). And that was equivalent to the amount of sea level rise the area under study saw in the past five decades, the report further said. Scientists, according to the report, said that the Gulf of Mexico had experienced twice the global average rate of sea level rise since 2010 as revealed from the analysis of satellite data. Scientists are learnt to have been working to decipher what lay behind such accelerated rise of the sea level. But it is not the US south coast alone that has been witnessing the phenomenon of faster sea level rise.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Developed countries failed to fulfil commitments on climate change: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today expressed frustration that the developed countries are not fulfilling their commitments on climate change issues

www.thedailystar.net

Developed countries failed to fulfil commitments on climate change: PM

Photo: PID

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today expressed frustration that the developed countries are not fulfilling their commitments on climate change issues.

The prime minister said this to visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting at her official residence Gono Bhaban, according to PM's speech writer M Nazrul Islam.

"She was a bit frustrated (due to the non-fulfillment of developed countries commitment on climate change issue)," Nazrul said.

The premier told the Australian minister that the Bangladesh government has formed the Climate Trust Fund with its own resources.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Half of mangrove ecosystems at risk

Half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published on Wednesday...

www.newagebd.net

Half of mangrove ecosystems at risk
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 22 May, 2024, 22:23
Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, known for its red list of threatened species, has for the first time taken stock of the world's mangroves, evaluating 36 different regions.

IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar said the assessment 'highlights the urgent need for coordinated conservation of mangroves — crucial habitats for millions in vulnerable communities worldwide'.

Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow mainly in seawater or brackish water along coastlines and tidal rivers, in equatorial climes.

Released on the International Day for Biodiversity, IUCN said its findings show that '50 per cent of the mangrove ecosystems assessed are at risk of collapse' — categorised as either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

According to the assessment, 20 per cent were at severe risk of collapse.

Mangroves are threatened by deforestation, development, pollution, and dam construction.

However, the risk is increasing due to sea-level rise and the greater frequency of severe storms associated with climate change.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Sea level rising, coast under threat

Discover how rising sea levels in Bangladesh are threatening coastal areas, with studies showing 8-15% of land may go underwater and salinity levels could rise, impacting ecology and livelihoods.

en.prothomalo.com

Sea level rising, coast under threat
Partha Shankar SahaDhaka
Published: 24 May 2024, 17: 15

Average rise in sea levelProthom Alo illustration

The sea level along Bangladesh's coast is rising at a rate higher than normal. This has been revealed in three different studies. The studies say that the rate at which the sea level is rising, there are apprehensions that further areas will be inundated or face excess salinity.

Around 8 to 15 per cent of land area of 4 coastal districts may go under water. Salinity in the coastal areas may see an abnormal rise too. This could have a harmful effect on the ecology, people's lives, agriculture, groundwater and infrastructure in the coastal regions.

These three studies were recently conducted by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)'s Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM) and the government's Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS). The results of these studies were published on 8 May.

These studies were carried out at the initiative of the Bangladesh Department of Environment, with funds from the Climate Change Trust Fund project.

BUET carried out the study, 'Estimation of Sea Level Rise in Bangladesh Using Satellite Altimetry Data'. For the first time here the sea level rise was observed by means of satellite. The remaining two studies were carried out by CEGIS to determine the sea level rise and its possible future impact on water and agricultural infrastructure.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Fewer but fiercer since the 90s

Though Bangladesh is experiencing fewer cyclones than in the 1960s, their intensity has increased, a recent study has found.

www.thedailystar.net

Fewer but fiercer since the 90s
Says DoE study

Though Bangladesh is experiencing fewer cyclones than in the 1960s, their intensity has increased, a recent study has found.

In the 1960s, the number of cyclones hitting the Bangladesh coast was 24, which came down to 13 in the 2010s, according to a study conducted by the Department of Environment with the help of the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS).

The country did not experience any super cyclones -- a cyclonic storm which at least packs wind speed of 222kmph -- between 1960 and 1989. However, between 1990 and 2020, at least three of them hit the coast.

"We had a general conception that the number of cyclones has been increasing in the Bay due to climate change. But it is the harshness or intensity of the cyclones that is increasing, not the numbers," said BUET Professor Rezaur Rahman after reviewing the study titled "Projection of Sea Level Rise and Development of Digital Elevation Models in Support of SLR Decision Making".

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Sundarbans cushions blow

Cyclone Remal battered the coastal region at wind speeds that might have reached 130kmph, and lost much of its strength while sweeping over the Sundarbans, Met officials said.

www.thedailystar.net

Sundarbans cushions blow
Remal makes landfall near Khepupara

Locals of Gabbunia village in Khulna's Koyra upazila were going home to collect necessary items before heading to shelters as Cyclone Remal was hurtling towards the southwestern coast yesterday. People in the coastal areas were asked to take precautions ahead of the storm's arrival. Photos: Habibur Rahman and Sohrab Hossain

Cyclone Remal battered the coastal region at wind speeds that might have reached 130kmph, and lost much of its strength while sweeping over the Sundarbans, Met officials said.

"As predicted, the centre of the severe cyclone fell between Khepupara in Patuakhali and Sagar Island in West Bengal," said Abul Kalam Mallik, a meteorologist at Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

He said Bangladesh was on the east of the cyclone's eye which means Bangladesh took the main blow because the east side of a cyclone always causes more damage than the west side in the sub continent.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Cyclones now last longer

Remal was part of a new trend of cyclones that take their time before making landfall, are slow-moving, and cause significant downpours, flooding coastal areas and cities.

www.thedailystar.net

Cyclones now last longer
Experts say this causes more rain

Man Versus nature... Braving the ferocity of Cyclone Remal, social workers give it their all trying to protect an embankment on the Kapotakkho river in Khulna's Koyra upazila yesterday afternoon. PHOTO: HABIBUR RAHMAN

Remal was part of a new trend of cyclones that take their time before making landfall, are slow-moving, and cause significant downpours, flooding coastal areas and cities.

Even though Remal started battering the Bangladesh coast since Sunday afternoon, its effects on the country's weather will remain until at least this afternoon, said the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

This means the storm will be hovering over Bangladesh for at least 45 hours. Cyclone Aila in 2009 hung around for 34 hours before disappearing.

Meteorologists and experts said a trend is being seen in the cyclones that hit Bangladesh. They are sluggish, long-lasting and tend to inundate more areas.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

How the Sundarbans repeatedly saves Bangladesh from cyclones

 

[Saif]

40 Sundarbans animals found dead, 17 rescued hurt

The forest department officials on Tuesday said that so far they found 39 dead deer and a pig in the Sundarbans after the severe cyclone Remal that hit the...

www.newagebd.net

40 Sundarbans animals found dead, 17 rescued hurt
Rashad Ahamad 29 May, 2024, 00:23

A man holds an injured fawn at Katka sanctuary in Sundarbans on Tuesday as cyclone Remal takes a toll on the mangrove forest. | Focus Bangla photo

The forest department officials on Tuesday said that so far they found 39 dead deer and a pig in the Sundarbans after the severe cyclone Remal that hit the forest on Sunday.

Primarily they have estimated infrastructural damage of Tk 6.27 crore in the forest while the total damage, including animals and plants, could not be calculated yet.

Officials said that the cyclone with over 100-kilometre per hour speed hit the forest hard on Sunday after noon with 8-10 feet high tidal surge inundating all 80 freshwater ponds in the forest.

The tidal saline water drained out after 48-hours stay in the forest which the officials estimated the record longest stay of salt water in the mangrove forest in the recorded history of 17 years.

They feared a huge impact on animals this time after cyclone Sidr in 2007.

'We could not calculate total damage of the forest yet. Forest officials could not enter into the forest as the Bay of Bengal still very rough,' said Mihir Kumar Doe, Khulna circle conservator of forest.

They feared more losses of flora and fauna in the forest because of the unusual duration of flooding and crisis of freshwater.

Officials estimated that they would need at least four more days to assess the situation.

Officials feared that they were going to count the worst damage in the Sundarbans in terms of its wildlife.

Saltwater entered into the world's largest mangrove forest around 12:30pm on Sunday and drained out around 11:30am on Tuesday.

They said that usually saline water drained out from the forest within three-four hours in the past cyclones.

Wild animals turned vulnerable for the long-time stay of saline water at a high level in the forest, they said.

Sundarbans is the house of huge diversity that shelters 40 species of mammals, 260 species of birds and 35 species of reptiles. Royal Bengal Tiger is the signature animal of the rainforest.

Mihir Kumar Doe said that there are only eight shelters for animals in the forest which is very insufficient.

Mihir said that due to the tidal surge, all the 80 ponds which are the sources of freshwater for wild-animals in the forest were inundated.

'No freshwater source now exists from where animals can drink,' said Mihir.

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[Saif]

Is Bangladesh prepared for a major earthquake?

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale rattled Bangladesh on the evening of May 29, sending tremors through major cities.

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Is Bangladesh prepared for a major earthquake?

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale rattled Bangladesh on the evening of May 29, sending tremors through major cities like Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chattogram according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The epicentre was located roughly 439 km east in neighbouring Myanmar.

Bangladesh, a nation teeming with life, sits precariously on a geological fault line. While tremors are frequent, a powerful earthquake looms large, threatening to unleash catastrophic destruction. Are we ready to face this inevitable reality? The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding no. Despite an established vulnerability, our preparedness remains woefully inadequate.

Bangladesh's geological formation and tectonic arrangement are intricate, with the Bengal Basin being a dynamic deltaic depositional complex. The country is situated at the confluence of Indian, East Asian, and Burmese tectonic plates, with the Eurasian plate currently moving north at a speed of 2 cm per year above the Indian plate, while the Indian plate is currently moving northeast at a speed of about 6 cm per year. Along the boundary between Meghalaya and Bangladesh, there is also the 300 km Dauki fault, the 150 km long Madhupur fault, and the 300 km long Surma basin fault. Bangladesh has 13 earthquake-prone areas spread across the Bogura, Tripura, Shilong Plateau, Dauki, and Assam fault zones. Extreme risk zones include Chattogram, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and Jaintiapur of Sylhet. These areas are 100 km away from Dhaka, but a magnitude 7-8 earthquake could cause a large-scale disaster in the capital, as revealed in a study by Dhaka University and Columbia University, USA.

Over the past 485 years, Bangladesh has experienced 52 earthquakes of mild, moderate, and severe intensities within its territory, with 17 of them occurring in the last year alone, according to the earthquake observation centre of the geology department at Dhaka University. In the last12 years, eight earthquakes have been recorded in Dhaka and the surrounding areas. On February 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey caused over 50,000 deaths, significant damage to around 230,000 buildings, and a financial loss of $100 billion. Unplanned urbanisation, poor construction materials, insufficient inspection processes, and illegal construction were the primary causes of the destruction. These factors are also prevalent in urban development and building construction practices in Bangladesh.​

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[Saif]

Earth: Our only home, our responsibility

It is crucial for us to acknowledge that our actions have profound consequences on this planet

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Earth: Our only home, our responsibility

Photo : REUTERS

The fragile beauty of Earth is a poetic reminder of the intricate balance that sustains all life on our planet. From the expansive oceans to the verdant forests and majestic mountains, every facet of our natural world contributes harmoniously to the symphony of existence. The intricate ecosystems brimming with a diverse array of flora and fauna underscore the resilience and interconnectedness of all living organisms.

However, the swift pace of human activities, which are causing deforestation, pollution, and climate change, poses a severe threat to Earth's delicate beauty. It is crucial for us to acknowledge that our actions have profound consequences on this planet, and to assume responsibility for preserving and safeguarding this irreplaceable home for future generations.

Environmental conservation transcends mere moral obligation; it is an essential prerequisite for the survival of our planet and its inhabitants. The well-being of humanity is directly linked to the health of our ecosystems, encompassing clean air, water, and fertile soil for agriculture. Through the preservation of biodiversity and protection of natural habitats, we ensure that the delicate balance within our ecosystem remains undisturbed, enhancing resilience against environmental perils such as climate change.

Moreover, environmental conservation plays a pivotal role in securing the ability of future generations to flourish on Earth. By taking proactive measures to curb pollution, conserve resources, and mitigate habitat destruction now, we are investing in a sustainable future for all life forms on this planet. Each individual endeavour towards environmental conservation contributes significantly towards fostering a more symbiotic relationship between humankind and the natural world—one that prioritises reverence for the environment and ensures enduring prosperity for all living entities.

Amid mounting evidence showcasing the undeniable impacts of climate change, we must acknowledge the urgency surrounding this global crisis. Rising sea levels, extreme weather phenomena, and ecological shifts are no longer distant anticipations but tangible realities confronting us today. The accelerated pace at which environmental degradation is unfolding necessitates immediate action from individuals, communities, and nations alike.

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