Speakers, including rights activists, at a seminar on Sunday emphasised the need for inter-ministerial cooperation while discussing policies aimed at protecting the environment and ecosystem.
They also stressed that everyone must work together to monitor the activities undertaken to protect the environment and ecosystem from encroachment and pollution.
The Association for Land Reform and Development organised the seminar titled ‘River, Haor, Forest, Agricultural Land and Hill: Our Tasks in Protecting the Environment’ at Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific in the capital.
Presiding over the seminar, ALRD chairperson and Nijera Kori coordinator Khushi Kabir said that the country’s environment was at risk due to unplanned development, which has led to widespread encroachment and pollution, driven by profit motives.
‘We must all work collectively to monitor and evaluate the initiatives undertaken to safeguard our environment and ecosystem from such harmful practices,’ the rights activist said.
‘Inter-ministerial coordination plays a crucial role in shaping effective environmental policies and responses,’ she said, adding that people must raise their voices and remain actively engaged to protect the environment.
ALRD executive director Shamsul Huda, who presented the keynote speech, said, ‘Although we receive promises from governments at times, those promises are never implemented.’
He said that the Dhaleswari River was being polluted due to the relocation of tanneries while the Karatoya River was still not freed from encroachment and the movement to protect the haor was still ongoing.
He also emphasised the importance of protecting agricultural land, which is often taken over in the name of project, including export processing zones.
Riverine People general secretary Sheikh Rokon said that the interim government had at least four advisers who were previously involved in movements to protect the environment, forests, and rivers and it would be unfortunate if demands related to environment were not met during their tenure.
He emphasised the need for reforming the River Commission, reviewing projects undertaken to protect agriculture, forests, and waterbodies, taking steps to renew the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty—set to expire in November 2026—and implementing the Teesta Treaty.
Senior Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Sufia Khanam, Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge director Pavel Partha and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive officer Taslima Islam also spoke at the event, among others.