Rapid urbanisation blamed for most damage to nature

Environmentalists have blamed rapid urbanisation in the country for causing the most damage to natural resources including rivers, ponds, forests and hilly areas.

They fear that the impact is even more severe than that of global climate change.

There is no doubt that the national economy has advanced significantly in recent times, but the cost is also mounting at an alarming rate with both the nature and people living around it directly exposed, they claimed at a press conference arranged to announce a major awareness campaign in January.

The press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity on 19 December announced a two-day environmental programme during 13-14 January at the Central Shahid Minar and Science Annex Building premises in the Dhaka University area. Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Bangladesh Environment Network (Ben) will organise the event.

Unplanned drainage system, roads, bridges and culverts as well as new power stations are rapidly reducing the areas of rivers, haors, ponds and bills, while water bodies are being heavily polluted with industrial and household wastage, Alamgir Kabir, a joint secretary at Bapa, said at the press meet.

River pollution is making lives increasingly difficult for people in river bank areas, Kabir added.

Highlighting the impact on forests and hills, Kabir said urbanisation and industrialisation is fast eroding the already poor forest cover in the country. The destruction of Gazipur tropical forests is a prime example of this. In the Chattogram Hill Tracts, expanding agricultural activities and new government buildings are added problems, the environmentalist remarked.

Bapa Vice President Professor Khondoker Bazlul Hoque pointed out that the loss of nature is now a global problem. He urged all countries to collaborate on tackling air pollution as only a few countries still remain immune to the crisis.

The January programmes aim to press political parties to include conservation in their manifestos for the next general election and also in SDGs and the current government's Bangladesh Delta Plan, he clarified.

Bapa Vice President Professor M Feroze Ahmed called on the government to consider the potential impact on the environment before undertaking any development initiative.

Professor M Shahidul Islam, executive committee member of Bapa, said there are two forces impacting the country's waterbodies: global and regional. Global factors like climate change is altering river flows and reducing water levels. Activities of regional players sharing the same river like erecting new structures, deforestation in river banks and changing of surrounding land features are also having major impact.

Dr Nazrul Islam, founder of Bangladesh Environment Network, said the impacted communities stage demonstrations in various parts of the country seeking redressal and combined forces of Bapa-Ben will take their pleas before the government and political leaders to ensure environmental justice.