34-member body to assess binna grass use

The government has formed a 34-member technical committee, including eight state ministers and 16 secretaries, to assess the feasibility of planting binna grass, or vetiver, across the country to protect vulnerable slopes from erosion and other damage.

The Planning Division formed the committee through a notification issued on September 5 and made it public yesterday.

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Headed by Finance and Planning Adviser to the Prime Minister Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, the committee will assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using binna grass to protect slopes under development projects.

It will assess the technical feasibility and cost per kilometre of planting the grass along roads, highways, riverbanks, canals, haors and embankments.

The committee will also assess the space required to plant binna grass along roads and embankments and its feasibility in the three hill districts, including on road slopes, lake banks and at the foot of hills.

The committee comprises state ministers and senior officials from relevant ministries and agencies, including the Planning Commission, Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Water Development Board and Department of Environment.

Prof Mohammad Shariful Islam, pro-vice-chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, is also a member. The secretary of the Planning Division will serve as the member-secretary.

The committee may co-opt additional members if necessary and will meet as required. It has been asked to begin work immediately.

Earlier, on August 16, Water Resources Minister Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee spoke at a meeting on “Vetiver Grass Policy for Bangladesh”.

Anee said the roots of vetiver grass penetrate deep into the soil and firmly hold it in place, helping reduce soil erosion caused by rainwater, waves and currents.

He said using the grass on river and canal banks, embankments, hilly slopes and in haor areas could help maintain environmental balance and increase the durability of infrastructure.

The move comes as the government is also pursuing an ambitious programme to restore the country’s waterways. The BNP had pledged in its election manifesto to restore 20,000 kilometres of rivers and canals across the country, and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today inaugurated a nationwide canal excavation and re-excavation programme.

As canal excavation and restoration get underway, vetiver could potentially provide a low-cost means of stabilising canal banks and other vulnerable embankments, particularly where erosion threatens newly restored waterways.

A natural erosion barrier

Binna, or vetiver grass, is a perennial aromatic grass found abundantly across Bangladesh, including in almost all districts. It can grow in a wide range of soils, from saline sand to silty clay.

Vetiver is used in more than 100 countries to stabilise soil and prevent erosion. The World Bank developed the “Vetiver System” for soil and water conservation in the 1980s.

The grass has been widely used in tropical countries as a simple and economical way to conserve soil. Its dense root system slows water flow, traps sediment, filters nutrients and helps stabilise steep slopes. In Bangladesh, researchers have also studied its potential to protect coastal embankments from tidal surges.

Its erosion-control potential has also been tested in vulnerable areas of Bangladesh. In 2018, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency, distributed millions of vetiver plants in Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh to reduce soil erosion and the risk of landslides ahead of the monsoon.