Governing the environment: Key challenges in Bangladesh

"Governance" is a common theme in political science, international relations, public sector management, and corporate affairs. Definitions of governance are linked to international agencies (e.g. World Bank and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and benchmarks of "good" public governance. These benchmarks include accountability, transparency, responsiveness, equity and inclusion, effectiveness and efficiency, following the rule of law, and participatory, consensus oriented decision making. Environmental governance is a rapidly growing field in applied human environment scholarship with implications for conservation practice. Environmental Governance is a concept in political ecology and environmental policy that advocates sustainable development (Sustainable development can be classified as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations) as the supreme consideration for meaning all human activities as political, economic and social governance includes government, business people, and civil society and emphasizes whole system management.
Hazards of environment in Bangladesh: Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to cyclone flood, drought, river erosion and water pollution. The huge population is in danger displacement due to the rising global temperature and sea water level. An UN study says: `Bangladesh is the 6th in occurring flood (by rating 1.1) and placed 1st in tropical cyclone (by rating 3.21).

Environmental Pollution: 1. Water Pollution: Water Pollution is the adverse effect of polluting by Bacteria and other germs, harmful bio-chemical, inorganic chemical and radioactive materials such as industrial garbage like textile, tannery, dyeing and agro used materials as fertilizer, pesticides, ship spill and pipeline cracks etc. Industrial wastes are responsible for 60 percent of the surface water pollution in and around Dhaka city while domestic wastes account for rest of the pollution.

2. Air Pollution: The air pollution is caused by the uncontrolled emission from various sources like emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, CFC, Lead, Nitrogen Oxide, Sulpher Dioxide, Nuclear waste and coal ash radiation and recent trends micro wave radiation of mobile tower. World Health Organizations (WHO) air quality guidelines, however recommends a maximum acceptable PM level of 20 mcm compared to Bangladesh's standard of 50.

According to the Department of Environment (DoE), the density of airborne particulate matter (PM) has reached 247 micrograms per cubic metre (mcm) in Dhaka which is nearly five times the acceptable level of 50 PM per mcm set by the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's capital ranks fourth worst in the Air Quality Index (AQI) according to a report published in the media recently. Dhaka had a score of 165 at 10.44 am, indicating harmful air quality. On the other hand India's Delhi, Pakistan's Lahore and Nepal's Kathmandu occupied the top three spots respectively.

The AQI an index for reporting daily air quality, tells people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city its and what associated health effects might cause them. It is the change of usual behavior of weather adversely due to some reasons as increasing temperature, decreasing rainfall, drought, depletion of carbon dioxide, carbon mono oxide, nitrogen dioxide, CFC etc.

Although there is no definite study, doctors suggest exposure to such a volume of air pollution may cause premature deaths and also various diseases including pulmonary, respiratory and neurological illnesses. Air pollution has also an adverse effect on all other life forms including plants.

3. Soil Degradation: Soil degradation means the reduction of fertility of the soil due to uses of harmful bio-chemical, inorganic chemicals, radioactive materials, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticide chemicals degradation of soil occurred.

4. Sound Pollution: Sound pollution is occurred in so many ways like hydraulic horn, industry construction, sirens, open air concerts, car, aircraft and rails etc. As a result human body may suffer from heart failure and ear-drum torn.

5. Biodiversity loss: Bangladesh has about 5000 species of flowering plants and 1500 species of fauna. It was much more a century ago. But at present Bangladesh had lost a large number of fauna and flora species.

Biodiversity loss is occurring due to loss of ecosystem destruction in large scale which hinders human population growth and economic development; reduce marine resources and affects on climate and so on.

6. Deforestation: Deforestation means cutting down, burning or damage of forests. Its main causes are removal of trees without sufficient reforestation and rapidly population growth and uses of wood as fuel, habited, industrial use and quality of life.

7. Wetland Degradation: Wetland degradation means river, canal, haor, lake, pond, ditch and other water bodies due to drought, filling earth by some dishonest so called estate developers and siltation as well as fill up the water bodies. 8. Soil Erosion: Soil Erosion is the detachment and movement of soil particles by the erosive forces of wind, water and raindrop, due to soil erosion, it affects adversely soil credibility, soil roughness, field length and vegetation.

9. Shifting of Agriculture Land: Agricultural land shifting due to shifting cultivation in the tribal areas, costal shrimp farming, large scale irrigation and flood control projects in Bangladesh are the main cause of land shifting. Other major-challenges are: 1. Nuclear Waste: Nuclear waste is the waste that contains radioactive material. Usually it is by-product of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fusion or nuclear technology, which discharged in nearest our ocean by other elite country of globe.

It created pollution toxics virus's bacteria and habitat destructing of bottom trawling and costal wetland. 2. Ocean Exhaustion: Ocean exhaustion means the destruction of the marine resources. It occurred by consumption of collateral damage, pollution of eutrophication (This process may result in oxygen depletion of the water body.), pollution by toxins, viruses and bacteria and habitat destruction of bottom trawling and costal wetland.

3. Desertification: Desertification is a type of land degradation in which losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife cause of desertification are climate change, increasing temperature and build barrage in several rivers to upstream like Farakka, Tista and Tipai. 4. Destruction of Ozone Layer: The ozone layer is layer of gases in the sky that prevents entering harmful radiation of the sun to the earth. Depletion of Ozone Layer is caused by the emission of carbon dioxide, carbon mono oxide, CFC. UV-1, UV-2, UV-7 rays directly come to the surface of earth.

In this regards step taken by Bangladesh government to mitigate the challenges for governing the environment: Bangladesh Government formulated various types of laws, act, rules and regulation as well as fixed some targets which are described below: 1. Environment policy 1994. 2. The Forest Policy-1994. 3. National Environmental Management Action Plan-1995. 5. Water Pollution Control Ordinance-1973 and enforced in 1974. 6. Bangladesh Wild Life Preservation Act 1973. 7. Environmental Protection Act (EPA)-1995.

8. Environmental Conservation Rules-1997. 8. Environmental Court Act-2000 and amended in 2002. 9. The Forest Act-1927, amended in 1990 and 2000. 10. The Forest Act-1927, amended in 1990 and 2000. 11. Bangladesh Bio-safety Rules-2010. 12. Bangladesh Environmental Conservation Act-1995, amended in 2000 and 2002. 12. The Environmental Pollution Control Ordinance-1977. 13. The Water Pollution Control Ordinance-1970, 14. The Land Reform Ordinance-1984. 15. The Water Bodies Policy 2009.etc.

Bangladesh government can mitigate environmental challenges by taking following steps: 1. Legal and institutional initiatives implementation. 2. Awareness building among the people regarding environment through different media. 3. Major political parties should make some commitments about environment in their programs i.e. their election manifesto. 4. Environmental policies, ordinance acts should be implemented and evaluated.

5. Development versus as development activities must be sustainable and eco-friendly. 6. Implementation of tree plantation programs by the foreign aid. 7. Government constructed multi-storied building for the helpless and distress people.

The People's Republic of Bangladesh has fixed some targets to mitigate the challenges of Environments. This target is merged on MDGs-7. Bangladesh Government tries to achieve the goals in the following areas through implementing the goals. These are: Increases Forestation, targets 9% by period 1990-1995, 9%-11% by 1996-2006 and 20% within period 2015.

Biological diversity: 1.6% targets period 1990-1995, and 1.6%-1.83% by 1996-2006, 1.83%-5% within 2015. Decreases emission carbon dioxide 0.145 percent by 1990-1995 and 0.14%-0.3% by 1996-2006. Consumption of Ozone depletion 280.6 by 1995 and 280.6-195.5 by 1996-2006.

In addition, Bangladesh government has signed the SD goals for implementation the same for meeting present and future generation's needs. Moreover, Bangladesh government has given emphasized on SD goals included the goals on the 7th 5 years planning and allocated resources for enforces the SD goals.

Even critics of the PM Sheikh Hasina regime agree that the last decade has witnessed unprecedented economic growth in Bangladesh. This country is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, met the threshold for graduating from least developed country (LDC) status, marking a milestone in the nation's development which become one of the world's economic success stories.

As a developing country, people strive to move up the ladder of development in order both to meet basic needs and to have the opportunity to lead richer, more fulfilling lives i.e. develop its infrastructure, enhance industrialization and living standard etc. Bangladesh has enjoyed rapid urbanization and industrialization.

Due to rapid development and population pressure, environmental degradation continues. Bangladesh is among the countries most affected by pollution and other environmental health risks. On the other hand Spawned of natural disasters are affecting many component of the environment land water air, Salinity drought water logging etc.

Therefore there is a need for sustainable development and environmental governance and its implications for conservation practice. `Think before you do, not after you're done,' says a Bengali proverb that should urgent applies today for overcoming the key environmental challenges in Bangladesh.

Writer is Researcher of Environmental Governance, Faculty of Social Science, University of Dhaka and working as Evaluation and Documentation Officer, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM). He can reach: [email protected]