Wetlands Decline In City
Experts fear 'disaster'
Dhaka city will face a disaster in near future unless the last remaining wetlands in and around it are conserved accordingly, said leading planners and environmentalists yesterday at a discussion.
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba), an environmentalist group, organised the discussion on "Liveable City: Necessity for Wetland and Open Spaces" at the National Press Club in the city.
The wetlands of the city declined from 29 percent (of Dhaka metropolitan area) in 1989 to 17 percent by 2005 due to unplanned housing and development works, said Prof Sarwar Jahan, president of Bangladesh Planners Institute.
"We are heading towards a disaster," said Jahan, adding, "There will be left no wetland by the year 2035 if the depletion continues at the present pace."
Ironically, the wetlands disappeared in a rather faster rate of 2000 hectares per year since the year (2000) the wetland conservation act was enacted, he said.
Prof Shahnaz Huq-Hussain, dean of the faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dhaka University, said that Dhaka used to be a pleasant and wholesome town in the yester years abundant with greenery, parks and open spaces.
It has turned into a lifeless city over the years thanks to unplanned urban development despite the plans were ready at hand, she said.
Syed Mahbubul Alam, assistant secretary of Poba, said in a presentation that Dhaka dwellers already reels under the water shortfall by 50 crore litres against a daily total demand for 220 crore litres.
Of the total water supplied in the capital, 87 percent is extracted from the underground.
To reduce the excessive dependence on the ground water in near future, he said, more and more clean rivers and water bodies will be needed as sources of surface water.
Various government agencies, some as custodians, have consistently destroyed most of 47 canals that were once flowing across the capital, said Alam.
The speakers said that bureaucrats on deputation predominantly run the affairs of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), a regulatory body to control development of the city, though it requires top urban planners in decision-making.
They called for involving urban planners, geographers and environmentalists to run the functions of Rajuk.
Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Poba, who moderated the discussion, said that the government must immediately determine the ownership of wetlands to protect them against the land grabbers.
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