Speakers at a workshop on Wednesday opined that due to lack of proper action plan Dhaka city’s micro climate situation is rapidly degrading which has a big impact on its development and habitation.
They said many plans were taken for the development of Dhaka city but most of those remained unimplemented.“None, but one action plan of 1959 centering Dhaka city’s coordinated development witnessed implementation”, Iqbal Habib, member secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, an environment movement body, said while addressing the workshop held at BIISS Auditorium in the city.
Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) organised the workshop titled: “Mitigation Strategies for the Urban Microclimate of Dhaka Megacity to Reduce Adverse Climate Change Impact” with Professor Tawhida Rashid, chairman of Department of Meteorology of Dhaka University.
The function was also addressed by Planning Commission Member (general economics) Prof Shamsul Alam, eminent environmentalist Dr Atiq Rahman, BIISS director general Major General AKM Abdur Rahman, Dhaka University Prof Abdus Salam, Prof Kazi Maruful Haque, East West University Prof AK Enamul Haque, and Green Savers Association president Ahsan Rony.
The keynote presentation was made by Dr Ashraf Dewan of Curtin University of Australia and three members of a project study team at the workshop.In the presentation, it was said that Dhaka will be the 4th largest megacity considering its population on the planet in 2025. But due to lack of proper action plan, its microclimate situation is rapidly degrading .
Dr Atiq Rahman said water, energy and food management have to be in a coordinated manner as everything related to environment is linked to the three things.An official of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department informed the workshop that his office has set up 200 air quality monitoring stations across the Dhaka city.He said some more stations will be set up soon.
Iqbal Habib said Dhaka city’s population grew enormously since independent while it lost greenery, ponds, and canals. But no action plan was implemented to recover the lost canals although it is still possible to recover them.
He said many speak about greenery of Dhaka by plantation. But once Dhaka was a city of canals and ponds and it will not be sustainable to implement any plan for the mega city averting its unique natural character.Prof Maruful Haque said the government takes too many policies and plans. But little was implemented. The lack of implementation has huge cost.
Prof Shamsul Alam said that Dhaka city’s air quality is reaching to a dangerous level and many diseases are the result of such degradation in air quality.He said the government has undertaken an 81-year Delta Plan to deal with environment and other issues.He said Delta Plan 2100 will be upgraded every five year to accommodate the emerging issues.
source: UNB
