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There is no denying that the state of environment in Bangladesh is not at all praiseworthy. Severe air, water and noise pollution are threatening human health, ecosystems and economic growth. Air pollution is rising as a consequence of population boom, burning fossil fuels, industrialisation etc.
On the other hand, water pollution is also increasing with unplanned industrialisation of the country. The underground water is being polluted due to arsenic contamination. Major cities of the country are also exposed to high level of noise pollution. Over 150,000 old and ramshackle motorised vehicles are plying the streets of the city polluting the environment.
At a recent conference in the city, environmental experts called upon the government to backtrack from development projects that might destroy the environment as they have found many projects to cause more harm than development to the country and its people.
The recent Environmental Performance Index (EPI), made public some time back, demonstrates that how the issue of environment was blatantly neglected in the country that hampered its economic development. Bangladesh ranked 179th among 180 countries in its performance index.
The global index shows that 160 million people of Bangladesh are living in an environment which is alarming. The country is in the midst of an environmentally threatened region. Despite being environmentally conscious, Bhutan stands at 131 on the index. India and Nepal are close to Bangladesh's ranking. Sri Lanka is an exception in the region, ranking at 70.
The performance index report states that Bangladesh and India face this precarious environmental predicament due to performance in the sectors of air quality, biodiversity and greenhouse emissions.
Climate change is mostly causing the most serious environmental hazards to the country. Its geophysical location coupled with high density population, limited resources and dependence on nature makes the country hazard-prone with many catastrophic events like floods, cyclones and salinity intrusion. The poor are the most affected by the climate extremes and have very little capacity to cope with the risks.
Of late, a huge number of Rohingya penetration into Bangladesh generated many serious socio-economic problems for the country. The situation has already left an adverse impact on environmental management issues. Widespread cutting of hill tracts and forest resources incited the degradation of land and water body in the refugee settlement areas. A recent report reveals about 4,000 acres of hilly tracts have already been cut down to construct Rohingya camps.
On the issue of environment degradation, the government has taken some actions. In pursuance of the Stockholm mandate, the government actively participated in the evolutionary process of protecting global environment. As a result, the first Water Pollution Control Ordinance was promulgated in 1973 followed by the promulgation of the Environment Pollution Control Ordinance in 1977. In 1985 Department of Pollution Control Ordinance was established which was subsequently renamed and structured as Department of Environment (DOE).
Although the country has strong environmental and natural resource management policies and regulations, there is the need for integrating environmental protection and management into national planning and strengthening environmental institutions, especially to respond to rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and growing pollution.
Also, the country needs to harness the potential of the climate-smart 'blue' economy. It needs to improve its protection of ocean health, create sustained jobs and livelihoods, and strengthen its management of vast marine resources. There should be climate-resilient forest and landscape management, which can improve rural livelihoods and foster economic opportunities in rural areas.
To stem the tide of destruction, the authorities must bring to book the polluters of environment, alongside monitoring the air quality, and launch a drive to reclaim the water bodies and maintain the drainage network so that after moderate-to-heavy rainfall the rainwater could be effectively flushed out.
Bangladesh needs to prove its political commitment when it comes to addressing these serious environmental issues. There are already laws and monitoring institutions in place. But implementation of such laws should be the main task of the government.