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THURSDAY, August 5, 2021 (/)

Environment (/opinion/environment)

We live, if our forests live

Naznin Tithi (/author/naznin-tithi)
Fri Apr 19, 2019 12:00 AM
A stretch of the protected forest in Shuknachhari in Cox's Bazar Sadar upazila where the public
administration ministry
recently proposed setting up a civil service training academy using 700 acres of the
ecologically critical area. Photo: Star

D ifferent organisa-tions working with forests and the environment have come up
with different estimates of Bangladesh's total forest coverage. While the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change estimates that Bangladesh currently has 17
percent forestland, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), it is only
13 percent. There are other organisations that have found our forest coverage to be much
lower—less than 10 percent. If Bangladesh now has 13 percent forestland, as found by
FAO, we need to almost double our forest coverage in order to increase it to 25 percent,
which is needed to have a proper ecological balance.
However, instead of protecting our existing forests and focusing on planned forestation
—which we desperately need to do now—what we are doing at the state level is actually
leading the way for more deforestation. The recent proposal by the public administration
ministry to set up a civil service training academy using 700 acres of forestland in
Shuknachhari forest of Cox's Bazar Sadar upazila is one such project, which, if
implemented, will greatly harm the area's ecological balance. Shuknachhari forest is a
sanctuary for wild animals including the Asian elephant, listed as an endangered species
by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). At least 12 species of trees
and shrubs, various species of birds, wild monkeys, wild hogs, pythons and other snakes,
among other animals, live in the forest.

The forest was declared an ecologically critical area in 1999 by the environment and
forest ministry. It is not possible that the public administration ministry is not aware of
this. Also, the ministry has made the proposal at a time when forests on more than 6,000
acres in southern Cox's Bazar have been razed following the Rohingya influx. Given these
facts, it may seem strange to many as to why the ministry chose this site for setting up
the Bangabandhu Civil Service Academy.

However, if we look at how our precious forestland has been destroyed over the years by
different government and non-government agencies, all our confusions will be cleared.

The daily Prothom Alo reported last year that whenever any government ministry or
agency needs land for any development project or for official use, they first target our
forests. According to the environment ministry, in the last 48 years since our
independence, a total of 1,68,000 acres of forestland have been leased out to various
government and non-government organisations (Prothom Alo, Feb 11, 2019). Also, Global
Forest Watch (GFW) and World Resources Institute (WRI)—the two international
organisations working with forests—in their joint report in 2018 revealed that 3,32,000
acres of forestland were destroyed in Bangladesh in the last seven years.

According to the ministry of environment and forest, forestland had been used for the
construction and development of roads and highways, building rail lines, and also setting
up utility lines. Besides, a large portion of land has already been allotted to Bangladesh
Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) and different law enforcement agencies. Although it
is prohibited by law to build roads through reserve forests, the Local Government
Engineering Department (LGED) has built roads through the Sal forests in Gazipur and
the reserve forests of Teknaf and Bandarban, disregarding the laws (Prothom Alo,
January 21, 2018).

Illegal grabbing of forestland by influential quarters has made the situation even worse.
The Daily Star reported that several real estate companies had grabbed many parts of
our forests in Kuakata, Bandarban, Gazipur and some other districts for developing
housing projects and resorts. Only in Gazipur, nearly 24 acres of forestland have been
encroached on by 15 resorts, according to a report by The Daily Star. Although the
Environment, Forest and Climate Change minister announced earlier this year that the
government will recover the illegally grabbed land that originally belonged to the forest
department, one wonders how the government would do that since the organisations
concerned do not seem to be empowered enough to deal with these issues.

Coming back to the issue of setting up a training academy in Shuknachhari, there is no

doubt that we need specialised training institutes for the newly-recruited BCS cadres.
But that does not necessarily mean that it has to be set up in an environmentally critical
area. The project is still in its preliminary stage and the public administration ministry
has not yet applied for the environmental clearance for the project. So it should not be
very difficult for the government to find another suitable place for setting up the
institute.

We have ample laws strictly prohibiting the use of forestland for such projects. The State
Acquisition and Tenancy Act-1950 declared forestland as non-retainable property, while
section 17 of the National Land Use Policy-2001 states that protected forestland should
be conserved, maintained and expanded. And according to the land ministry, protected
forest is non-leasable. In 2018, a land ministry circular requested the deputy
commissioners of the districts not to lease out any protected forest given that our
forestland is fast decreasing. So if the government itself ignores these laws, it would set a
bad example for forest conservation.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPI), a US-based organisation, has published a

report in 2018 on the governments' role in protecting the environment—the report placed
Bangladesh 179th among 180 countries. It is evident from this ranking that our
government is not doing enough to save the environment.

Political interference, pressure from influential quarters and inefficiency of government

agencies concerned are the main barriers to protecting our forests. Carrying out the
ongoing development works while keeping the environment safe has become another big
challenge for the government. Protecting and even increasing our forestland will only be
possible if the existing laws are enforced properly. This government has promised in its
manifesto that they would work to preserve our forest and the environment. Now it's
time for them to keep their promise. By moving away from their plan to build the
training academy at an ecologically critical area, they can prove their sincerity in this
regard.
 

Naznin Tithi is a member of the editorial team at The Daily Star.

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Environment (/opinion/environment)

Early flash floods in the haor region: A new

normal?
Md Khalequzzaman (/author/md-khalequzzaman-0)
Tue Apr 9, 2019 12:00 AM
PHOTO: COLLECTED

A flash flood in early April of 2017 devastated the boro crops in six haor districts that
were worth Tk 13,000 crore (Kaler Kantha, July 8, 2017). Since then, a shadow of anguish
engulfs millions of farmers every time there is a grey cloud in the northern sky in early
April. This year too, according to news reports, rain accompanied by hailstorm damaged
crops on vast tracts of paddy fields in Kishoreganj and Moulvibazar districts during the
first week of April. 

In general, yearly floods in the haor region occur during late April and last for several
months. Boro crop is harvested after Bangla New Year around April 15 or so. Any early
hailstorm and flash flood during late March or early April cause havoc for farmers. In
addition to damaging the boro crop, the flood in 2017 also devastated poultry, fisheries,
and livestock in Netrokona, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, and Kishoreganj
districts (The Daily Star, April 17, 2017). Flash floods in the latter part of March or early
April are not a regular occurrence in the haor region as it happened in 2017 and 2019.

Against this backdrop, it is imperative to investigate the underlying causes of early flash
floods in the haor region and to look for possible solutions to such devastations. Are the
early floods becoming a new trend in our weather?

First, let us investigate underlying causes of any flood in a region and the reasons why
the frequency, magnitude, and duration of floods increase over time. The causes of floods
can be broadly divided into several categories: (1) the amount, timing, and duration of
rainfall over a catchment or watershed area, (2) an increase in surface run-off following a
rain event and a decrease in water-carrying capacity of natural drainage network within
the watershed to accommodate the surface run-off, and (3) a reduction in land elevations
in floodplain in comparison to riverbed and sea level.

Most rivers in the haor region originate in Meghalaya and Assam states in India. About
60 percent of the total catchment area of the rivers draining the haor region are located
outside the territory in Bangladesh. Part of the rainfall in upper reaches of the
watersheds ends up in rivers, creeks, and beels in haors as surface run-off. It should be
mentioned that Cherrapunji in Meghalaya receives the highest amount of rainfall in the
world, which eventually drains through the haor region. A total of 1,262mm of rain fell at
Cherrapunji during the period between March 28 and April 4 in 2017, which was 5.5 times
greater than the amount of rainfall during the same period in 2016.
Besides, the rainfall occurred in a consecutive manner, which did not allow enough time
for the downstream rivers in the haor region to effectively discharge the surface flow to
the ultimate destination—the Bay of Bengal—through the Meghna River at Bhairab
Bazar. To calculate the total amount of surface flow in rivers that results from rainfall in
various parts of the watershed, it is important to have hourly and daily rainfall data for
various locations within a watershed.

Although continuous rainfall data at a rain gauge station at Cherrapunji is available on

the Internet, such data is not publicly available for other locations in the haor region.
However, monthly average rainfall data starting from 1901 for Garo, Khasia, Jaintia Hills,
and Sunamganj is available, except for Sunamganj, for which data since 1956 is available.
A statistical analysis of the monthly rainfall data reveals correlations between the
rainfall in Cherrapunji and all the other locations. Based on such correlations, the
amount of daily rainfall was calculated for Garo, Khasia, Jaintia Hills and Sunamganj for
the period of March 28-April 4 in 2017. For example, although the amount of rainfall at
Cherrapunji was 1,262mm during the duration of the flood in 2017, Sunamganj received
only 350 mm during the same period.

An analysis of average monthly rainfall data also revealed that during 1901-1957, the total
amount of rainfall in May was much higher than in April and that there was a 3-5-year
periodicity in the amount of high rainfall in May. However, the data indicated that during
1958-2017, the gap between the monthly rainfall in May and April has declined and that
the amount of rainfall in April has increased. This is worrisome, because more rainfall in
early April will mean increased incidents of flash floods in the haor region, which will
cause havoc on boro crop in the future. Hopefully, this year's early rainfall accompanied
by hailstorm is not a sign of validation of the changing patterns in rainfall in the haor
region. If the occurrences of early flash flood become a new normal, then a lot more
research will have to be done to adjust the crop type and embankments in the haor
region to protect the crop.

Now, let us investigate the water-carrying capacity of the rivers in the haor region. An
analysis of satellite images of the region indicates that most of the rivers have lost depth
and width over the last few decades, resulting in a net loss of water-carrying capacity
during floods. The reduction in water-carrying capacity has resulted due to siltation in
riverbeds, land-use changes, unplanned development, deforestation within the
watershed, and unplanned mining of sand from riverbeds. In addition, building of roads
and embankments also interferes with the natural flow of surface water in the haor
region.

For instance, the width of the Jadukata River near the India-Bangladesh border was
168m in 2004; it stood at 68m in 2017. The total cross-sectional area of any river
increases as it flows downstream to accommodate more flow from groundwater and
tributaries. The analysis of the changes of Ghorautra-Meghna River indicates that its
cross-sectional area, which is indicative of its water-carrying capacity, has drastically
declined at Bhairab Bazar bridge. It should be noted that all surface water flow in the
haor region discharges through the Meghna River at Bhairab Bazar. This reduction in
water-carrying capacity at Bhairab Bazar can be attributed to slow discharge of upstream
flow which, in turn, is responsible for prolonging the haor floods.

The increase in sea level due to climate change is compounding the flood problem
further by making all inland river sluggish due to backwater effect, and by reducing
surface elevations of floodplain with respect to sea level and riverbeds.
What are some possible solutions? I think we should increase the water-carrying
capacity of the drainage network in the entire watershed; supplement the water-carrying
capacity of the Meghna River at Bhairab Bazar though capital dredging and establishing
a bypass spillway above the railway bridge; reach a treaty with the upper riparian
country on integrated water-sediment-landuse management; and carry out research to
invent crops that can be harvested prior to early flood season.

Md Khalequzzaman is Professor of Geology, Lock Haven University, USA. Email:

mkhalequ@lockhaven.edu (mailto:mkhalequ@lockhaven.edu)

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Related topic
Flash Floods (/tags/flash-floods) / haor region (/tags/haor-region) / Bangladesh flood (/tags/bangladesh-
flood) / haor regions (/tags/haor-regions)

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Environment (/opinion/environment)

Raising our children amidst poisonous air

Do we even realise how it will impact our future?

Naznin Tithi (/author/naznin-tithi)

Sat Apr 6, 2019 12:00 AM

T his is no city to raise your children in," a friend was telling me the other day. "Either
you leave the country or leave the city and go somewhere where your kids don't have to
breathe poison." Sadly, I found no reason to disagree with her. My friend is totally at a
loss as to what to do with her five-year-old son as the kid has been suffering from asthma
and chronic respiratory complications which are getting worse as he is growing up. He is
now totally dependent on medication and nebulisation when the symptoms get worse.
Being a mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old son, I know how it feels.
While previously, at any random gathering of friends, the issues of discussion circled
around the challenges of raising our children in a society which is becoming increasingly
intolerant and the safety of our children outside of the home; for the last couple of
months, the discussions invariably ended with the health problems of our children.
Because we are faced with a more tangible problem—the toxic air of this city which has
been taking its toll on our children.

On April 3, US-based organisations Health Effects Institute and Institute for Health
Metrics and Evaluation in their report, "The State of Global Air 2019", revealed that
indoor and outdoor air pollution led to 1.23 lakh deaths in Bangladesh in 2017. It also said
that the life of a South Asian child will be shortened by 30 months on average as they
grow up in the current high levels of air pollution. Several such reports were published in
recent months which were quite alarming.

Last March, another global survey on air quality found that Bangladesh has the most
polluted air in the world while Dhaka is the second most polluted capital city. Dhaka has
been among the most polluted cities in global indices for many years now. But this time it
ranked worse. The amount of PM (particulate matter) 2.5, widely regarded as the
pollutant with the most health impact of all commonly measured air pollutants, in
Dhaka's air was found to be way above the acceptable limit. "Due to its small size, PM 2.5
is able to penetrate deep into the human respiratory system and from there to the entire
body, causing a wide range of short- and long-term health effects." Researchers have also
found the level of lead, cadmium, zinc, chromium, nickel, arsenic, manganese and copper
to be extremely high in Dhaka's air. Although these pollutants are dangerous for people
of all ages, children are particularly vulnerable to these harmful elements.
Recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that air pollution
has a vast and terrible impact on children's health and survival. Globally, 93 percent of all
children live in environments with air pollution levels above the WHO guidelines. It says
that more than one in every four deaths of children under five years is directly or
indirectly related to environmental risks. And although only 10 percent of the world
population is under five years old, they bear 40 percent of the burden of environment
related diseases.

Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs are not fully
developed like adults. According to the British Lung foundation, most children only have
20 percent of an adult's lung mass at birth. They breathe in more air more quickly than
adults do and so breathe in far greater quantities of air pollutants than an adult does.
Also, children have lower ability to fight off the effects of air pollution. So, they are more
likely to develop respiratory complications related to air pollution.

Air pollution affects children so much that it can even hamper their mental development.
A number of studies in both the US and Europe have revealed that exposure to
particulate matter is associated with the development of autism spectrum disorder.
Researchers have also found evidence to suggest that air pollution can cause poor
neurocognitive development and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

Last December, I took my son to a paediatrician, a professor of BSMMU, as he was having

breathing difficulty along with a bad cough. The doctor told me that it is pretty common
for children to get these types of problems during the dry season—from November till
February—when the city's air is the most polluted. After prescribing a number of
medicines, he suggested that my son should not be exposed to dust inside or outside the
home. In the doctor's chamber, there were 15 to 20 kids aged around six months to seven
or eight years old. Unsurprisingly, most of them came with respiratory complications.
Now that the dry season is over, I don't see any change in the city's air quality. Last
month, the daily Prothom Alo reported that the average time of air pollution has been
dangerously increasing in the city. While Dhaka's air remained polluted for an average of
120 to 160 days of the year previously, in 2018 the city's air remained extremely polluted
for at least 197 days.

While brick kilns and vehicles running on fossil fuels with higher level of sulphur have
been identified as the major sources of air pollution in the country, in Dhaka, it's the
chemicals emitted from vehicles as well as dust from construction works that are mostly
contributing to air pollution.

Our children are not even safe inside cars. According to the British Lung Foundation,
"even when you're in your car, you and your children can breathe in polluted air—from
traffic fumes, petrol vapour, tobacco smoke and chemicals. In fact, air pollution can often
be higher inside your car than outside."

So the situation is as bad as it can get. What we should do now is go for cleaner sources of
energy and better waste management systems to prevent open burning of harmful
chemicals, enforce the existing environmental laws, enact a new specific law to address
this deadly problem, and of course, make people aware of the health risks associated
with air pollution. Since air pollution is a global problem, we should take lessons from
other countries who are better handling it. The future of our children will be defined by
how we act now: whether we remain silent spectators or we take urgent pro-active
measures to clean the city's air from these harmful elements.

Naznin Tithi is a member of the editorial team at The Daily Star.

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Related topic
air pollution (/tags/air-pollution)

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