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

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]

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.​