At a press conference titled “Unplanned Development Endangers Cox’s Bazar: Concerns of Environmentalists” held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Monday, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) raised concerns over road construction through reserved hill forests in Moheshkhali, the paving of sand dunes at Sugandha beach and the destruction of mangroves on Sonadia Island for commercial shrimp … Read more…
Twenty-three environmental and river-conservation organizations joined forces on Saturday, September 26, 2026 to address the growing crisis facing Bangladesh’s rivers. Led by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) the coalition included organizations such as BELA, Green Voice, ALRD and WBB Trust. The delegation began its field inspection at Basila Launch Ghat in Mohammadpur to observe the encroachment … Read more…
The proposed Ganga (Padma) Barrage has come under sharp criticism from international river experts, geologists, and environmentalists at the 21st bi-monthly webinar of the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) held on September 26, 2026. Experts warned that the project could create serious ecological and economic problems for Bangladesh. The webinar titled “Ganga (Padma) Barrage: Questions and … Read more…
The Earth is an active tinderbox. More than simply experiencing global warming, the Earth is experiencing Global Burning. Europe has had more than 1,700 fires since the start of 2026, burning nearly 620,600 hectares (roughly 1,500,000 acres) of land. The USA, during the same period, has had over 50,000 fires, burning over 7,700,000 acres of … Read more…
In the mid-1960s, a survey conducted by a Dutch company for the East Pakistan Inland Water Transport Authority found 12,000 kilometres of navigable waterways across what is now Bangladesh. Today, at the height of monsoon, only about 4,500 km of these waterways remain navigable, which shrinks to 2,500 km during dry seasons—a loss of more … Read more…
A gas-dependent country cannot indefinitely defer the one task that matters most: Exploring for its own gas. On Sunday, a high-level Chevron delegation called on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat. The two sides discussed investment in Bangladesh’s existing gas fields and the exploration of new ones. State media described it as a productive … Read more…
Our rivers do not need another appeal to conscience. They need the government to act. On September 6, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman convened a review meeting at the Secretariat on pollution control across the Buriganga, Turag, Dhaleshwari, Balu, and Shitalakhya. He told the room that citizens should not simply wait for government orders but must … Read more…
In the 1980s, as a young geologist in Louisiana, I watched as a delta died. Louisiana’s coast loses a football field’s worth of of wetlands every 100 minutes. Since the 1930s, the state has lost more than 2,000 square miles of land. The cause has been well-documented for decades: the Mississippi was leveed and channelled … Read more…
India’s experience with Farakka shows that this barrage has created such severe problems for the upstream and downstream areas there that it has now become a noose. Dr. Nazrul Islam and Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman write on whether the same could happen in the case of Bangladesh. 10 questions about the Ganges Barrage On August 22, … Read more…
The fourth Sunday of September every year marks the World Rivers Day. People around the world celebrate rivers and recognize their ecological and economic importance (Sayuj, 2026). However, in Bangladesh the day highlights environmental crisis. Rivers are central to this country’s identity, economy and survival yet many of them are dying. A fisherman on the … Read more…
