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All ministries must be involved in protecting rivers
The interim government’s success in stopping river encroachment and pollution is not as expected. However, the interim government is undoubtedly ahead in protecting rivers compared to previous governments. All ministries must be involved in protecting rivers. It will not be possible to protect rivers with one ministry.
All ministries must be involved in protecting rivers
This was stated by speakers at a discussion titled ‘Rivers, Haors, Forests, Agricultural Land and Hills: What We Can Do to Protect the Environment’ organized by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) at CIRDAP in the capital on Sunday.
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Speakers at the discussion
All ministries must be involved in protecting rivers
Own Reporter
Dhaka
Published: 22 June 2025, 18:46
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Speakers at a discussion titled ‘Rivers, Haors, Forests, Agricultural Land and Hills: What We Can Do to Protect the Environment’. This Sunday at Sirdape in the capital. Photo: Collected
The interim government’s success in stopping the encroachment and pollution of rivers is not as expected. However, the interim government is undoubtedly ahead in protecting rivers compared to previous governments. All ministries must be involved in protecting rivers. It will not be possible to protect rivers with one ministry.
Speakers made this statement at a discussion titled ‘Rivers, Haors, Forests, Agricultural Lands and Hills: What We Can Do to Protect the Environment’ organized by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) at the capital’s Sirdap on Sunday.
Participating in the discussion, writer and researcher Pavel Partha said that a binary (divisive two-centered arrangement) has been created between environment and development. However, the spirit of July is to stand against this binary. Development can never happen by ignoring nature. Development is that which protects nature and the environment.
Pavel Partha said that Bangladesh is part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot in the world, which proves the immense importance of biodiversity here. Therefore, commercial establishments should be banned within 14 kilometers of all forests.
Pavel Partha also said, ‘To save our rivers, every ministry should be involved. Rivers will not be saved by just one ministry. In addition, inter-ministerial coordination must be strengthened.’
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Speakers at a discussion titled ‘Rivers, Haors, Forests, Agricultural Lands and Hills: What We Can Do to Protect the Environment’. This Sunday at the capital’s CIRDAPPhoto: Collected
The interim government’s success in stopping the encroachment and pollution of rivers is not as expected. However, the interim government is undoubtedly ahead in protecting rivers compared to previous governments. All ministries must be involved in protecting rivers. It will not be possible to protect rivers with one ministry.
This was stated by speakers at a discussion titled ‘Rivers, Haors, Forests, Agricultural Lands and Hills: What We Can Do to Protect the Environment’ organized by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) at the capital’s CIRDAP on Sunday.
Participating in the discussion, writer and researcher Pavel Partha said that a binary (divisive, two-centered arrangement) has been created regarding environment and development. However, the spirit of July is to stand against this binary. Development can never be done by ignoring nature. Development is that which protects nature and the environment.
Pavel Partha said that Bangladesh is part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot in the world, which proves the immense importance of biodiversity here. Therefore, commercial establishments should be banned within 14 kilometers of all forests.
Pavel Partha also said, ‘To save our rivers, every ministry must be involved. Rivers cannot be saved by just one ministry. In addition, inter-ministerial coordination must be strengthened.’
As an example, Pavel Partha emphasized the need to enact a Forest Rights Act to protect the rights of forest-dependent communities and to make the folk knowledge of hill communities part of the state’s environmental conservation policy to protect forests and mountains.
Taslima Islam, Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), said, ‘Political goodwill is very important in protecting the overall environment, including rivers. Our position in the global index for law enforcement is 127th out of 142 countries. And in the environmental protection index, we are 19th out of 180 countries.’ Expressing concern, he said that at the rate at which encroachment and pollution are taking place, Bangladesh will not exist in these indices in the future. The problems with rivers in Bangladesh are encroachment, pollution, sand and stone extraction. A river has not been defined as a river in any law of the country.
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