THE
BROADER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT IN BANGLADESH
Nazrul Islam
Department
of Economics
Emory
University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 30322
The paper argues that unlike in some other countries, the environment movement in Bangladesh may have a broader significance. This is because there is a vacuum in effective representation of public interests in the country. This vacuum results from degeneration of many traditional social organizations of the country. The environment movement can fill up this vacuum to a certain extent and thereby have a broader influence on the social life. Apart from being inherently forward looking, the environment movement is displaying such appealing features as unity, self-reliance, spirit of volunteer work, and subordination of partisan interests to broader national interests. These are precisely the qualities that the people want to see in their representative social organizations. Together with certain recent positive changes in Bangladesh society, the environment movement can therefore conduce to a process of social regeneration.
The effort to
protect environment in Bangladesh is both old and new. As in other traditional,
pre-industrial societies, the life of common Bangladeshi people was tied
closely with the rhythm of nature. The economy was primarily agrarian, and
agriculture was entirely organic. People had a deep reverence for nature, and
they had a harmonious co-existence with the natural environment. There wasn’t
much of the antagonism between nature and human economic activity that is
characteristic of industrial production. In this pre-industrial sense, love for
natural environment among the people of Bangladesh runs quite deep, has existed
from before, and is nothing new.[1]
However, the environmental protection effort in its post-industrial sense is of recent origin in Bangladesh. The beginnings can be traced to the 1980s. Several developments took place in that period. First, a separate Ministry for Environment and Forests (MoEF) was created. This replaced the small Department of Environment and Pollution Control (DEPC) that existed before within the ministry of Local Affairs. Second, many non-government organizations (NGO) emerged with environmental protection as their main goal. Many general purpose NGOs also incorporated environmental protection as one of their lines of activity. Third, some research and consulting organizations emerged with study of environmental issues as the main focus.
These
developments took place in the backdrop of serious environmental degradation
that Bangladesh was witnessing particularly beginning with the eighties. The
quality of urban air began to plummet. The problem of chemical run-off to
surface water bodies became rampant. The problem of appropriate disposal of
household, industrial, and medical waste started to become acute. Forests,
wetlands, and open spaces began to disappear fast. Loss of aquatic and
terrestrial bio-diversity became marked. The problem of arsenic contamination
of ground water began to surface. It was natural that some sections of the
Bangladeshi society felt alarmed by these disturbing trends and came forward
with some plans and activities.
However, as with many other recent phenomenon in Bangladesh, there was also an important donor-induced element in these developments. By the eighties, both the issue of environmental quality and the environmental movement have become prominent in developed countries. Accordingly, international aid agencies working in Bangladesh started paying attention to and earmark some of their resources for pro-environment activities. Also the UN sponsored several processes of inter-governmental deliberation for reaching agreements on environmental issues. For various reasons, Bangladesh government was enthusiastic to participate in these processes.
As a result of
these international and domestic processes, environmental protection emerged as
a noticeable issue in the eighties. An important step in this regard was the
formulation of the National Environment Management Action Plan (NEMAP) by the
ministry of environment with participation by some NGOs and other
organizations. The NEMAP led to the UNDP funded $26 million Sustainable
Environment Management Project (SEMP) with twenty-one different components
implemented by different Sub Implementation Agencies (SIA). In addition, the
World Bank and the Asian Development Bank came forward with several environment-related
projects. The flurry of activities generated by these projects and the
involvement of a significant number of people with pro-environmental activities
through their association with these projects were important elements of the
background in which the environment movement emerged in Bangladesh in the
nineties.
The question
that may rightly arise is, Given all the government projects, NGO activities,
etc., why does Bangladesh need a civic environment movement? The answer lies in
the fact that environment in Bangladesh continues to deteriorate, indicating
that the above projects and activities are not proving adequate for meeting the
environmental challenge that the country faces. There are a variety of reasons
for this inadequacy.[2]
Among these are:
a)
Ill conceived
projects: Often the projects themselves are ill conceived. Instead of
addressing the main problem, they often focus on peripheral aspects and are
designed to a large extent to serve vested interests.[3]
b)
Improper
implementation of projects: Even when environmental projects are well
conceived, these are often not well implemented. Newspapers frequently report
horror stories of mismanagement and misappropriation of project funds. Recently
the government even had to suspend the UNDP financed SEMP project because of
serious allegations of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.
c)
Absence of right
policies: Often solution to environmental problems does not require
projects, which in Bangladesh generally involve foreign loans. Instead the
solution often lies in right policies. There is however an in-built bias
towards projects (and away from policies) because projects in their wake bring
funds and thus create opportunities to make money either legally or illegally.
.
d)
Lax execution of
policies: Even when right policies and rules are adopted, these are often
not implemented properly because of inefficiency and corruption. In many cases
necessary institutional arrangements, such as environmental courts, necessary
for enforcing the adopted rules are lacking.
e)
Fragmentation and
weakness of authority: Often the authority necessary to deal with an
environmental problem is fragmented across several government ministries and
departments. Frequently, the environment ministry finds itself weak in power
vis-à-vis other ministries such as of industry, trade, and communications.
f)
Overlap and
duplication: In some cases there are unnecessary duplication of activities
by government agencies and NGOs.
This list of
shortcomings of efforts to confront environmental degradation in Bangladesh can
be made longer. However, it is clear that an underlying cause for all these
shortcomings is the absence of a strong social movement for environmental
protection. Until recently, environmental protection in Bangladesh remained a
business mainly of the government agencies and some NGOs. There was little
participation of broader sections of the society in pro-environmental efforts.
Yet experience shows that good policies for environmental protection are not
always adopted and implemented properly unless there is a social pressure to do
so.[4]
The experience
of developed countries also vindicates this conclusion. The improvements of
environmental quality in developed countries did not come about automatically.
Numerous citizens’ groups had to work hard for these changes. It is because of
their persistent efforts that a strong social pressure now exists in developed
countries for environmental protection. A similar process has to unfold in
Bangladesh.
It is
encouraging that, by the turn of the century, a voluntary civic environment
movement has taken shape in Bangladesh. There have been several forerunners of
this process. One of these was the civic environmental organizations that
emerged in early 1990s. The most important among them was Poribesh Rokkha Shopoth (POROSH), formed by a collection of
important environment conscious citizens of the country. By the second half of
1990s, POROSH was already organizing citizens’ campaigns for protection of
Dhaka’s lakes, greenery, and air. POROSH earned some name recognition through
these campaigns. Another such civic organization is Doctors for Health and Environment (DHE), formed to mobilize
doctors and other health-care workers for environment protection efforts.
Several
specific issue-based movements served as another forerunner of the environment
movement. The most prominent among these was the movement to save trees of the Osmany Uddyan. Of note is the fact that
this movement proved successful in forcing the government to change the venue
of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Convention Center from Osmany Uddyan to Sher-e-Bangla
Nagar. There were specific issue-based movements outside Dhaka too. One of
these was in Jessore to save Bil Dakatia. Another example is the
movement against adverse environmental consequences of shrimp cultivation in
the coastal areas of Khulna district.[5]
Alongside these civic and issue-based movements, the press and media played an important role in the emergence of environment movement in Bangladesh. Several newspapers indeed played a very positive role. Environment conscious journalists also formed their associations and became active in different ways.
The
environment conscious non-resident Bangladeshis (NRB) played an important role
in the genesis of environment movement in Bangladesh. In 1998 they set up Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) to mobilize
the NRB input and channel it to sincere pro-environment civic forces inside
Bangladesh. On eof BEN’s observation was that pro-environment forces of
Bangladesh were not proving effective, because they were too scattered.
Accordingly, in 1999 BEN put forward the idea of holding a comprehensive
conference on environmental problems of Bangladesh with the purpose of bringing
all pro-environment forces of the country together. POROSH endorsed the idea,
and BEN and POROSH together reached out to other pro-environment organizations
of the country. The idea of the conference received widespread support, and
ultimately about fifty pro-environment organizations and establishments came
together to hold the International Conference on Bangladesh Environment (ICBEN)
on January 14-15, 2000 in Dhaka.[6]
About five hundred environmental experts and activists, including a sizable
contingent of NRBs, participated in the conference as registered delegates. The
conference was open to the public, and a large number of people took part in
the conference without registering. The conference had a novel dual format
consisting of Technical Sessions for discussion by experts and General Sessions
for discussion by activists. The Technical Sessions, numbering twenty-one,
covered all major environmental problems of the country. The General sessions,
on the other hand, were participated by representatives of all sections of the
society including political parties, trade unions, various mass organizations,
cultural organizations, etc. Both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the
Opposition attended the conference and announced forceful commitments for
environmental protection. The conference drew national attention and generated
considerable enthusiasm among the participants and in the public in general.
ICBEN-2000
served as the founding gathering for the broad based civic environment movement
in Bangladesh. The success of the conference illustrated vividly the potential
of pro-environment forces, provided they unite. ICBEN-2000 adopted the Dhaka Declaration on Bangladesh environment
that summarized the recommendations of the conference. The Declaration also set forth the goal of forming an organization that
would serve as the common platform of all pro-environment forces of Bangladesh.
The Organizing Committee of ICBEN-2000 took up this task seriously and formed a
Constitution Committee to draft an appropriate constitution for the proposed
organization, which eventually came to be known as Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA).
Initially,
there were different ideas about possible structure of BAPA. One idea was to
view BAPA as a federation of organizations. A shortcoming of this idea was that
it could restrict direct participation of individuals who are not already
members of some pro-environmental organization. On the other hand, having both
individuals and organizations (which in turn could be of different sizes) as
members of BAPA posed a thorny problem of heterogeneity. The main
constitutional challenge was to devise an appropriate structure that could
accommodate this heterogeneity and yet prove functional and effective. This
required considerable brain storming and time. Ultimately a solution was
reached through the concept of ‘individual-membership equivalence’ for the
organization-members of BAPA. This constitutional format, allowing both
individuals as well as organizations of different sizes to be its member, makes
BAPA unique.
A draft of the
aims and structural outline of BAPA was announced through a press conference in
June 2000. The full version of the constitution was discussed and adopted in
May 2001. The constitution provides for a three-tier decision making process,
consisting of the General Assembly, the National Committee, and the Executive
Committee. Following relevant provisions of the constitution, ad hoc National
and Executive Committees were formed in June 2001, thus completing the
formation of the basic organizational structure of BAPA.
The
broad-based united environment movement that emerged from ICBEN-2000 started to
function even before BAPA’s formal organizational structure was agreed upon and
fleshed out. In accordance to ICBEN-2000 resolution, ICBEN-2000 Organizing
Committee was initially steering this movement. This committee led the work of
publishing the ICBEN documents.[7]
It next proceeded to form Task Forces, each of which was to focus on particular
environmental problems. Several of these Task Forces have since proved very
active. They chalked up specific programs and went forward to implement them. Among
these are the Task Forces on air pollution, encroachment of the Buriganga river (Buriganga Bachao Andolon), surface water pollution, encroachment of
lakes, parks, and other open spaces in cities, etc. In collaboration with
Khulna University and the Khulna-based organization, Rupantar, the Committee also organized a conference (Sundarban Bachao Shommelon) in Khulna to
draw attention to the plight of Bangladesh’s unique mangrove forests, Sundarbans.
The activities of the environment movement gained further momentum with the finalization of BAPA’s organizational structure and formation of its leadership committees. BAPA intensified its movement against air pollution, encroachment of rivers, pollution by plastic bags, etc. In several cases, BAPA’s efforts have yielded results. It is encouraging that Bangladesh government has now banned the use of the particular type of plastic bag (less than 20 micron in thickness) that was most widespread in use and was harming the most. Earlier, BAPA thwarted attempts by vested interests to let TSEVs to continue to ply in Dhaka’s streets. It is encouraging that the government is sticking to its commitment to eradicate TSEVs from Dhaka by 2003 and has taken concrete steps in that direction. These show that it is indeed possible to arrest and reverse processes of pollution, provided there is the will. These also show that environment movement in Bangladesh has great prospects. In order to understand the prospects, we first need to be clear about the scope of the environment movement.
The goal of the
environment movement is clear. It is to stop the process of environmental
degradation in Bangladesh and to repair the damage that has already been done.
However, the environment movement does not view itself as just a pressure group
geared toward putting up demands on the government. That would be a too
reductive view. Instead, the environment movement takes a broader view of its
task. This was made clear in the Dhaka
Declaration adopted at ICBEN-2000. The Declaration
identifies three distinct levels of pro-environmental efforts. These are as
follows:
a)
Individual level:
People can do much at the individual level to protect environment. Every
citizen can set examples of caring for environment in one’s own home and
immediate surroundings. For example, he or she can refrain from harmful types
and levels of consumption and can teach the value of good environment to the
children, relatives, and friends. Such pro-environmental activities do not always
require governmental or community’s help.
b)
Community/local
level: Much can be done at community and local level without having to wait
for help from the government. For example, people in a given community can band
together to save trees, water bodies, open spaces, etc. in their locality.
c)
National level:
The major sources of environmental deterioration are often rooted in government
policies at the national level. It is therefore necessary to influence national
policies in order to protect the environment.
There are
important connections among efforts at these three different levels. First, it
would be irrational on the part of citizens to demand pro-environmental
measures from their government unless they themselves take similar measures at
levels that are under their direct control, namely the individual and community
levels. For example, if people want the government to stop deforestation, then
they themselves should be reluctant to cut down trees in their own homesteads and
localities. Second, government policies cannot be successful if individuals and
local communities do not back up those policies with their own actions. For
example, the government policy to ban the use of plastic bags cannot work fully
unless citizens themselves refrain from using these bags.[8]
Third, unless people are sensitized about their duties at individual and
community level for protection of environment, it cannot be expected that they
will come forward to participate actively in the campaigns to influence
national policies. In this sense, environmental efforts at local and community
levels are a pre-requisite of environmental efforts at the national level.
However, the
connections run in the reverse direction too. For example, pro-environment measures
at the national level may help raise general awareness about the necessity of
environmental protection at individual and community levels. Similarly
pro-environment initiatives at the community level may induce people to be
attentive to environmental protection at the individual level.
These two-way
connections show that the scope of the environment movement has to be conceived
broadly.[9]
Given the importance of national policies in determining environmental quality
of the country, the main goal of the environment movement is to influence these
policies in appropriate directions. However, even to be effective at
influencing governmental policies, a broad view of the scope of environment
movement is necessary.
The important
question is how Bangladesh environment movement can hope to succeed with such a
broad mission. In answering this question, it is first necessary to take note
of some of the salient features that Bangladesh environment movement has
displayed so far.
SOME SALIENT FEATURES OF THE BANGLADESH ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT
Unity: One important feature of the
emerging Bangladesh environment movement is unity.
As mentioned earlier, about fifty pro-environment organizations and
institutions of Bangladesh joined hands to organize ICBEN-2000, the founding
gathering of the Bangladesh environment movement. These included major
universities and research institutions of the country, government environmental
agencies, major pro-environment NGOs, media organizations, socio-cultural
organizations, etc. It is rather rare for Bangladesh to have so many
organizations come together to do something positive. In this respect
ICBEN-2000 and the environment movement that arose from this conference have
the remarkable characteristic of being able to unify people instead of dividing
them. Broad unity therefore has been the birthmark of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon.
Non-partisan character: In another
manifestation of unity, the environment movement of Bangladesh is non-partisan
in character. Party politics is inevitable in a parliamentary democracy.
However, party politics should not hinder people of different political
leanings from coming together and working for national interests. Protection of
environment is necessary no matter what economic model of development is preferred.
Environment movement has can therefore appeal to and has place for people of
different political persuasions.[10]
Participation by NRBs: A notable aspect
of Bangladesh environment movement is the involvement of Non-resident
Bangladeshis (NRB). As mentioned earlier, NRBs, through their organization
Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN), played a crucial role in the genesis of
Bangladesh environment movement. Through their remittances, NRBs have all along
been playing an important role in the economic development of Bangladesh.[11]
However, revolutionary changes in communications technology have now made it
possible for NRBs to play a more direct role in the social life of Bangladesh.[12]
The role played by NRBs in developing the environment in Bangladesh is a
realization of that possibility.
Self-reliance: Another important feature
of the Bangladesh environment movement is self-reliance. For example, BAPA
relies primarily on its members’ contributions for financing its activities.
This provides BAPA the independence it requires to make objective assessment of
various environmental problems and their proposed solutions. An independent
BAPA can evaluate critically government’s environmental policies and the way
these are implemented. A self-reliant BAPA also can judge objectively the role
of donor agencies in controlling pollution in Bangladesh.[13]
Environmental problems always involve vested interests. Donor financing of
environmental projects often adds an additional layer of vested interests. A
self-reliant environment movement can cut through these different layers, reach
to the essence of the problems, and take correct position regarding their
solutions.
Voluntary spirit: A companion (to
‘self-reliance’) feature of the environment movement is its voluntary spirit.
For example, to the extent that it shuns donor financing, BAPA’s financial
resources are meager, and hence it cannot depend on paid work for its
functioning. The environment movement therefore relies on voluntary labor of
its members. It appeals to the noble sense of responsibility of the citizens
towards their country and provides an untainted sphere for them to display
their initiative, talent, and commitment. The environment movement presents an
arena where people can have their voluntary spirit recharged by seeing other
people working voluntarily.[14]
Forward looking: The environment
movement is inherently forward looking. Instead of remaining fixated on issues
of the past, the environment movement is focusing on a problem that is
inevitable in the future and is already glaring at the present. As Bangladesh
progresses further in its drive to industrialize, the importance of
environmental issues will only increase, thus increasing in its wake the
importance of the environment movement. From this point of view, it is not
surprising that environment movement is the first social movement in Bangladesh
in which RB-NRB cooperation came to fruition. Environment is an issue of the
future, and NRBs, particularly those living in advanced industrial countries,
are more likely to be tuned to such issues. This also means that NRBs can serve
as a conduit for the flow of advanced technological processes and ideas that
are necessary to confront environmental problems of Bangladesh.
We now proceed to examine how these features of the environment movement
can enable it to have a broader influence on Bangladesh’s social life.
A confluence of circumstances has created a vacuum in effective representation of public interests in Bangladesh. This is because of the following reasons.
Disappointment with traditional politics:
Generally political parties serve as the main vehicle for expressing public
discontent with the prevailing order of things. However, a certain amount of
disappointment has developed in public’s mind regarding the main political
parties of the country. One reason for this disappointment is increasing
dependence of these parties on money and muscle. The crass influence of money
has made politics often akin to another line of business to make money. In
addition, dependence on muscle men and/or armed cadres has made politics very
unsavory. A second reason for disappointment with traditional political parties
is their excessive partisan attitude. Often broader national interests become
casualties of their partisan actions and behavior. Third, the political parties
often seem to be fixated with issues of the past and less concerned with
challenging issues of the future.[15]
These and other related processes have caused frustrations regarding political
parties as effective representative of public interests.[16]
Disappointment with other traditional
organizations: The frustration is not limited to political parties and in
fact applies to many other organizations. It is probably the most poignant with
regard to students’ organizations, which were traditionally considered to be
the most idealist-minded and selfless organizations of the society.
Unfortunately many student organizations have now degenerated into almost
criminal organizations engaged in extortion, intimidation, and even killing.
Erosion of the spirit of voluntary civic
work: Alongside degeneration of traditional politics, Bangladesh has witnessed
serious erosion of the spirit of voluntary civic work. Many contend that the
advent of NGOs has contributed to this erosion, because NGOs have taken on for
paid work many activities that traditionally used to be the domain of voluntary
civic work. People now feel discouraged from doing voluntary work, so the
argument goes, because they see others getting paid for the same type of work.
Some may, however, contend that there is now less necessity for volunteer
activities, because NGOs are already performing these activities.
Unfortunately, there are limits to NGOs activities. Most importantly, NGOs do
not have the independence that can go with voluntary work. This independence
imparts voluntary work an entirely different quality that paid NGO work cannot
match. Hence erosion of the spirit of voluntary work remains a disconcerting
development of Bangladesh’s social life in the recent period.
Erosion of the spirit of self-reliance: The
erosion of the spirit of voluntary work has gone hand in hand with erosion of
the spirit of self-reliance. There was a burst of the spirit of self-reliance
and self-less social work immediately after the victory of the Liberation War.
Unfortunately Bangladesh could not hold that spirit for long. Very soon the
country gravitated to an economic regime of aid-dependence, which then pervaded
all aspects of social life. As a result of this aid-dependence, the search for
own and local resources for undertaking any development and social work has
waned. This tendency has now spread to various social organizations’ internal
financing too. Instead of depending on members’ subscriptions and
contributions, social organizations increasingly look for donor funds to
finance their activities. This however robs them of the precious independence
that they need to be sincere and effective.
This list of negative developments of Bangladesh’s social life may be
made longer. However, it is clear that these processes together have created a
vacuum in effective representation of public interests in the country. This
also creates the scope for the environment movement to have a broader
significance in Bangladesh.
ENVIRONMENT MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL REGENERATION IN BANGLADESH
The environment movement offers precisely the qualities that people are
looking for in their representative social organizations. They want to see
organizations that are not beholden to vested interests and not mired in narrow
partisan concerns. They want to see organizations that are self-reliant and
have the backbone to stand up for greater public interests even if that implies
conflict with certain private interests, and sometimes with the government and
foreign donor agencies. To the extent that its features resonate well with
these popular aspirations, the environment movement can play a wider role.
In this regard
Bangladesh’s situation differ from that of many other countries, where the
usual representative social organizations, such as political parties, etc. have
not undergone the kind of rapid negative transformation that has occurred in
Bangladesh. Also those countries have not witnessed as radical erosion of
traditional values of self-reliance, volunteerism, and philanthropy as
Bangladesh has. In those countries, the environment movement therefore does not
have any additional burden to carry and can keep itself limited to the narrowly
defined goal of environmental protection. In Bangladesh, however, the
environment movement has a potential broader role.
This however
does not mean that the environment movement of Bangladesh can or should aspire
to compete with or replace traditional social organizations of the country,
such as political parties, etc. In some countries environmentalists have indeed
organized themselves in the form of political parties. Germany is probably the
most notable example in this respect. The environmentalist party of that
country, the Green Party, is a partner of the ruling coalition for two
consecutive terms now.[17]
The Green Party of the USA also participates in election as a political party.
It is not necessary to say at this point whether environmental movement of
Bangladesh will ever take the form of political party and contest in elections.
However as of now such transmutations do not seem to be on the agenda.
However, the
important thing to realize is that, by occupying more of the social space, the
environment movement can exert a salutary effect on the political climate of
the country, even if it does not itself become a political party. Under
parliamentary politics, traditional political parties will have to rely on
popular vote for getting elected. As more people join the environment movement,
political parties will have to modify themselves in the light of the goals and
features of this movement in order to garner its adherents’ votes. A strong
popular environment will also help modify the behavior of other social
organizations, including students’ organizations.
There are signs
that the potentiality of the environment movement to occupy more of
Bangladesh’s social space is not a mere conjecture. It is this potentiality
that explains why the environment movement of Bangladesh, as represented by
BAPA, has been able to garner national attention so soon, and why so many
sincere, patriotic, accomplished people have rallied under BAPA’s banner in
such a short time. Spreading out of Dhaka city, the environment movement is now
poised to extend rapidly to the districts. In many districts and Upazilas, people are getting mobilized
on local environmental issues even without waiting for BAPA to arrive. These
are all indicative of the wider appeal of the environment movement.
There are some
encouraging signs in Bangladesh’s social scene too. In recent months, various
university campuses, including that of Dhaka University and Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), have witnessed considerable
student activism outside of the orbit of the traditional students’
organizations. This shows that general students are uniting and are no longer
waiting for traditional student organizations to represent their discontents.
(Actually, often their discontent is directed precisely against the activities
of these organizations!) Similar examples of superseding the traditional
organizations can be seen elsewhere. In Natore,
for example, common people and small businessmen united themselves in a new
type of organization in order to protect themselves from extortionists. Even
large businesspeople, as assembled in Bangladesh Garments Manufacturer and
Exporters’ Association (BGMEA), have become impatient with traditional
political parties and are embarking on street agitation on their own.
There are some
changes of deeper nature and broader scale too. Due to export of labor-power
and expansion of export industries, the economy of Bangladesh is now less
dependent on foreign aid than it used to be. Whereas previously almost the
entire development budget depended on foreign aid, this dependence has
decreased in recent years to about half.[18]
This reduced dependence on aid and more reliance on own earnings (from either
remittance or export) is gradually percolating through the social
consciousness. In this sense, Bangladesh may be turning a corner. The expansion
of micro-credit schemes by Grameen Bank
and other organization is also helping rural people to rely for their
livelihood more on business activities and less on alms, charities, and
government relief programs. All these processes will certainly help in a
revival of self-reliant social behavior in general in Bangladesh.[19]
These changes are still very much in the working. However together they
are creating a favorable ground for the environment movement’s message of
unity, self-reliance, and priority of public interests. These nascent changes
and spread of the environment movement can prove mutually reinforcing. Together
they may conduce to a process of social regeneration, whereby Bangladesh
society sheds many of the negative attributes that it has unfortunately
acquired over the last decades and emerges not only with a cleaner environment
but also with a healthier body politic. The hypothesis of a broader
significance of the environment movement in Bangladesh will then be borne out.
The environment movement in Bangladesh has made significant progress in recent years. ICBEN-2000 led to the formation of BAPA as the common platform of pro-environment forces of the country. The campaigns and agitation conducted under the auspices of BAPA have contributed to the adoption by the government of several important pro-environmental measures in the recent period.
In a sense, there has been a qualitative change in the attitude toward environmental issues in Bangladesh. For a long time it used to be held that acting on environmental issues is not good for a government, because by doing so it will antagonize powerful forces. Antagonism of these forces, so the argument went, outweighed whatever gain a government would make in pleasing pro-environment forces. However, the environment movement has changed that equation. By raising awareness and mobilizing the public on environmental issues, it has brought the public into the equation. As a result, Governments now know that public appreciation that it can now get from taking pro-environment measures outweighs the dissatisfaction these measures may evoke from vested interests. From liability, pro-environmental measures have therefore become an asset for governments.
Bangladesh can seize this shift in attitude and make further progress in protecting her environment. There were skeptics who used to argue that emphasis on environmental issues was a luxury of rich, post-industrial countries, a luxury that a poor country such as Bangladesh could not afford. Just a few years’ experience has proved them wrong. Bangladesh needs to emphasize environmental issues not in spite of possible dampening effect on growth but in order to accelerate economic growth.[20] The popular support for recent governmental measures to ban the use of certain type of plastic bags and to eradicate TSEVs shows that the common people of Bangladesh are much ahead of the skeptics. They realize the importance of environmental issues from their own day to day experience.
By making rapid progress in environmental protection Bangladesh can gain international admiration. She has already earned some praise by showing that fertility rates can be brought down even at low per capita income levels. Bangladesh can now attain a positive distinction in the international arena by showing that a country can take good care of her environment even if her per capita income is low.
However the environment movement in Bangladesh can do more than just protect physical environment. It can fill up some of the vacuum caused by degeneration of traditional social organizations. It can conduce to a process of social regeneration by reviving such healthy features of a society as self-reliance, deference to public interests over narrow partisan interests, forward outlook, etc. Some recent developments indicate that Bangladesh may indeed be ready for a social regeneration. By providing further impetus to the environment movement of Bangladesh, ICBEN-2002 can prove to be an important milestone in this regeneration process.
Ahmed, Feroze (editor) (2000), Bangladesh Environment 2000: A Compilation
of Papers Presented at the
International Conference on Bangladesh
Environment (ICBEN) 2000, held in Dhaka on January
14-15, 2000,
published by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon
(BAPA), Dhaka
ICBEN (2000): Proceedings of International Conference on
Bangladesh Environment (ICBEN) 2000,
Publications
Committee of ICBEN, Dhaka
Islam, Nazrul (1997), “Agami
Diner Bangladesh,” (“Bangladesh of the Future,” in Bangla) Shamaj
Nirikkhan, No. 64, pp. 39-50
Islam, Nazrul (1998), “Thoughts
on the Air Quality Management Project,” The
Daily Star, December 1,
1998
Islam, Nazrul (1999), “Closing
the Technology Gap: What Can the Non-residents Do?” Journal of Social
Studies, No. 85, July, pp. 1-14
Islam, Nazrul (2000), “Protecting
Bangladesh’s Environment: The Role of the Civil Society,” Journal of
Social Studies, No. 88 (April-June), pp.
34-63
Islam, Nazrul (2001), “The
Institutional Approach to Political Stability in Bangladesh,” Journal of Social
Studies, No. 93 (July-September), pp.
80-100
Mahmud, Wahiduddin (2002), Popular Essays on Unpopular Topics,
Dhaka, University Press Limited.
Sobhan, Rehman (2000), “South
Asia’s Crisis of Governance,” Journal of
Social Studies, No. 88 (April-
June), pp. 1-33
Yunus, Mohammad (1999),
“Bangladesh 2010,” Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Memorial Lecture,
Bangladesh
Asiatic Society, October 15
[1] One manifestation of this is
the number of nature-loving poets that the Bengali literature has produced.
There is hardly any other literature that has produced such an intensely nature
focused poet as Jibanananda Das.
[2] For a more detailed
discussion of these reasons, see Islam (2000).
[3] For more on this point, see
Islam (1998)
[4] It needs to be recognized that overcoming environmental problems has two dimensions. One is finding the right technical solution to the problem. The second is adoption of the technical solution as a policy and effective implementation of that policy. The TSEV problem provides an example of a situation where the technical solution is known. Alternative vehicles to TSEVs are available, and the solution to the TSEV problem is to replace them by the alternative vehicles. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s arsenic problem illustrates a case where technical solutions are less clear, making it necessary to search for its appropriate technical solutions. However, both these examples illustrate the crucial necessity of a social movement. Even the known solution to the TSEV problem was not adopted and implemented wholeheartedly for a long time because of a lack of a popular movement demanding this solution. Similarly, a social movement is necessary even for the search for technical solution of the arsenic problem to proceed in the right direction.
[5] Bangladesh Environment Lawyers’ Association (BELA) prosecuted a
successful case against the ill-conceived Flood Action Plan (FAP) project in Tangail district.
[6] POROSH, BEN, Bangladesh
University of Science and Technology (BUET), and Coalition of Environmental
NGOs (CEN) served as the four ‘main organizers’ of ICBEN-2000.
[7] The Dhaka Declaration was published in Proceedings of ICBEN-2000 in March 2000. The conference volume, Bangladesh Environment 2000, containing
complete version of the papers presented at ICBEN was published in December of
the year.
[8] Similarly, government policy
to protect wetlands cannot be successful entirely if communities fill up
surface water bodies in their own localities.
[9] Often the national
governmental policies are initiated and sustained by vested interests, and it
not possible to overcome the resistance of these interests without strong
mobilization of the people. Such mobilization can only come about if people are
sensitized about environmental issues in general, including environmental
initiatives that they can take at individual and community level.
[10] ICBEN-2000, the founding
gathering of Bangladesh environment movement was indeed attended by both the
Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader. Leaders of other political parties
also attended this conference.
[11] Remittance money sent by the
NRBs is the single largest source of foreign currency of Bangladesh, and unlike
loans from multilateral organizations and foreign governments, NRB remittance
represents a clean net income by Bangladesh.
[12] The recent formation of a
separate ministry for NRBs is a recognition on the part of the government of
this enhanced role of NRBs. For more discussion of the role of NRBs in solving
various development problems of Bangladesh, see Islam (1999).
[13] This is a problem with
donor-financed development projects in general and not unique with projects in
the environment sector.
[15] For discussion of economic
challenges faced by Bangladesh, see Mahmud (2002). For an earlier discussion,
see Islam (1997).
[16] For commentaries on Bangladesh’s political situation, see Sobhan (2000), Yunus (2001) and Islam (2001).
[17] In fact in the most recent elections of 2002 October, it is Green Party’s better performance that enabled the coalition (with the Social Democratic Party) to form the government again.
[18] This allows even
Bangladesh’s finance ministers to make ‘bold’ statements vis-à-vis World Bank
and IMF from time to time!
[19] There are some indications
that this is indeed happening. For example, several newspapers (such as Prothom Alo and the Daily Star) recently conducted fund-raising for various causes,
including assistance for acid-victims and treatment of the injured Feni
journalist, Mr. Tipu Sultan. The success of these fund-raising shows that the
people of Bangladesh are coming around to putting up their own money for good
causes instead of just eschewing them as responsibility of the government and
donor agencies! There has been some revival of philanthropic activities on the
part of the rich too. It is true that NRB participation in such fund drives and
philanthropy is prominent. However, the trend is general and does speak of the
subtle changes that are occurring inside Bangladesh.