Int'l symposium on environment begins

10 April 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

An International Symposium on Environmental Degradation and Sustainable Development (ISEDSD) 2010 began at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) yesterday. The speakers at the symposium said human development and environmental issues are often looked at separately. But with environmental degradation spreading rapidly, it has become vital to search for a fit between natural, environmental, economic and the social dimensions for sustainable development. The two-day conference is jointly organised by the Environmental Engineering Division (EED) of Civil Engineering Department and Centre for Environmental and Resource Management (CERM) of Buet in association with the British Council, Dhaka. Speaking as the chief guest, Buet Vice Chancellor Prof Dr AMM Safiullah said low per capita land and rising amount of groundwater pollution are among the major issues in both the social, economic and environmental dimensions of our country. The situation calls for development activities that appropriately address the close relationship between environmental degradation, lack of basic infrastructure and poverty, he said. Dr Md. Monowar Hossain chaired the event. Prof Dr M Habibur Rahman, Prof Mujibur Rahman, British Council Director Charles Nuttall and Jan Moller Hansen of Danish Embassy and Prof Delwar Hossain also spoke. Seventeen experts and researchers from four countries, including Bangladesh, India, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, are taking part in the symposium.