Think before you do, not after you're done,” says a Bengali proverb that applies to an urgent threat today for Bangladesh—major environmental problems spawned by rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.

In 2014, the United Nations Secretary General said: “There is no Plan B because we do not have a Planet B.” Since its inception in 1974, World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach and it is now celebrated in more than 100 countries. The call to action for the World Environment Day 2018 is “Beat Plastic Pollution”. Plastic pollution is a pressing environmental concern that requires our collective action.

I recently attended a public seminar, titled “Resilient Cities: An Integrated Economic Approach to Natural Hazard Risk Mitigation,” held in Vancouver, Canada.

Dhaka is faced with many direct threats to biodiversity with accelerating economic development, growing population, land grabbing, congested housing, tree felling, and vehicles emitting toxic fumes leading to extreme pollution and poor quality of life.

Just as the United States is in the process of pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, US government data revealed that the need for action to stem global warming is as urgent as ever.

Last week, Bangladesh's Power Development Board (PDB) and India's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) announced that they will form a committee to decide whether to build a large coal plant or solar farm in India for additional power import into Bangladesh.

In 2010, heavy monsoons led to devastating floods in Pakistan that destroyed 11,000 schools. Thousands of additional schools had to be used as community shelters, preventing them from operating as classrooms.

As the incumbent Awami League government gears up for crucial parliamentary elections to test its popularity, it continues to face numerous questions about its administrative successes and failures.

Ensuring clean air is one of the major environmental challenges in Bangladesh's larger cities. Although air quality management is a key

In the world of climate change negotiations, “loss and damage” is arguably one of the most debated issues.

In 2016, I led my band of misfits, aka Team “Little Wins,” to the Shanghai semi-finals of the Hult Prize. For those of you who may not know, the Hult prize is the world's biggest platform for social startups emerging from universities all across the world.

The sun is the source of almost unlimited energy. Given the sheer scale of the sun's energy, a point is often made in the energy literature that the sunlight striking the earth's surface in just one hour delivers...

Unlike India, Bangladesh is comparatively an off-the-beaten-track destination. Tourists who choose to visit the country are likely to have genuine curiosity about the land and its people, which offers an opportunity to promote responsible and sustainable means of tourism in the country.

What's needed is a massive early recovery effort to rebuild the livelihoods of the affected people. Roads and embankments need to be rebuilt preferably through “Cash for Work” programmes, which will help give the people access to much-needed cash.

At present, issues leading to global warming and climate change have arguably become a global priority. Scholars today recognise various vulnerable populations and claim that the impacts of climate change are not spread equally in terms of location, economic status, gender or age.

Climate change is happening. In recent years average temperatures across the globe have increased, with significant impact on humanity's most precious resource—the environment. Water systems are being stressed. Food sources are being imperilled. And areas once safe for settlement are being threatened and erased.

Floods, cyclones, tidal surges, landslides and other natural disasters have always happened in Bangladesh during predictable times of

Dhaka city, established by the Mughals on the banks of the Buriganga, is surrounded by six rivers like a garland.

Off the coast of Bangladesh sits the small island of Manpura. Shaped like a banana when viewed from above, this will be the country's first “green island” powered by only renewable energy.

World oceans play the crucial role of a life support in poverty alleviation, food security, human health, and curbing climate change.