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

[Saif]

I am really impressed with the concern shown by BD to protect environment and awareness in BD regarding environment and forest.

Thank you for the comment.

 

[Saif]

Unlocking fiscal constraints for climate action

Climate change has emerged as a significant risk to sovereign debt sustainability, impacting fiscal stability and growth prospects.

www.thedailystar.net

Unlocking fiscal constraints for climate action
Bank Company Act

Climate change has emerged as a significant risk to sovereign debt sustainability, impacting fiscal stability and growth prospects. For example, extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods lead to infrastructure destruction, reduced agricultural output and displacement, necessitating increased public expenditure for recovery.

For instance, Pakistan's floods in 2022 caused damages exceeding $30 billion. In Bangladesh, Cyclone Sidr (2007) caused damages of approximately $1.7 billion.

The European Central Bank warns that climate inaction could exacerbate sovereign risks due to materialised liabilities and financial instability. Their report highlights the growing impact of climate change on sovereign debt and financial stability, emphasising the urgency for integrating climate risks into fiscal planning.

It outlines how climate-related hazards, including extreme weather and long-term environmental changes, can directly harm public finances through increased recovery costs and indirectly disrupt economies, reducing tax revenues and raising borrowing costs. The report stresses that inaction on climate risks could lead to higher sovereign risk premiums and deteriorating credit ratings, especially for vulnerable countries.

It recommends that governments and financial institutions adopt proactive measures, such as incorporating climate risks into debt sustainability analyses, enhancing transparency, and mobilising green investments to mitigate these challenges.

Developing countries face a compounded crisis of rising sovereign debt and heightened vulnerability to climate change. For instance, countries like Mozambique, Bangladesh, etc. face acute fiscal constraints that limit their ability to finance climate resilience projects. This nexus creates a vicious cycle: climate events damage economies, increase debt burdens, and reduce fiscal capacity to address future risks. New financing mechanisms aim to alleviate fiscal constraints while driving climate action, with nations restructuring or forgiving parts of their debt in exchange for investments in conservation or renewable energy.

Green bonds offer investors the opportunity to align their portfolios with environmental objectives while earning returns. Bangladesh has begun exploring creative solutions to address climate finance challenges. Some key examples include sovereign green bonds.

Bangladesh's first sustainability-linked bond (SLB) was issued by Pran Agro Limited. The bond, arranged by Standard Chartered Bank, is a significant milestone in Bangladesh's sustainable finance sector. It links financial incentives to achieving specific sustainability targets, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing resource efficiency. This innovative financing approach aligns with global environmental and social priorities while supporting the country's economic development.

Partnerships with the private sector could help reduce public financing burdens.

Also, clean energy from rooftop solar installations in garment factories can reduce operational costs while meeting international buyers' renewable energy requirements. The success of factories in Gazipur demonstrates the viability of this approach. The BGMEA has identified rooftop solar as a significant opportunity to reduce energy costs and carbon footprints in the garments sector. However, high initial costs deter private investments in renewable energy projects. Besides, the aging infrastructure of Bangladesh's national grid limits its ability to incorporate renewable energy.

So, credit rating agencies and multilateral development banks should include climate risk factors in their analyses to facilitate climate-resilient investments. Developing countries need access to debt-for-climate swaps or concessional loans, coupled with technical support to implement climate projects.

Simplified processes for accessing funds under frameworks like the Green Climate Fund are essential to empower vulnerable nations. Additionally, developed nations must enhance contributions to climate funds, ensuring fair and adequate financial support for adaptation and mitigation.

The writer is chairman of Financial Excellence Ltd. This piece is based on his discussion points at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.​

 

[Saif]

Ban on polythene bags alone will hardly work

IT IS commendable that the government has announced its firm position against the widespread use of one-time plastic products and continued its drive against polythene bags, but the state of plastic pollution suggests that enforcing a polythene ban is not enough. The environment ministry issued...

www.newagebd.net

Ban on polythene bags alone will hardly work
01 December, 2024, 00:00

IT IS commendable that the government has announced its firm position against the widespread use of one-time plastic products and continued its drive against polythene bags, but the state of plastic pollution suggests that enforcing a polythene ban is not enough. The environment ministry issued a directive in August that listed 17 single-use plastic products as hazardous and asked retailers and others concerned to phase out the products. The ban on the use of polythene in supermarkets was, accordingly, enforced in October and the same directive was made effective for all retail stores and markets on November 3. Since the imposition of the ban, the government has conducted 166 drives in which 349 entities were fined Tk 19,29,900 and 40,000 kilograms of polythene were seized. After years of negligence in implementing the Polythene Bag Control Act 2002, strict action against the use of polythene is a welcome development, especially in view of the environmental and health burden of plastic pollution. However, the fight against plastic pollution requires a multi-pronged approach which needs to include a biodegradable alternative to polythene and a waste management programme to recycle plastic already in use.

A photograph that New Age published on November 30 shows that the unabated dumping of plastic products into the Subhadya canal at Jinjira in Dhaka has almost killed the canal. An estimated 250 tonnes of single-use plastic enter the environment every month and about 80 to 85 per cent of the waste, once discarded, ends up in drains, lakes, rivers and the Bay of Bengal. The ban on polythene is, therefore, a key step in preventing plastic pollution, but it does not address the hazardous plastic items that have already entered the environment. Metal and toxic elements released by way of unplanned disposal of plastic items are diffused into the environment which eventually enter the food chain. The government needs to develop a plan to recycle plastic already in use and provide a biodegradable alternative. Decades of marketing of polythene bags and single-use plastic products have changed consumer behaviour and for a change, there is the need for an awareness campaign. In October, the Plastic Foundation, a platform for plastic manufacturers, urged the government to consider a timeframe of a minimum of six months to a year to support the transition to an alternative. The economy in this case is not necessarily limited to the concern expressed by the industry owners that the sudden ban will risk their investment. There is also the informal recycling economy that provides a livelihood for many.

For the government to viably stop the use of environmentally hazardous polythene bags and single-use plastic, it should consider developing a long-term plan in consultation with all stakeholders involved in the informal recycling economy. A ban on polythene bags alone, without a recycling and waste management programme and support for stakeholders so that they can transition to producing biodegradable alternatives, will not be sustainable in the fight against plastic pollution.​

 

[Saif]

Save Chattogram hills from destruction

Reports indicate widespread damage over the decades

www.thedailystar.net

Save Chattogram hills from destruction
Reports indicate widespread damage over the decades

VISUAL: STAR

We are concerned about the ongoing trend of hill cutting in Chattogram which has persisted despite the political changeover in the country. Recent findings in this regard paint a troubling picture—with one report saying that the port city has lost 120 hills over the last four decades. Another report claims that only about 80 of the 200 hills the city once had remain, with at least 30 real estate projects having contributed to hill flattening over the last five decades. While data on hills can be sketchy at times, available studies clearly indicate widespread destruction in the name of constructing residential colonies, commercial ventures, and road infrastructure, largely due to poor oversight by the authorities.

During a recent visit to Chattogram, a correspondent for this daily documented the extent of damage in areas such as Khulshi, Akbar Shah, and Bayezid Bostami, where hills were levelled for multiple housing projects. Locals revealed that plot owners often erect walls first to dodge scrutiny. Although Department of Environment (DoE) officials claim to take action after receiving complaints—including filing 34 cases against violators in the past two years—the scale of destruction suggests that such actions are neither sufficient nor timely enough to deter further violations. Developers continue to operate with impunity, exploiting legal loopholes and weak enforcement of environmental laws. As a result, the city's hills and green spaces have diminished sharply, while landslide and waterlogging risks have escalated.

Under the Environment Conservation Act 1995, razing hills without permission from the DoE is a punishable offence. Permission should also be obtained from the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA). Authorisation or lack thereof is not the only issue here, however. According to a CDA official cited by Desh Rupantor, while there is no outright prohibition on building in hilly areas, construction requires caution due to the region's topography. The hills in Chattogram are primarily composed of sandy soil, which is prone to erosion, especially during heavy rainfall. This geological feature makes the hills particularly vulnerable to destruction when cut or disturbed.

Clearly, there must be stricter and more specific guidelines for construction in these hilly areas, and they must be effectively enforced. Over the years, enforcement has been hindered by corruption and political influences, issues that should be easier to address under the interim administration. Experts warn that if the current trend of hill cutting continues, Chattogram's remaining hills could be halved by 2035. The authorities, therefore, must take stronger measures to prevent further damage. Otherwise, the region's ecological balance will be irreparably harmed, increasing the frequency and severity of landslides and flooding.​

 

[Saif]

Rizwana calls for legal recognition for water, land

Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan urged the global community for legal recognition of water, land, food, and the environment

www.thedailystar.net

Rizwana calls for legal recognition for water, land

Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan urged the global community for legal recognition of water, land, food, and the environment.

She highlighted the importance of regulating international trade and the transboundary movement of agrochemicals through due diligence in production processes.

She further stressed that public support for financing, technology transfer, and capacity building is vital, but such support should not extend to water-intensive industries or unsustainable agricultural practices.

She said this while delivering at the formal statements session of the ongoing UNCCD COP16, held today, emphasising the urgent need for global action to combat desertification and achieve environmental justice.

In her speech, Rizwana said as a lower riparian nation, Bangladesh seeks regional cooperation for river basin management and hopes UNCCD COP16 will guide global and national political visions towards achieving a land degradation-neutral world.

Highlighting Bangladesh's challenges, Rizwana Hasan noted that the country must feed 170 million people with just 14.8 million hectares of land, one of the world's lowest per capita land availabilities.

She warned that rising sea levels could result in the loss of one-third of the country's land mass by 2050, exacerbating food insecurity. Excessive use of groundwater and agrochemicals for high-yield rice production has also caused severe land contamination.

Rizwana shed light on Bangladesh's vulnerability as an active delta. Annual river erosion displaces over 1 million people, while the country loses 2.6% of its forests annually—double the global average.

Coastal salinity has surpassed critical levels over the past three decades, and reduced water flows in 57 transboundary rivers due to upstream diversions have aggravated waterlogging and river flow issues, intensifying the nation's challenges.

She urged the global community to act collectively for environmental and climate justice, addressing the huge finance gap in adaptation. "Recognising the limits to adaptation, ambitious mitigation action is imperative to save the planet and limit temperature rise to 1.5°C," she stated.

Bangladesh reaffirmed its commitment to working with the global community for a sustainable future, calling for actionable outcomes from COP16 to combat desertification and ensure climate resilience.

Environment Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed was also present in the occasion.​