WSSD AND BANGLADESH

Bangladesh presents a test case of sustainable environmental management. Extreme pressure of a huge population of more than 120 million on a limited resource base, including land, has strained the countries carrying capacity.

Bangladesh is a live delta and its soil is still in a formative stage. Most of the time a major part of the land mass remains under water. More than two hundred rivers and their tributaries crisscross the country. Some of them are unstable rivers and are constantly changing their courses. The country has 54 common rivers with India. These rivers act as huge drains to the Bay of Bengal and carry sediment to the sea.

Bangladesh frequently visited by natural disaster like floods, cyclones, tornadoes, tidal bases and droughts. Causalities due to floods, cyclones and tidal bores are enormous.

Bangladesh is dependent on its natural resources for employment, earnings of revenue and foreign exchange. About 80 per cent of the population relies on agriculture, for their livelihood. This puts on intolerable stress on limited resource base and degrades the environment. The important areas of environmental concern are decline in soil fertility, water and air pollution, denudation of natural forests and degradation of wetlands and coastal areas. These are mainly due to industrial pollution, excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, excessive exploitation of natural resources for commercial purposes, floods and other natural hazards. High population growth and abject poverty are also extremely important factors for environmental degradation. These factors accompanied by resource degradation, are posing a great changes to the sustainability and viability of the country.
source: www.rio10.dk