Biodiversity
The article 'Biodiversity in Peril' (DS 10 Oct 2009) by Mr. Md. Asadullah Khan is a reminder of atrocities the humans are doing on the fellow living things with which we share the planet. The precarious state of biodiversity is recognized globally and Bangladesh is no different. The writing could have been more educational to our Bangladeshi bureaucrats and businessmen had examples from Bangladesh been used in the discussion. World environment ministers in the Hague Ministerial Declaration of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in the Netherlands 2002 signed an agreement to reduce the threats to the global biodiversity by 2010. Political commitments were made but we are far from reaching there. Commitments are made by the politicians not to be kept -- this is another great example. Biodiversity remains in an even more perilous state than before while our bureaucrats and politicians are busy getting the figures right on how much to claim for the impacts of climate change!! The government is still assessing the state of biodiversity in Bangladesh whereas the documents produced earlier particularly the "National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Bangladesh" (MOEF 2004) have clearly prioritised the actions that need to be taken to conserve and protect our natural heritages. One can only lament about the politicians, political situation, instability, etc., to stop you from arguing - where there is no future for the humans in Bangladesh so what chance is there for biodiversity. But before saying this, just look around everything that we use, eat, wear - the root is biodiversity.
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