Home ›› 06 May 2022 ›› Editorial
Pollution has become the most dangerous enemy of mankind. Industrial revolution of the 19th century led to environmental disasters. The whole world is now more afraid of pollution rather than a nuclear blast. Technological advancement has brought revolutionary changes in life style and national economy with overwhelming power over nature. The protection of environment has become a major issue around the world for the wellbeing of mankind and economic development.
Bangladesh faces a series of environmental problems including deforestation, land degradation, air pollution, water contamination as well loss of biodiversity. The poor play a vital role in influencing these aspects of environmental degradation. Poverty leads to deforestation. Natural forests are decreasing at a rate of about 3.3per cent per year. This is due to exploitation of forest resources for commercial logging, fuel wood and expansion of agricultural land. Commercial logging provides cash income for the poor. This monetary benefit encourages more trees to be felled resulting in deforestation. The growing population requires more trees to be felled for fuel and agricultural land for growing crops. Deforestation causes soil erosions, and loss of fertile top soil decreasing agricultural productivity. Water contamination is due to fertilizer and pesticides used in agricultural land to run off farmland during rainy season. Poverty contributes to air pollution. The poor depend on biomass and firewood for fuel. The burning of these fuels and smoke caused thereby degrade air quality resulting in respiratory diseases. Due to lack of education the poor could not understand the external costs of forest resources since access to forest is free and unrestricted.
The environmental condition in Bangladesh is not at all conducive for healthy living. Severe air, water and noise pollution are threatening human health, ecosystems and economic growth of Bangladesh. Air pollution is caused by increasing population, burning of fossil fuels, industrialization an d motorized vehicles. The water pollution is caused due to industrialization. The underground water has been polluted by arsenic. The citizens of major cities are exposed to high level of noise pollution. Let us now analyze various aspects of pollution.
Air pollution is a serious environment health hazard affecting the population of major cities of Bangladesh. It is caused due to increase in population and motorization. Indoor air pollution is associated with the use of biomass fuels during cooking with poor ventilation. Industrial emissions and automobiles are the main sources of outdoor air pollution.
Water pollution creates serious health hazards for Bangladesh. The dumping of municipal wastes, hospital wastes and toxic environmental discharges from industries pollute both surface and ground water sources. The most dangerous threat emanating from environmental degradation is the arsenic contamination of ground water. The industrial belt of Bangladesh mostly contributing to water pollution. Industries like pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, metal processing, food fertilizer, pesticides, dyeing and printing, textiles etc. are the major source of contamination. More than a few hundred rivers directly or indirectly receive huge quantities of untreated industrial wastes and effluents. In textile dyeing huge quantities of effluents are discharged. To escape the charges of violation of rules these textile mills built Effluent Treatment plants which remain unused for years. Neither they are operational nor do they have manpower to run them. For example , every day around 700 tanneries of Dhaka city discharge approximately 16000 cubic meters of toxic wastes in rivers . The Buriganga and Turag rivers full of contaminated water destroying fish resources. The water of these rivers is not even usable for human being.
Solid wastes and Sewage Disposal: The indiscriminate discharge of solid waste, both domestic and hospital wastes are the major sources of water pollution in Bangladesh. Approximately 4000 tons of solid wastes are generated daily and only half of the generated wastes are disposed of in low lying areas or into rivers. Hospitals and clinics in Dhaka city generate and release hazardous and toxic wastes without any treatment.
Inadequate Sanitary Facilities: Inadequate sanitation facilities pose a serious environmental threat. Dhaka Environment and Sewage Authority (DESA) can serve only 20per cent population. In absence of the sanitation and infrastructural services, situation has deteriorated further. The sewage is mostly discharged in the low lying areas and in rivers in untreated form thereby causing serious health hazards.
Arsenic contamination: Arsenic in groundwater is another threat. All most 100per cent people in Bangladesh use ground water as the main source of drinking water. The water has been contaminated by arsenic in many areas of Bangladesh. From the medical point the acceptable level of arsenic in drinking water is around 0.05mg/liter in Bangladesh but in a few places it is more than 70 times higher than the acceptable level.
Noise pollution is one of the most dangerous health hazards in Bangladesh. According to WHO 60 decibel (DB) sound could make a man deaf temporarily and 100 DB sound could cause complete deafness. According to the Department of Environment (DOE), the perfect sound condition for Bangladesh is 50 DB at day time and 40 DB at night in residential areas. The main sources of noise pollution are industries, motorized vehicles, construction works and indiscriminate use of loudspeakers. In Dhaka city it is 60 DB to 100 DB. Experts view that if this continues half the population of Dhaka city will lose 30per cent of their hearing power.
Effects of pollution on human health: Severe environmental pollution is threatening not only human health in Bangladesh but also economic growth. Air pollution mostly affects urban people. Immediate effect of smoke inhalation causes headache, vertigo, burning sensation of eyes, sneezing, nausea, tiredness, cough etc. Its long term effect may cause asthma and bronchitis. Lead affects the circulatory nerves and reproductive system as well as kidney, liver. At times it causes cancer and cirrhosis. Carbon monoxide hampers growth and mental development. Nitrogen oxides cause pneumonia. Industrial emissions cause different waterborne diseases. Arsenic poisoning slowly causes respiratory problem, skin diseases, kidney and lung cancer. Noise and sound pollution cause deafness to heart attack. It also causes high blood pressure.
Control: In Bangladesh Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) is responsible for environmental protection. MOEF has taken the undernoted steps for protection of environment. However, all those are less effective. They are mostly in paper with no concrete implementation steps. Effective management is all most nil and as such indiscriminate infringement of all action plans fail to yield no positive result. The steps taken by MOEF are as follows: Integration of National Environment Management Action Plan with development in policy framework to provide guideline for promoting effective management of resources and raising awareness among people. To formulate laws, rules and regulations for improving environment. Measures to be undertaken to carry out surveys to identify and control polluting industries, habitats, and use of compressed gas in industries. Action programs have been set to control pollution of rivers and automobiles pollution. Banning poly bags production and marketing up to certain microns thick. Introduction of Urban Transport Project is to improve traffic system. Embargo on importation of leaded petrol, high sulphur disel and high sulphur coal has had some positive impact on environment. Action program to control arsenic has had some effect. Introduction of rural sanitation program is on without any satisfactory result. Inadequate steps have been there to improve pollution control program.
Action programs undertaken to improve the environment are as follows: Introduction of the use of Environmental Technologies and Methods, Setting up of Environmental Data base for Planners and have access and work for up gradation, Planning and Management, Create formal and informal educational program through media, seminars, workshops and various competition to aware people about environment degradation. Set up appropriate measures to monitor emission limits and provide incentives for reduction of pollution level. Besides enforcement of Rules and Regulations in is a must.
Environmental issues have become a major concern for their negative impact on human health as well as development. Rampant use of factors that cause environment pollution be drastically reduced to save life and health. So far it appears that all action programs have been neglected issues to be talked to only without any positive result. DOE has become a toothless tiger sleeping over all pollution issues hindering economic growth of Bangladesh.
The writer is former Director General of EPB. He can be contacted at hassan.youngconsultants@gmail.com
