Environment confce opens in city Saturday

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) will organise a daylong conference on environmental movement at Stamford University in the capital on Saturday.

A total of 31 research and non-government organisations and 18 universities will support the event, where several academicians, researchers and environmentalists will share their thoughts and expertise.

The organisers made the announcements at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity yesterday.

Bapa President Sultana Kamal said they set the title of the conference as “Political Effectiveness of Environmental Activism in Bangladesh: Challenges and Way Forward”, because politics plays a vital role in almost every decision-making process in the country.

“Bangladesh’s environment is endangered in many ways. I invite people from all walks of life to participate in the event and share their opinion,” she added.

Presenting a keynote paper, BEN founder Nazrul Islam said various topics -- including how political parties give priority to environmental issues and how political interference affects green activism in the country -- will be discussed at the programme.

Bapa Executive Vice President Abdul Matin and General Secretary Sharif Jamil also spoke at the press conference.