ENVIRONMENT NEWSLETTER

The hydrological viability of the controversial “Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project,” set against the backdrop of acute seasonal water scarcity, was the subject of rigorous scrutiny during the 17th webinar organized by the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN). Titled “Crisis of the Teesta River: Which Way Forward?”, the virtual forum convened a panel of distinguished hydrologists, environmentalists, and local activists to critically assess the proposed “Master Plan” and explore sustainable alternatives for the transboundary river. The overarching consensus emerging from the deliberation was a rejection of aggressive river-narrowing engineering in favor of a holistic approach prioritized by hydro-diplomacy and ecological conservation.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman, Professor of Geology at Commonwealth University of PA, dissected the proposed project through the lens of fluvial geomorphology. He argued that the project’s central premise—confining a naturally braided river, which historically spans three to four kilometers, into a narrow channel of merely 700 to 1,000 meters—is fundamentally at odds with geological principles. He noted that the Teesta is designed by nature to carry massive sediment loads from the Himalayas; artificially straightening and narrowing such a dynamic system ignores its morphological reality. Dr. Khalequzzaman presented calculations indicating that such constriction would drastically increase water velocity during monsoon peaks—potentially jumping from a manageable 0.26 m/s to a destructive 3 m/s—thereby heightening the risk of catastrophic embankment breaches and erosion.

The presentation further dismantled the notion that internal engineering could compensate for the lack of transboundary flow. Dr. Khalequzzaman asserted that dredging and narrowing the river channel does not generate “new water.” Without a binding water-sharing treaty with India to ensure dry-season flow, the project fails to address the root cause of the crisis: the unilateral withdrawal of water upstream. The discussion underscored that infrastructure-heavy solutions are futile without first securing the river’s lifeblood—water itself—through international negotiation.

The panel discussion broadened the critique to include severe ecological and socio-economic ramifications. Dr. Firoze Ahmed warned that transforming the riverbed into a lined channel could sever the connection between surface water and aquifers, threatening the groundwater recharge essential for the region’s agriculture. Complementing this view, Dr. Ainun Nishat, a veteran water resource expert, recalled the river’s historical volatility, citing the 1968 floods to argue that a “straight-jacket” approach for the Teesta is destined to fail against natural forces. Simultaneously, local advocates like Dr. Tuhin Wadud and Faridul Islam Farid voiced concerns for the riverbank communities, fearing that land reclamation for urbanization might displace thousands of farmers whose livelihoods depend on the existing river chars.

Concluding the deliberations, BEN Founder Dr. Nazrul Islam emphasized the urgent necessity of transparency and independent review. He called upon the government to press the “pause button” on the multi-billion dollar Master Plan, advocating instead for a transparent feasibility study involving local experts and public consultation. The webinar ultimately crystallized a unified demand for “Hydro-diplomacy,” asserting that Bangladesh must exhaust all diplomatic avenues—including potential mediation by international bodies—to secure a fair share of Teesta waters, rather than resorting to scientifically questionable domestic engineering that risks permanent ecological damage.

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, instead resulting 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.

The existential crisis facing the Teesta River, exacerbated by unilateral upstream withdrawals and scientifically questionable domestic planning, was the focal point of a high-level discussion meeting organized jointly by the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN). Held on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at the seminar hall of the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB) in Dhaka, the event brought together environmental scientists, economists, and political leaders to critically evaluate the current trajectory of river management under the banner “Teesta River in Crisis: What is the Path to Solution?”. The overarching consensus emerging from the deliberation was a rejection of infrastructure projects that compromise ecological integrity, with a forceful demand for the re-evaluation of the proposed Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Recovery Plan in favor of a sustainable, basin-wide solution.

Presenting the keynote paper, Professor Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman, Vice-President of BAPA and Global Coordinator of BEN, identified the lack of a water-sharing treaty with India as the primary driver of the Teesta’s degradation. He noted that as Bangladesh’s fourth-largest transboundary river, the Teesta has fallen victim to unilateral control; India continues to regulate water flow through upstream dams and hydropower projects without regard for international norms or the ecological needs of the lower riparian nation. This hydrological hegemony has resulted in a disastrous cycle: severe water scarcity during the dry season and unmanageable flooding during the monsoon, leading to heightened riverbank erosion and the collapse of local ecosystems.

Professor Khalequzzaman provided a critical technical analysis of the proposed “Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project.” He highlighted that the project envisions narrowing the river—which currently spans up to several kilometers—to a width of merely 700 to 1,000 meters, artificially transforming a natural braided river into a straight, embankment-constrained channel. He argued that this engineering-heavy approach ignores the river’s morphological reality and risks further destabilizing the region’s ecology.

The discussion underscored a profound lack of transparency regarding government planning. Dr. Nazrul Islam, founder of BEN and former Chief of Research at the UN’s Development and Research Division, criticized the prevailing silence among policymakers. He observed that neither the government nor major political parties are willing to discuss the Teesta project openly, often due to geopolitical sensitivities involving development partners like China or diplomatic relations with India. Despite this, he reaffirmed that BAPA and BEN remain committed to highlighting these inconsistencies, asserting that the livelihoods of 20 million people in the Teesta basin cannot be held hostage to diplomatic inertia.

Echoing this sentiment, noted economist Professor Anu Muhammad argued that the government possesses no transparent data regarding the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Recovery Plana nd condemned the trend of “development” that equates to river encroachment. “We do not want development that shrinks rivers; the river must remain a river,” he asserted, emphasizing that national interest must supersede private profit and that long-term projects require public consent rather than bureaucratic imposition. Speakers such as Dr. Matin Uddin Ahmed emphasized the urgent need for “Water Diplomacy,” arguing that ignoring the riparian reality with India to pursue isolated domestic engineering solutions is a flawed strategy.

The meeting concluded with a unified call for a paradigm shift in how Bangladesh approaches transboundary river management. Political leaders present, including Ruhin Hossain Prince of the CPB and Saiful Haque of the Revolutionary Workers Party, insisted that solutions must be derived from local experts and community consultation rather than foreign consultants. They advocated for a multilateral approach involving all basin nations, including Nepal and India, to ensure a sustainable flow regime. BAPA President Professor Nur Mohammad Talukder, who presided over the session, reiterated that while the organization is not opposed to development, it stands firmly against any initiative that jeopardizes the country’s “life-nature” and riverine ecosystems. The assembly ultimately adopted a resolution demanding the cancellation of river-shrinking projects and the immediate pursuit of a fair share of Teesta waters through international legal and diplomatic channels.

In a decisive move to address the critical gap in national environmental governance, the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) have announced a comprehensive two-day national conference titled “Environmental Reforms: Necessity and the Way Forward.” Scheduled to take place on January 9–10, 2026, at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in Dhaka, the conference aims to formulate a people-led, knowledge-based blueprint for reform. The organizers highlighted that while the Interim Government has established various reform commissions for other sectors, the absence of a dedicated Environmental Reform Commission has left the country without a comprehensive assessment or a future roadmap for ecological sustainability. This initiative is rendered even more urgent by the upcoming national election in February, as BAPA and BEN seek to ensure that environmental issues are prioritized in political party manifestos with clear commitments to resolving key crises.

The conference is predicated on the understanding that addressing Bangladesh’s accumulated environmental problems requires a fundamental paradigm shift rather than piecemeal efforts. BAPA and BEN argue that reforms must proceed along two interlinked paths: policy reforms and institutional reforms. This dual necessity is vividly illustrated by the management of water resources, where environmental groups have long advocated replacing the “embankment (cordon) approach” with an “open approach”. A recent success was the removal of the sluice gate at the mouth of the Baral River, a move that rejuvenated the river and restored flow from the Ganges into the Chalan Beel area after four decades of stagnation. However, the persistence of some officials within the Water Development Board to reinstall such gates demonstrates that policy changes are insufficient without reforming the incentive structures of the institutions themselves.

A similar systemic failure plagues the energy and power sectors, where flawed planning has led to economic and ecological liabilities. Despite advocacy for renewable energy, the government’s Power System Master Plan pushed to increase coal’s share in the energy mix to 40% by 2030, resulting in massive overcapacity and reliance on imported electricity while renewable energy achievement remains below 1%. To address these challenges, the conference will cover a broad spectrum of topics, including water resources, energy, urbanization, biodiversity, and pollution. Consistent with their tradition of maintaining independence and integrity, BAPA and BEN have confirmed that this event will be organized without any government or foreign donor funding.