ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN BANGLADESH

This article examines the critical nexus between the environment and sustainable development in Bangladesh. It identifies the major environmental challenges facing the country, including extreme vulnerability to natural disasters like floods and cyclones, riverbank erosion, deforestation, and water and air pollution. The study analyzes how this environmental degradation poses a direct threat to the country's development prospects and the livelihoods of its people, particularly the poor who are most dependent on natural resources. The research assesses the national policies and institutional frameworks that had been put in place to address these challenges, including the National Environment Management Action Plan (NEMAP). The paper argues that achieving sustainable development in Bangladesh requires a fundamental integration of environmental considerations into all aspects of economic planning and policy-making. The analysis concludes that without a concerted effort to manage its fragile environment, Bangladesh's long-term development goals would be unattainable.

For Bangladesh, the relationship between the environment and sustainable development is not an abstract concept but a matter of national survival. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this critical nexus. The study begins by cataloging the formidable environmental challenges that confront the nation. It provides a detailed account of the country's vulnerability to climate-related disasters, the severe problem of arsenic contamination in groundwater, the alarming rates of deforestation and biodiversity loss, and the growing crisis of urban and industrial pollution. The core of the paper is an argument that these environmental problems are not separate from but are deeply intertwined with the challenge of poverty and development. It demonstrates how environmental degradation disproportionately affects the poor and undermines the sustainability of key economic sectors like agriculture and fisheries. The second part of the study evaluates the policy response. It analyzes the evolution of environmental governance in Bangladesh, from the creation of the Department of Environment to the formulation of participatory planning processes like NEMAP. The findings suggest that while there has been a growing awareness of the issues and the development of a sophisticated policy framework, a significant "implementation gap" remains. This gap is attributed to a lack of institutional capacity, inadequate resources, and a failure to mainstream environmental concerns across all government ministries. The paper concludes with an urgent call for a more integrated and politically empowered approach to environmental management as a cornerstone of the country's quest for sustainable development.