We have seen the United Nations (UN) spearhead three interconnected milestone events in 2015. Those events were the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sendai Conference on Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Sustainable Development, and the Paris Climate Conference. The outcomes of these events will guide the development discourses in the next 15 years and beyond with many new dimensions and adjustments. There is huge scope of building synergy among the three processes and their outcomes to strengthen our national policies and strategies for building resilience to climate change, reducing disaster risk and achieving sustainable development at all levels. Bangladesh will implement inclusive social and economic development in order stay true to its commitment to achieve SDGs. Even prior to UN Summit on SDGs, Bangladesh has prioritized a set of goals considering the national context and its development trajectory.
By Dr. Atiq Rahman
In this backdrop, let’s consider some down to earth, but most urgent 10 tasks relevant to sustainable development with an approach for rapid economic growth and institutionalization of good environmental governance, climate change risk reduction; which ultimately leads to effective, inclusive and sustainable development for people across the board. This approach includes three basic elements which are:
(a) Poverty alleviation and sustainable development
(b) Climate risk reduction (CRR), and
(c) Addressing the nexus of food, water and energy security in a pro-poor, pro-environment approach.
Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development
Poverty alleviation, disasters management and CCRR, environmental governance and development of skilled human resources are few of the key emerging challenges towards sustainable development. With consideration to the complexities, growing challenges, context, lack of implementing key policies, strategies, and laws of the country; Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) offer one of the best and comprehensive framework. However, having said that, it does not indicate whether those goals and their localization process should be accepted uncritically.
The planning documents, such as the Bangladesh Seventh Five Year plan, the strategic plan for 25 years and the Vision 2021 by the Government of Bangladesh ensures that sustainable development is the top priority of the planning exercises. Rapid economic growth involving inclusive and equitable development for the populous is a context for the sustainable development of Bangladesh. These development efforts will have to be environmentally sound and socially just. This is absolutely essential but very hard to achieve. One of the central elements of sustainable development is that “there can be no sustainable development without alleviation of poverty”. This is essential for Bangladesh in its march towards achieving SDGs.
Climate Risk Reduction
Better distaster management, reducing the risk of climate change impacts, and reduction of poverty are all considerations for a green economy and sustainable development. At the same time, a noteworthy contradiction facing the nation is that climate change impacts will undermine the achievements of poverty eradiction. Therefore, a new group of impoverished persons who are susceptible to climate induced extreme events and climate impacts will arise.
Thus it is integral that we must address climate change adaptation, on an efficient and timely manner on the basis of communities to contribute towards sustainable development.
The Nexus of Food-Water and Energy Securities
The access to food and water is vital for the citizens of Bangladesh, particularly the majority who are poor. Each of these services should ensure beneficiaries entitlement as fulfilling their minimum per capita requirement with maximum quality.
Individual development cannot flourish without sustenance. People require food with sufficient calorie and protein; particularly growing children, youth and mothers to be. Safe drinking water is essential for life, and protection against water born diseases. Water and sanitation forms the essential package of basic hygiene.
Though every family must have access to electricity, this is unlikely to happen in near future. But significant progress has been made in providing photovoltaic (PV) electricity, particularly for lighting with solar home systems (SHS). It may be difficult to reach all the poorest with PV SHS. But PV lanterns can provide light and a cell phone charging port to all individuals and households within the present financial capacity of the present government. This may not meet the energy security but will rapidly meet an urgent and immediate demand. This is the first and important step towards the access to electricity by all.
Climate change impacts are likely to lower food productivity in regions that are specifically prone to the effects of saline, though salt tolerant varieties of rice have been developed. Similarly, safe drinking water is becoming inaccessible as a result of saline water entry in the South, while increasing draught is affecting water availability in the North-West region.
Hence, this food-water-energy nexus will have to be integrated with climate change resilient efforts.
The 10 Actions
The following set of 10 most urgent actions could form a package in environmental governance and contribute to sustainable development that supports rapid economic growth and the human development suitable to Bangladesh in consideration to the phenomena of climate change throughout the world.
Bangladesh has many priorities, most of them are competing and yet complementary; problems that entail a number of components. A majority of which needs urgent and immediate attention. The delay in resolves or addressing these matters will result in a multitude of consequential tribulations in solving related issues. Given this broader context, the following 10 priorities deserve immediate and urgent attention. The dynamic journey of the nation towards a sustainable development future in a rapidly changing horizon of enhanced globalization, greater need for employment and sustainable livelihoods, and securing resources for energy, food and water are necessary for the future struggles of climate change.
These task have been a matter for some time and most of them entail more than one issue and dimension, needing the involvement of several institutions in order to create solutions. A great number have been addressed and incorporated in the planning documents but not in the context of a concerted sustainable development paradigm. It would be a worthwhile effort to address these 10 activities simultaneously to achieve rapid economic growth which is pro-poor and pro-environment. If serious attempts are made, the opportunities for global fund mobilization for Bangladesh from emerging climate change funds and other resources, as well as release the energy of its people, economy and natural resources base will achieve a notable degree of progress towards sustainable development. The allotted amount of time for each of the 10 tasks may vary—say between two to 10 years. However, each of these will complement the other toward the mutual reinforcement of the nation’s sustainable development. Of course, the availability of the resources for these is within the capacity of Bangladesh. But these will require good implementation, cooperation between the responsible agencies, proper governance and continual monitoring.
1. Converting Population to Human Resource: Bangladesh can be seen as an exemplary model in terms of development. The country’s greatest resource is its people. Nevertheless, the nation is one of the most densely populated in the world. The rate of growth of the population is decreasing; every effort to reduce this rate, enforcing family planning and focusing on the health and education of women and the youth must remain constant. The national plan must take this expanding population into consideration when generating new and worthwhile jobs and livelihoods. To achieve this there has to be an aggressive employment generating and entrepreneurship enabling strategy and plan. Appropriate vocational training and productive person power based education and empowerment of this population deserves the greatest attention. This will greatly improve the emerging garments and associated industries, quality of human resource export and greater agricultural productivity.
2. Light for All: In the second decade of the twenty first century it is hard to accept that in Bangladesh, the fact that one third of the population live without electricity makes it rather unconvincing argument that it is a progressive state with an economy that is emerging. Bangladesh has over 3.2 million households electrified by solar photovoltaic technologies and the demand for PV solar technology is growing. The nation has the capability to provide PV based lanterns and SHS to all of the households within the next three years. The initiative would provide light for the entire country with an addition of about four hours of light from individual solar lanterns for each family, a change that was only previously witnessed by the connectivity through cell phones throughout Bangladesh. Given the availability of the technology, there is a drastic need to advance financial and social mechanisms. This is within the reach of the common people. Political will is the need of the hour.
3. Clean and Free the Rivers: Pollution from domestic and industrial sources have severely contaminated many rivers, primarily within the city. There is an urgent need to free the rivers both from illegal encroachment situation, autoloading and pollution. There is an necessity to establish rule of law, government ownership of common property resources and environmental governance.
4. Transfer the Tanneries and Pollution Management: Relocation of 154 tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar that have efficient sewage treatment plants, must be completed immediately. Simultaneously the brick making, textile, garment and ship breaking and other polluting industries must be made compliant of the procedures and law of the country. It’s a good example of environmental governance that tannery factories which have failed to relocate within the dateline are being penalized financially.
5. Effective Implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): EIA is obligatory under the Bangladesh Environmental Act and an effective tool to protect the natural resources and for making policies, projects and infrastructures environmentally sound. But its implementation is very weak. To ensure that EIAs are applied rigorously and professionally. It is of utmost importance to ensure participation of the population through an independent panel of experts who review the EIAs. This will enable effective use of this important tool for management practices towards a better environment and ensuring a much needed proponent of environmental governance and institutional development.
6. Ameliorate the Quality of Soil Fertility: The soil of the nation is under stress. They need to enhance organic matter and a number micro nutrients. Vigilant supervision and matching of crop-soil-micronutrient combinations and their appropriate application will reduce use of chemical fertilizer and enhance food productivity. All soils need to be enriched with more organic matter by using sustainable agriculture practices. Integrated pest management, more efficient fertilizer, utilization of water and harvesting a diverse array of crops and vegetables, afforestation of deforested areas will help in soil quality improvement.
7. Efficient Resource Use: Bangladesh requires increased efficiency in the use of water, energy, waste, food items through better post-harvest technologies, monitoring water needs for irrigation and fertilizer use, particularly encouraging use of fertilizing pellets. Availability and use of improved safe drinking water are essential particularly in those areas that are particularly vunerable. Stoves that use energy sparingly and reduction of line loss of electricity, gas and piped water would allow for the retention of a significant portion of energy. Standard management of urban traffic will also reduce fuel waste and person hours. Recycling of plastics, polythene, polystyrene, electronics and other wastes will save resources from wastage. Chemical dosing in dye applications must be conducted in a productive manner, fuel in brick kilns are examples of better use of resources. Adaptation and popularizing of 3R (reduction, reuse and recycle) principles and recycling of water, energy and chemicals will improve efficiency.
8. Better Institutionalization of Climate Change Management and Governance: There has been significant progress and many important initiatives have been undertaken to combat climate change. But climate change is complex, and multifaceted phenomena. It involves largely environmental, even greater, and increasing developmental challenges. It encompasses numerous sectors with the influence of a number of factors. The actual strengths in achieving climate change risk reduction require the inclusion of climate change into all policies on a sectoral and national platform, resource mobilization and implementation strategy for each sectors. These include local government agencies and above all the communities. Furthermore, as the Green Climate Fund is developing, the nation needs to insist for the required funding from it to ensure essential resources including technologies. The National Implementation Entity (NIE) must immediately be created through a set of independent agencies under the guidance of the appropriate National Designated Authority. The discourse and activities for this body and course of action must be commence in the very near future. The principles of MRV (Measurable, Reportable and Verifiable) activities and demonstrable transparency and accountability are essential for fund mobilization, fund management under this mechanism. This will also enable Bangladesh to mobilize its well deserved claims to large global fund by setting these institutions with transparency and accountability.
9. Bolstering Local Government and Community Based Adaptation: Most climate change related actions and mechanism for adaptation will be addressed at the local level. Bangladesh’s credibility and claim to global funds will largely depend on its capacity to transfer the funds to the climate vulnerable and affected communities to support their adaptation and mitigation initiatives effectively. This will be best served by strengthening the local government and its capacity to deliver development and environmental services to the affected communities in rural and urban areas. Therefore, it is integral to heighten and enhance efficiency of service delivery of the local government. It may be helpful to make a policy declaration that large proportion of all climate funds, say 70%, should reach the most vulnerable segment of the communities; i.e. women, children, poor, disabled and displaced person. Community Based Adaptation (CBA) needs to be improved through the use of this framework which is to be delivered to the communities. Additionally, proficient decision making processes will guarantee the active participation of communities. This will be a great contribution of Bangladesh to environmental democracy and climate change governance.
10. Planned Urban-Rural Continuum and Spatial Management: The majority of the nation remains in rural areas with the population moving towards rapid urbanization. This urbanization is happening with a rapid population increase in major cities such as Dhaka and Chittagong. There is a second phenomenon of urbanization associated with emergence of small towns at district levels. The third phenomenon is the access to urban services at the peri-urban areas at the two above-mentioned levels. Rapid urbanization is a component of rural-urban continuum in the nation. Through the socio-economic network, continuity of resource mobilization and demographic transitions from rural to urban migration remains a continuum. This is more significant amongst the poor residing in urban slums; a vast number of whom have been displaced by extreme events, frequently connected with climate change induced events and the phenomena of frequent river bank erosions and floods. This is also continued amongst the middle class. The continuum connects the urban and rural population within the nation. Rural spatial planning must be implemented through the correct framework. Multi-storied buildings that are energy efficient should be given greater consideration in the efforts to save agricultural land. The utilization land and planning to start with a energy-water-food nexus integrated with natural resource planning in urban area in the context of urban spatial planning is imperative.
Availing the urban services in the rural areas will make spatial planning more manageable. The elements to consider in urban and rural spatial planning will have to entail (a) Proper Planning and Innovation (b) Investment and Infrastructure (c) Participation and Information and (d) Good Governance.
Conclusion
The 10 proposed actions discussed are an assortment of tasks which require immediate attention. They are very attainable within the financial and institutional framework, but may vary in their stage of progress with consideration to the duration of time for each action. A combination of these actions will enhance rapid economic growth, enhance environmental and climate change governance, ultimately allowing for the proposed sustainable development.
Many of these actions will assist in capacity building of government institution at different levels. Moreover, several of these actions will also be supportive of participatory management approaches where the central and local government agencies, private sector, civil society, NGOs, community groups and citizens would work together to strength democracy in action through sustainable development practices. All these actions will contribute towards a paradigm of being pro-development, pro-environment and reducing poverty at different levels. Though people of Bangladesh are resilient, implementation of the 10 actions will build transformative resilience to move towards a middle income country with high human development and quality of life. This will also protect environment and enhance sustainable development.
It is to be noted that almost all the best achievements in Bangladesh have taken place when the central government, local government agencies, research institutes, civil society and NGOs, women groups, private sector, communities and people have worked together. In achieving the above tasks in a short period will be best achieved by taking a participatory and inclusive approach.
Finally, social development process is a science of changing society for the betterment of the people. Nonetheless, this scientific process gets momentum when it successfully captures peoples’ vision of change. SDGs have captured our global vision of transformation. Let’s be innovative to achieve that global vision nationally with 10 magic tasks which are interlinked with several Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Atiq Rahman is the Executive Director, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS).
He is a prominent environmentalist, scientist, development expert and a visionary thinker in South Asia. He is well-known worldwide for his pioneering role and contribution to environment and nature conservation, climate change, poverty alleviation and sustainable development. He was honored with the highest UN- Environmental Award, the Champion of the Earth, for the year 2008 in recognition of his outstanding and inspirational leadership and contribution globally, regionally, nationally and locally, to the protection and sustainable management of the Earth’s environment and natural resources. As a lead author of the IPCC fourth Assessment, he was a co-recipient of the “Nobel Peace Prize” of 2007, jointly awarded to IPCC and Al-Gore.
