Unplanned embankment poses threat to river
The ongoing construction of an embankment on the Sandhya river in Barishal has sparked outrage among locals who believe the structure will damage the river crucial to their livelihoods. Locals in Banaripara
Daily Star (Bangladesh)
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Give duty-free access of agri items to developed nations
Farmers' representatives from south Asian countries at the inaugural session of a four-day meeting yesterday demanded duty and quota free access of their agricultural products to developed nations to ensure food security in the region. Farmers who work for security of food and other agricultural produces are themselves in insecure position as fair prices cannot be ensured, said the farmers while sharing views at the meeting on 'Food Security and Food Scarcity in Asia', held at the auditorium of CARITAS Regional office.
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11 killed in Chittagong landslide
A rain-induced mudslide at Matijharna in Chittagong city early yesterday left 11 people, almost all of two families, dead and two injured. The mudslide destroyed 14 houses of a slum built on a hillside from which the government was relocating families apprehending the danger.
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Going the green way
Energy is the ultimate essence of life itself. Unfortunately, due to increased demand, it is slowly becoming very limited in supply, which is probably one of the evils of modern technology. This, combined with the impact of global warming has necessitated the need for energy conservation and use of renewable energy sources.
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Vanishing wetlands
The time is appropriate for the CTG, NGOs, local communities and non-profit organisations in Bangladesh to collaborate more effectively and start working together towards a "cleaner Dhaka city," or to at least protect wetlands in Dhaka from the pressure of development to ensure desirable biodiversity. This writer was quite alarmed during a recent phone conversation with a relative, who was visiting Boston. It was alarming because my relative said that there were hardly any wetlands in Bangladesh that may be considered active.
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Tobacco claims 5.4m a year worldwide: WHO report
About 5.4 million people die every year across the globe due to tobacco consumption and the number will go over 8 million by 2030 if immediate steps are not taken, the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 said yesterday. At the launching ceremony of the report at a city hotel, it was also revealed that more than 80 percent of the tobacco victims would die in the developing countries alone by 2030 if tobacco control programme is not augmented by this time.
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Negotiate compensation to face impact of climate change
Saying that financing for climate change is a right of the people of an affected country, the speakers at a conference yesterday urged the government to negotiate for compensation to face its possible adverse impact instead of seeking loan or grant. The two-day conference titled 'Financing for climate change: Challenges and way forward 2008' was organised jointly by Unnayan Onneshan and Oxfam Bangladesh at the LGED auditorium in the city. The speakers said Bangladesh is only getting lots of assurances but not enough fund.
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Prescription for a cleaner Dhaka
The time is appropriate for the government NGOs, and local communities and non-profit to collaborate more effectively and start working together towards a cleaner Dhaka, and to protect wetlands in and around Dhaka from the pressure of development to ensure biodiversity. This writer was quite alarmed during a recent phone conversation with a relative, who was visiting Boston. It was alarming because my relative told me that there were hardly any wetlands in Bangladesh that may be considered active.
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Auguring urban forestry (editorial)
In the heels of the predatory nature of deforestation and environmental degradation, urban as well as rural afforestation programmes have assumed paramount significance in Bangladesh in line with the neighbouring South Asian nations. Although there has been a prolific growth of literature on environment in general and forestry in particular, research on urban forestry in Bangladesh has been strikingly limited.
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Increased arsenic in soil, water may sneak into food chain
Increased arsenic in soil and water may sneak into the food chain, as it is more or less present in all types of crops in the country's arsenic-affected areas with some crops, such as arum, showing much more contamination than the internationally allowable standard, according to a group survey.
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Excavate canals, remove blockages in drains to save Ctg from waterlogging
Excavation of few canals and removal of already identified blockages in the drainage system can save the port city from waterlogging and inundation, said the speakers at a roundtable yesterday. The roundtable titled 'Drainage: A Menace for Chittagong' was organised by The Daily Star Chittagong Bureau Office at its conference room in the afternoon. It was the first of a series of roundtable that The Daily Star Chittagong Office will hold on different development issues of the port city.