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

[Saif]

Economy and environment

BANGLADESH’S meandering geographical landscape and low-lying delta topography make it susceptible to natural disasters. However, beyond these geographical challenges, there have been many more casualties, and all of them are directly or indirectly connected to reckless behaviour and flawed...

www.newagebd.net

Economy and environment
Ummi Hossain 29 April, 2025, 23:06

BANGLADESH’S meandering geographical landscape and low-lying delta topography make it susceptible to natural disasters. However, beyond these geographical challenges, there have been many more casualties, and all of them are directly or indirectly connected to reckless behaviour and flawed thinking frameworks. These problems mainly stem from unsustainable practices.

One of the contributors is the garment industry. More than 84 per cent of Bangladesh’s export earnings are produced in the textile sector. Bangladesh’s ready-made garment exports grew by 7.23 per cent in 2024, reaching $38.48 billion, up from $35.89 billion in 2023, according to the Export Promotion Bureau. On one hand, it is profitable, but on the other hand, it is harmful for our environment. Extreme emissions of carbon dioxide and solid waste are damaging the ecosystem continuously, and industrial wastes are directly polluting the water of the Buriganga, the Shitalakhya, and the Karnafuli River and also lands. Considering the economic advantages and environmental damages of this industry, Bangladesh should attract more eco-friendly systems where economic growth never becomes a barrier to environmental security. This shift in perspective is crucial for the growth and security of Bangladesh from various angles.

Likewise, a further threat is posed by brick kilns, as they are also a fundamental source of air pollution in Bangladesh. In this situation, two possibilities should be considered. First, new alternative technology to construction needs to be introduced; at least actions must be taken against unauthorised brick kilns. According to existing law, if any person makes bricks without obtaining a licence from the district administrator of the district of the brickfield, then he or she shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year, with or without a fine which may extend to one lakh taka or both.

Even in Bangladesh, the concerning impact of vehicles on worsening air pollution demands more attention. It not only causes immediate inconvenience in the surroundings but also long-term public health problems like heart diseases, asthma and other lung disorders. Over 235,000 lives were lost due to air pollution in 2021. Children under five years old are especially vulnerable, with health effects including premature birth, low birth weight, asthma and lung diseases.

Besides, there are still many unnecessary personal vehicles driven by gasoline and diesel that create harmful nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, benzene, and formaldehyde. According to the Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983, whoever drives or causes or allows or lets out a motor vehicle for use in any public place, the smoke of which would constitute a health hazard, shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to 200 taka. Police can also seize and detain the vehicle. To deal with this difficult situation, the use of electric battery vehicles should be increased. In the renowned green city of Bangladesh named Rajshahi, this step has already been taken. At first, in 2008, battery-operated autorickshaws were presented in Rajshahi. After getting benefits from it, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology again introduced rental e-bikes for personal use, which are very eco-friendly for our environment. The e-bike charge fee is 2 taka per minute. It also helps to sustain the economic growth while promoting environmental security.

It is also important to acknowledge that deforestation is another major critical issue impacting Bangladesh. In 2020, Bangladesh’s natural forests spanned 1.82 million hectares, accounting for 13 per cent of its total land area. By 2023, the country had lost 20.2 thousand hectares of natural forest, leading to 11.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, Section 33 of the Forest Act 1927 depicts that cutting or dragging any timber shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 5 years and shall not be less than six months and shall be liable to a fine which may extend to Tk 50,000 and not be less than Tk 5,000.

Moreover, Bangladesh has heavy reliance on fossil fuels for its energy security, marked by several challenges, including inefficient energy consumption and environmental concerns. Obviously, it serves as one of the main reasons for the emission of greenhouse gases and further degradation of the environment. On the other hand, the unnecessary use of air conditioning, televisions and other electric devices has increased. In addition to that, many outdated machines in buildings, industries, and transportation are consuming more and more energy. No wonder the reserves of the energy are depleting too. In turn, the mitigation of the environment has become more challenging because of the increased demand for the production of fossil fuel-based energy. Thereby, in an oppositional way, the reliance on diversifying renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydroelectric power is really significant not only for economic security but also for environmental sustainability.

Furthermore, Bangladesh must consider global collaboration for energy security. It highlights how climate action cannot be isolated. The meaningful partnerships across international boundaries are required not only to secure funds for climate-induced loss and damage but also to foster the innovative, eco-friendly solutions. These solutions, moreover, aim to sustain the economic growth while causing no harm to the environment. Hence, by prioritising sustainability and minimising pollution, Bangladesh can not only enhance its climate resilience but also actively participate in global climate efforts.

Ummi Hossain is an apprentice lawyer at Rajshahi Judge Court.​

 

[Saif]

Govt should set policy focus right to save rivers

THE High Court in yet another welcome directive on May 6 asked the government to take some specific steps for a better oversight of River Sitalakhya conservation projects. The directive came on a writ petition by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, which highlighted the unchecked dumping of...

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Govt should set policy focus right to save rivers
08 May, 2025, 00:00

THE High Court in yet another welcome directive on May 6 asked the government to take some specific steps for a better oversight of River Sitalakhya conservation projects. The directive came on a writ petition by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, which highlighted the unchecked dumping of untreated industrial and solid waste into the river. The 110km Sitalakhya was once the mainstay for fishers but has now lost its aquatic biodiversity. The fisheries department earlier confirmed that waste dumped into the river was the main reason for the fish stock decline. Most industrial units along the river do not have functioning effluent treatment plants. In 2017, the environment department reported the level of dissolved oxygen in the Sitalakhya water at 2 parts per million during the monsoon season and almost zero level in the dry season, which should be 6 parts per million for the survival of aquatic lives. The High Court directive to form an oversight committee to prevent the pollution of the river is what the government should comply with.

The High Court has also asked the government to assess the extent of pollution and environmental damage and report back to court in three months. It has asked the authorities about their inaction in taking action against all responsible for the pollution. In 2010, a writ petition was filed seeking a court directive on the unchecked pollution of rivers. The court later issued a series of orders which included identifying errant industrial units and taking actions against them. In January 2020, the court asked the utility service providers to disconnect gas, power and water connections to the factories discharging untreated industrial wastes into the river. It is worrying that the litigant has to move court again to seek an order to enforce the directives. It is concerning given that the environment, forest and climate change adviser has announced the commitment to protecting and reclaiming rivers and had been on the front line of movements that sought protection of the environment. The steps so far taken resemble the insincerity of the predecessors, especially the deposed Awami League government.

The government should, therefore, abandon the superficial and non-committal policy attitude and take early action against errant industrial units and prosecute the Sitalakhya polluters. It should also comply with the court orders and not only the order at hand but all orders issued in the past.​

 

[Saif]

No new industries within 10km of Sundarbans ECA

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has prohibited any new industrial activities or projects within 10 kilometres of the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) around the Sundarbans.

www.thedailystar.net

No new industries within 10km of Sundarbans ECA
Govt issues notification

Star file photo

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has prohibited any new industrial activities or projects within 10 kilometres of the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) around the Sundarbans.

The ministry issued a notification, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Sabrina Rahman, in this regard yesterday.

It said measures of necessary environmental conservation and pollution control may be adopted in light of the announcement. Also, action can be taken aiming at sustainable management.​

 

[Saif]

undefined | The Financial Express

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Speakers at policy breakfast urge clean air law, say it is a constitutional right, not a luxury
FE Online Report
Published :
May 15, 2025 19:45
Updated :
May 15, 2025 19:46

Speakers at a policy breakfast on Thursday underscored the need for the enactment of a clean air act and the inclusion of strict standards to control air pollutants emitted from power plants in the 2022 Air Pollution Control Rules.

They also called for strong administrative mechanisms and public-private partnerships with accountability in renewable energy financing.

Clean air is not a luxury—it is a constitutional right, they said.

The policy breakfast, titled "Revisiting Energy Policies for Ensuring Clean Air," was jointly organised by the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), and the Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) at the conference hall of the BIP in Dhaka city.

CAPS Chairman Professor Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder presented the keynote paper at the event, which was chaired by Professor Md Shahidul Islam, Chairman of the Department of Geography and Environment at Dhaka University.

The country’s half a dozen coal-fired power plants are not only polluting the air but are also harmful to agriculture and biodiversity, said Abu Sayed Md Kamruzzaman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

Nayoka Martinez Bäckström, First Secretary and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation (Environment & Climate Change) of the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, highlighted the support of many European partners for a clean and just energy transition through innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and by enhancing grid connectivity, distribution, and storage.

She also emphasised the importance of involving civil society organisations, researchers, think tanks, youth, and industry stakeholders in energy sector coordination.

The country’s energy demand can be reduced through increased public transport and greater use of renewable energy, which will also help control urban air pollution, said BIP President Professor Adil Muhammad Khan.

CPRD Executive Director Md Shamsuddoha stressed the need for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement, which is currently missing in national energy policies.

He called for ensuring civil society participation in national-level policymaking.

Mohammad Fazle Reza Suman, Convener of the Advisory Board of BIP; Dr Md Saifur Rahman, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director at the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), urged both the interim and future governments to rely on local expert panels rather than foreign consultants for developing energy and other policies.​

 

[Saif]

DNCC to collaborate with volunteers for conservation, greening of 33 canals in Dhaka

Several voluntary organisations will work to green the banks of 33 canals and lakes in Dhaka city by planting trees to prevent encroachment from June 1, said Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Mohammad Azaz. Azaz announced it after attending a meeting on-site inspection of canal, la

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

DNCC to collaborate with volunteers for conservation, greening of 33 canals in Dhaka
FE Online Desk
Published :
May 15, 2025 21:32
Updated :
May 15, 2025 21:32

Several voluntary organisations will work to green the banks of 33 canals and lakes in Dhaka city by planting trees to prevent encroachment from June 1, said Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Mohammad Azaz.

Azaz announced it after attending a meeting on-site inspection of canal, lake banks and determination action plan on Thursday, reports UNB.

The DNCC administrator said, “We are appointing one gardener for every one kilometre of the canal bank for planting and maintenance of trees. They will work together with these voluntary organizations.”

Each of the 33 canals has been allocated to a specific organisation. For example, Green Voice will be responsible for the Rampura canal, while OAB Foundation (RSDB) will manage the Abdullahpur canal.

Other participating organisations include Brighters, Human Safety Foundation, Young Climate Action Network, Smriti Sarkar, Dakshinkhan Welfare Society, Youth Environment and Development Organization, and Alokito Kori Amra.

The administrator also announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the city corporation and the volunteer organisations will be signed next week to formalise the collaboration.

Environmental engineer Mohammad Abul Kashem, urban planner Sanjida Haque, and other officials from the DNCC’s Environment, Climate, and Disaster Management Circle were present during the visit and discussions.​

 

[Saif]

When rivers weep in silence

RIVERS have for long been Bangladesh’s lifeblood — irrigating paddy fields at dawn, carrying timber and trade by noon, and quenching hearths and homes each evening. Yet today, these ancient arteries lie poisoned and diminished: the Buriganga is bathed in industrial effluent, the Sitalakhya reeks...

www.newagebd.net

When rivers weep in silence
Joydeep Chowdhury 18 May, 2025, 00:00

RIVERS have for long been Bangladesh’s lifeblood — irrigating paddy fields at dawn, carrying timber and trade by noon, and quenching hearths and homes each evening. Yet today, these ancient arteries lie poisoned and diminished: the Buriganga is bathed in industrial effluent, the Sitalakhya reeks of rust and neglect and the Turag is reduced to a choked whisper of its former breadth. We once invoked their names in song and myth. Now we invoke them in courtrooms.

In 2019, the High Court delivered a groundbreaking judgement. It declared the River Turag, and, by extension, all rivers, as living entities and legal persons. The Appellate Division upheld the ruling, establishing it as national law. The National River Conservation Commission was appointed in loco parentis, Latin for ‘in the place of a parent’, and is legally responsible for protecting these rivers, speaking on their behalf, and ensuring their rights are enforceable against both private corporations and public agencies.

This decision was not just a legal ruling; it was a poetic moment. It offered a river the dignity long afforded to banks and corporations. And yet, over half a decade later, the question floats unanswered: has the river’s life improved? The Buriganga still runs thick with industrial discharge, its waters as dark as night. The Sitalakhya smells of corrosion and abandonment. The Turag, once the inspiration for personhood, now flows like a wounded vein — narrowed, choked, silenced.

We gave rivers a voice in the courtroom but left them mute in the real world.

Where water becomes bloodline

TO UNDERSTAND the betrayal, we must first remember what rivers mean to this land. Bangladesh is not simply a country with rivers. It is a country made of them.

More than 700 rivers flow across this delta like ancestral threads, stitching together the nation’s geography, economy, memory, and soul. Rivers are not beside us; they are beneath us, within us. Our rice fields bow to their seasonal rhythms. Our fishermen trace their dreams along their channels. Our poems, songs and proverbs speak of the Padma, the Meghna and the Jamuna, not as water bodies but as mothers, lovers and warriors.

Rivers birthed our settlements. They fed our revolts. They carried our tears and our trade. Our language is moist with their memory — nadir mata chhila meyeti, she was like a river, as we say of a woman. They are metaphors and matter. They are flow and form.

When we say a river is dying, we are not speaking of water. We are speaking of lineage. We are speaking of ourselves.

Hollow inheritance of rights

LEGAL personhood is not a decorative label. It means an entity is granted rights similar to those of a human or a corporation. It can file and receive lawsuits. It can seek redress. This concept gained momentum in New Zealand when the River Whanganui received guardians who represent it in court and parliament.

In Bangladesh, however, river personhood was declared without such a scaffold. The rights exist in theory, but the river has no lawyer, no budget, and no standing. Factories still bleed toxins into their heart. Developers still gnaw away at its banks. Politicians still offer protection to the predators.

We handed the rivers a constitution, but not a conscience. We gave them a name, but not a backbone.

The National River Conservation Commission, declared the guardian of the rivers, cannot file criminal complaints independently. It cannot enforce eviction orders. It cannot compel factories to change or ministries to act. It relies on fragile cooperation from overlapping and often complicit government agencies. This process is not guardianship. This is ceremonial witnessing. A parent who cannot protect their child is not truly a parent. A guardian who cannot raise a voice in court or break a concrete slab from a riverbank is no guardian at all.

Symbolism, not stewardship

BANGLADESH’S personhood ruling has been cited in global law reviews and praised at conferences. But what has it achieved at home? The Buriganga’s breath grows thinner by the year. Untreated urban discharge pollutes the Karnaphuli. The Meghna swells with plastic, foam, and pesticide.

Symbolism without infrastructure is cruelty with flair. We have clothed our rivers in law’s finest language and then left them to die in silence.

A parallel unfolded in India in March 2017, when Uttarakhand’s High Court declared in Mohammad Salim v State of Uttarakhand that the Ganges and Yamuna were ‘living persons,’ appointing state officials in loco parentis to defend their rights. Weeks later, however, the Supreme Court stayed the order, citing its overreach and the absence of legislative authority, leaving both sacred rivers to continue bleeding untreated sewage and industrial waste. This legal mirage reveals that personhood in the abstract cannot heal poisoned waters; only a clear legislative framework, budgeted enforcement, and genuine guardianship can.

Ritualising rivers

THIS legal spectacle has left our rivers mere stage props. We have mastered lofty proclamations — granting personhood in courtrooms, convening seminars, and publishing glossy reports — but failed at real stewardship. Judges may declare rivers ‘legal persons,’ yet the agencies tasked with protecting them often lack sufficient funds, independence, and authority. A guardian without power is nothing more than an empty shell.

Our personhood ruling was a splendid ceremony: the law clothed rivers in sanctity but let them drown beneath concrete embankments and factory effluent. We extol ‘living entities’ while allowing the same encroachments, illegal discharges, and sand-mining that halve their breadth. Without a firm legislative framework — clear statutes defining guardians’ powers and enforceable remedies — our rivers remain ghosts: honoured in name, abandoned in reality.

True guardianship needs more than words. It demands funded enforcement units free to file suit, dedicated river tribunals to hear pollution cases, and empowered community stewards to act when a river’s health falters. Otherwise, personhood is a poem recited to a corpse — beautiful in theory, lifeless in practice.

Illusion of equivalence

BORROWED legal models such as Ecuador’s constitutional nature rights and New Zealand’s Maori guardianship do not translate neatly into Bangladesh’s socio-legal context. We lack the legislative follow-through, the political will, and the cultural respect for law that such transformations demand. Our rivers do not need foreign costumes. They need local custodians: boatmen, farmers, poets, and local councils — those who understand the rhythm of monsoon and silt, who weep when a river recedes.

The rivers may be ‘legal persons,’ but who will act on their behalf? Who will file the lawsuit when a textile plant dumps mercury into a canal? Who will attend court, pay the legal fees, and gather evidence? Without a river rights act, a law clearly defining legal standing, funding, and procedural recourse, the verdict means little. Justice that exists only in a judge’s chamber is no justice at all.

The interim government’s silence exacerbates the present situation. Without direct electoral pressure, it is reasonable to assume that this is the ideal time to act decisively and establish long-overdue ecological accountability. Nonetheless, the temporary administration has maintained a disconcerting quiet. The lack of communication from the environmental adviser’s office is notably unexpected, considering her established reputation as an environmentalist. Her public credentials include decades of advocacy, numerous accolades, and international recognition. At this pivotal juncture, her office has neither issued any significant statement nor articulated regulatory resistance to the industry’s ongoing damage to our rivers. This dilemma necessitates an evaluation. Why does a prominent environmentalist keep silent as rivers become polluted and disappear?

Bangladesh’s environmental statutes are deeply anthropocentric. They protect rivers only because humans need them. But what about the river as a being, an ecosystem, a cultural mirror? We must shift from the idea of rivers as usable things to rivers as co-inhabitants of this land. That shift is not legalistic. It is philosophical. And perhaps it’s the only path to survival.

Metaphor must bleed

WE CALLED the rivers people. That metaphor must now bleed into budgets, litigation, schoolbooks, and city planning. It must change how embankments are built, how factories are inspected, how water is treated, and how children are taught. If a river is a person, then poisoning it is murder. Encroachment must be considered theft. Then silence must be complicity.

The 2019 decision, affirmed by the Appellate Division, was not merely a ruling. It was a moment of national self-recognition. But the potential for change is hindered by policy paralysis. A law without legs is not a law — it is literature. Rivers once carved this land into civilisation. Now we must carve a civilisation that respects the rivers.

Let us not wait until our rivers become relics in textbooks and names of roads. Let us act not as landlords of nature but as children returned to their mother. If the law cannot cry with the rivers, then what is its voice for?

Joydeep Chowdhury is a lecturer in law at Sonargaon University, Dhaka. He is also an advocate at the district and sessions judges court, Dhaka.​