Don't follow western nations' development path: Greens
Rather than following the path to development taken by the western nations, Bangladesh should learn from their mistakes and avoid those, said speakers yesterday stressing on conservation of natural environment.
They were addressing the inaugural session of a daylong event titled "40 Years of Environmental Conservation in Bangladesh†organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at a hotel in the capital marking the 40th anniversary of the organisation's works in the country.
"We need both industrialisation and development, but we also need to conserve nature for future generations and make our development sustainable," said Kartikeya V Sarabhai, director of Centre for Environment Education, India, also the keynote speaker.
Taking the nature of infrastructure in Dhaka as an example, Kartikeya said, "No matter how many flyovers and roads you make in the city, the traffic congestion will not ease in the long run if you don't change your approach to development."
In his opinion, different modes of public transport, namely railway services, are more sustainable than using private cars that take up a lot of space on the road but can carry only a few persons.
Pointing out the importance of sustainable development models, Sarabhai said, "The development model borrowed from the west is completely backdated and unsustainable."
Environment and Forests Minster Dr Hasan Mahmud inaugurated the event and also underscored the importance of conserving nature in his speech.
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