The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) served as a critical juncture for environmental experts and activists to deliberate on the escalating ecological crisis within Bangladesh. The special conference, held at the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka, provided the platform for a definitive call for high-level institutional reform: the establishment of a dedicated commission to tackle national environmental challenges.
Inaugurating the conference, former Caretaker Government Adviser Professor Rehman Sobhan delivered a sharp economic and policy critique, attributing the relentless environmental degradation to unchecked profit motives and the dominance of market economics. He detailed how the inflationary rising cost of land drives predatory development, inevitably leading to the encroachment of rivers, wetlands, and forests for both residential and business structures.
Professor Sobhan stressed that while progressive environmental laws exist, their protective potential is continuously compromised by a fundamental lack of proper enforcement. This systemic failure necessitates a new mechanism, which he argues must take the form of a specialized commission, tasked with imposing the necessary collective action and deterring environmentally detrimental policies.
Highlighting the long-term consequences of flawed, large-scale development projects, Professor Sobhan pointed to the historical case of the Kaptai Hydropower Project. Despite its initial vision as a solution to the nation’s energy scarcity, the project ultimately failed to deliver on its promises, resulting instead in the displacement of a significant population and severe environmental damage. This historical precedent underscored his assertion that the nation must refrain from pursuing projects that harm the environment.
The commemoration of BAPA’s 25th anniversary served as a critical opportunity for the leadership of BAPA and BEN to evaluate the trajectory and impact of the environmental movement in Bangladesh. BAPA President Dr. Nur Mohammad Talukder reflected on the organization’s successes over its quarter-century journey yet candidly acknowledged significant gaps in establishing a fruitful nationwide environmental movement. He underscored the strategic imperative to connect with and work for grassroots communities and vulnerable local victims across the country who are often protesting locally but remain unreached or unaware of BAPA’s initiatives. Concurrently, Professor Dr. Nazrul Islam, the founder of BEN and BAPA Vice-President, praised the two organizations for compiling a substantial repository of knowledge, data, and rigorous analysis on environmental issues over the past 25 years. However, in his keynote presentation, he highlighted the chronic challenges inherent in sustaining voluntary efforts and self-funded initiatives, making a clear appeal for increased collaborative support from a wider array of stakeholders. Reinforcing this call for cohesion, Professor Rehman Sobhan also weighed in, stressing the vital need for unifying disparate environmental platforms to harness collective strength and create the necessary, effective pressure on governmental policy.
Attended by environmental scientists, researchers, and representatives from across the country, the BAPA 25th-anniversary conference served not merely as a celebration of longevity but as a high-level forum to diagnose the systemic failures driving environmental decay and to propose an actionable, institutional solution.
