The World Environment Day-2023 is being observed in the country as elsewhere around the world today (Monday) with a view to creating mass awareness for conservation of nature and environment.
Different government and non-government organisations, environmental platforms and various other socio-cultural organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the day. They are observing the day with this year’s theme of the day ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution’.
Environment experts are worried by mounting hazards of plastic in Bangladesh and said that this year’s theme of the day coincides with the reality in the Bangladesh perspective.
Environment experts and also Deputy Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Habibun Nahar, MP, have called for protecting the country from the mounting hazards of plastic use, particularly the plastic waste.
Habibun Nahar, MP, and the environment experts were speaking at a roundtable discussion ‘Environmental and Legal Context of Air Pollution from Plastic Burning’ at the auditorium of Stamford University Bangladesh in the capital on Sunday (June 4).
Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) and Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) jointly arranged the event on the occasion of the World Environment Day-2023. Paribesh Uddyag, Bangladesh Nature Conservation Alliance (BNCA) and Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) were co-organisers of the event.
Dr. Md Moniruzzaman, vice-chancellor of Stamford University Bangladesh; presided over the roundtable discussion where Habibun Nahar, MP, attended as the chief guest and SM Manjurul Hannan Khan, former additional secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; presented the keynote speech.
Prof Dr. Ahmed Kamruzzaman Majumder, founding chairman of CAPS and chairman of Environmental Science dept at Stamford University; Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam Tahin, secretary of Centre of Law Affairs (CLPA); Muhammad Anowarul Hoque, member secretary of BNCA; also spoke on the occasion, among others.
Before the roundtable discussion, a human chairman was formed in front of the main gate of the Stamford University Bangladesh where the guests of the roundtable discussion, students of the university and environmental activists participated.
In the keynote, SM Manjurul Hannan Khan said that air pollution is increasing due to burning of plastic, polluted air is having a major impact on biodiversity. Toxic plastics that accumulate in soil and water bodies are entering the food chain and entering the food cycle of different levels of organisms. Therefore, plastic waste produced should be properly managed. Along with this, open burning of plastic should be stopped. Law enforcement for plastic management is the need of the hour.
In her speech as the chief guest, Habibun Nahar, MP, said that plastic is putting the environment of the country at risk of disaster. Plastics are polluting the soil, water and oceans. Burning plastic also pollutes the air, so now we don’t get clean air to breathe, she added.