The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Speakers at a discussion on Earth Day, launched in 1970 in USA as a protest against corporate environmental misconduct, here yesterday called for taking urgent actions against all polluters, encroachers, poachers to help conserve the fragile ecology and environment.

Addressing the Earth Day discussion organised by Forum of Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB) at its conference room here with its Chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdhury in the chair, they regretted that though Earth Day had helped USA and western countries to clean their air and water significantly, in Bangladesh both are now getting more contaminated risking the public health and sustainable development.

They asked asked the concerned authorities to update and enforce the Environment Conservation Act 1995 and Rules 1997 and take stern actions against rampant polluting industries which are the main sources of degrading land, waterbodies and air in the country.

The speakers also regretted that now Earth Day celebration has become a planet-hugging marketing frenzy for multinational companies themselves.

They emphasised the need for learning lessons of the Earth Day which has helped galvanise support to successfully fight smog and contaminated waters and said, similarly the environment should be placed higher on the nation's agenda as Bangladesh is already facing the adverse impacts of climate change.

They underlined the need for taking urgent measures for adaptation as well as mitigation to combat climate change and asked the development partners to compensate Bangladesh and other least developed country for their ( industrialised countries) per capita carbon footprints of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions.

FEJB vice chairman Badiul Alam, former vice chairman Anwar Hossain Manju, general secretary Mofizur Rahman, joint secretary Arun Karmakar, treasurer Hasan Hafiz, members Mrinal K Roy, Shahidul Islam Chowdhury, Aditi Rahman, Shamima Chowdhury, Kazi Shahnaz, Rosy Ferdous, among others, spoke.