Bangladesh Environment

and Climate Resilient

Sustainable Development

Vision 2021

25 February 2010

Bangladesh Environment
and Climate Resilient
Sustainable Development

Vision 2021

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment & Forests

25 February 2010

Contents

Context and trends

The vision

General targets for 2021

Policy actions

Regional sustainable development visions

14

Priority enabling measures during 2010-2014

17

Priority actions for 2010

17

Targets and indicators

19

References

22

Context and Trends

Sustainable development aims to meet present human
needs while maintaining the environment such that the
ability of future generations to meet their needs is not
compromised. It recognises and addresses the interactions
over time between people (society and economy) and
environment. While this concept has drawn attention
internationally since the early 1990s, now is the opportune
time to adopt this paradigm if we wish to be on the path to
a healthy environment and economy by the 50th anniversary
of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has achieved notable development successes in
recent decades, with average life expectancy increasing to
65 years, economic growth sustained at about 6% a year,
GDP increased to US$ 433 per person, and the percentage
of people living in poverty reduced to 40% by 2005. These
trends are likely to continue in the next decade, but are not
sustainable.
The momentum of past global economic development
has left a legacy of irreversible climate change which will
continue for decades and the consequences of which must
now be faced by present and future generations. In the same
way, without a significant shift in the national development
path the environmental costs of this path will place
serious constraints on the future wellbeing of the citizens
of Bangladesh. Despite reducing the population growth
rate to 1.4% by 2006, present estimates and the National
Population Policy expect only to achieve a stable population
by about 2070 when there would be around 230 million
people (about 1,600 per km2).
About 1% of crop land is lost each year to other land uses.
Even without climate change, an annual rice deficit of 4.7
million tonnes is predicted by 2030 (Ministry of Environment
and Forest 2005). If the present development path
continues, the productivity of land that remains in cultivation
will need to increase by about 35% by 2021 to maintain
the current level of food security. But by 2070 if there is

no urgent action to halt population growth, the farm land

that would be left after accommodating increasing non-farm
needs would have to be some 2.5 times more productive
to maintain per capita food security. Thus to keep up with
population growth and the need to reduce poverty in
the short term, agriculture will have to grow at an annual
rate of 4.0-4.5% (GOB 2008). Despite the proven ability
to raise productivity in the past, in the future this could
only be achieved through ever more intensive agriculture
dependent on biotechnology, genetic engineering and loss
of biodiversity in farm land and wetlands. Moreover, in the
longer term attempts to achieve these levels of sustained
production gains are unlikely to succeed considering the
additional constraints imposed by declining ground water
levels and climate change.
Already the environment is under severe and increasing
stresses:
Wetlands and rivers are dying, a considerable part of
floodplain wetlands including 4.5 million ha of floodplain
have been drained and degraded, siltation and flooding
are growing problems, and native fishes are in decline with
30% of freshwater fish species threatened (IUCN 2000).
Ground water levels are falling by 0.5 to 1 m/year in parts
of the central and north-western regions (Shamsudduha
et al. 2009).
About 25% of the population is exposed to arsenic levels
exceeding Bangladesh standards (0.05 mg/l) (WARPO,
2000).
Although 17% of Bangladesh is considered forest land
and 10% is controlled by Forest Department, natural tree
cover is much reduced, for example UNEP using 1992/3
satellite images found apparently non-degraded forest on
6.4% of land.
Most large fauna are threatened with extinction or
Sustainable Development Vision 2021

already nationally extinct: out of 120 mammal species

27 are globally threatened and of these 7 are nationally
extirpated; out of 650 bird species 33 are globally
threatened and of these 9 are nationally extirpated; out
of 154 reptile species 22 are globally threatened; and
out of 402 fish species at least 6 are globally threatened
(Siddiqui et al. 2008; but status assessments for fish are
incomplete).
Poor coordination and planning of infrastructure results in
a very high density of rural roads and drainage congestion.
Migration to towns and cities, driven by limited rural
economic opportunities and hazards such as erosion
and pulled by industrialisation, has raised problems of
overcrowding and slum development.
Unsustainable urbanisation results in traffic congestion,
untreated effluent, poor sewerage provisions, 90% of
Dhakas waterbodies being filled in, waterlogging, and a
growing risk of widespread building collapse in earthquakes.
Dhakas population grew tenfold between 1961 and 2001.
Dhaka was recently rated by WWF the Asian mega-city
most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
By 2020 it is predicted that 85% of Dhakas roads will be
congested, with 60% of the road network having average
speeds below 5 km/h, and emission levels of road traffic
pollutants will be about five times their 2002 levels (Alam
and Habib 2003).
Railways account for only 4% of passenger and freight
traffic, and water transport for 8-16% of traffic, despite
resulting in lower pollution and land take than roads.
Pollution is having an increasing impact on human
and ecosystem health and livelihoods: 22% of disease
(respiratory and diarrhoeal disease) is reported to be due
to environmental factors notably urban air pollution, and
poor water quality (World Bank 2006).
40-49% of total energy comes from renewable sources
but this is largely biomass (fuelwood, crop residues,
and dung) which is overexploited and has significant
opportunity costs in terms of loss of soil fertility and

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

biodiversity, and adverse air quality (indoors and outside)

that is injurious to health and the environment.
Electrification, rapid industrial development, increasing
car ownership, and conversion to natural gas all result
in energy demand (including gas demand) rising faster
than economic growth at about 10% a year. But national
gas reserves are projected to be exhausted by 2021.
Although Bangladeshs CO2 emissions are currently only
0.2% of global emissions (Ministry of Environment and
Forest 2009) and per capita energy consumption and
CO2 emissions are very low, they are set to rise by about
4.5 times by 2021.
Bangladesh is the most vulnerable nation to cyclones and
sixth most vulnerable to floods (UNDP 2004).
Climate change is predicted to raise average sea level
by around 18-79 cm during this century (Ministry of
Environment and Forest 2009), an increase in the middle
of this range would subject to more regular inundation
10.9% of the country and adversely impact the lives
and livelihoods of 5.5 million people who will become
environmental refugees.
In summary the costs of following the same business
as usual path will be uninhabitable cities, environmental
degradation and irreversible decisions which will
seriously constrain and harm the quality of life of future
generations. It has been estimated that just some of the
main environmental impacts and constraints already result
in economic losses of over 4% of GDP (World Bank
2006), and these losses are likely to grow at least as fast
as economic growth. If all of the negative environmental
impacts of business as usual growth were valued, it is
likely that these would cancel out traditional measures of
economic growth
The issue addressed by this vision is how to ensure that
the nation can modify its economic growth path so that it
is environmentally sustainable and resilient to the trends
resulting from global climate change. This vision is founded in
the belief that there are opportunities to build sustainability
into growth in the immediate future and that this is essential
in the face of external and internal driving pressures.

The Vision
By 2021 the livelihoods of the nations population will be self-sustaining through
development that ensures a healthy environment and the welfare of future generations.
The livelihoods and wellbeing, in the widest senses, of all
citizens will have improved, and the gap between rich and
poor will have narrowed. This includes meeting the needs of
a growing population.
To achieve this vision a set of general targets are proposed.
Each of these is overarching its achievement will depend
on cooperation among all citizens enabled by a series of
changes in policy and practice. Achievement will be assessed
through more specific sub-targets and priority steps. The
next section sets out the general targets, and is then
followed by: a brief summary of the rationale and policy

approaches required; examples of regional applications of

the vision; and a set of steps to be taken up in the next year
to enable and fast track the changes necessary.
This vision is broadly consistent with existing key Bangladesh
policies, strategies and commitments, in particular to the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG). For example the
poverty target 1 is in fact MDG 1, and Bangladesh is already
expected to meet this target as it has been made a major
overall policy objective. The challenge is to achieve all the
MDGs including poverty eradication, and then maintain longterm those achievements, through sustainable development.

General Targets for 2021

1. Governance: sustainability is the first priority in all
development decisions.

aquatic life; also dry season groundwater levels do not

fall below 2005 levels.

2. Eradicate extreme poverty and with no more than

29% of the population below the upper poverty line by
2015, while achieving national food security.

8. Pollution: national air and water quality standards are

met at point emission sources and throughout urban
areas and water courses.

3. Minimise population growth, with replacement fertility

achieved by 2012.
4. Cities are sustainable and more efficient, with
development following appropriate structure plans.

9. Forests: tree cover is achieved on 20% of the land

surface, and ecologically healthy native forests are
restored and protected in all public forest lands (about
16% of land).

5. Villages: the quality of life for the bottom 50% of

rural people of all regions has improved by their own
definitions and assessments.

10. Biodiversity: no new extinctions, and national

populations of globally and nationally threatened species
are enhanced.

6. Agriculture: conversion of agricultural land is minimised

and production growth for food security achieved with
no increase in total irrigation water or agro-chemical use.

11. Energy demands of development are met through a

low carbon strategy subject to availability of funds and
appropriate technologies.

7. Water and wetlands: wetlands (including jalmohals and

rivers) hold water throughout their official extent in the
dry season, have sufficient flows, and support diverse

12. Hazards: potential economic losses (particularly from

floods, drought and salinity) are reduced from current
levels.
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Policy Actions
In this section the key policy actions needed to address
each general target are outlined, along with some more
specific sub-targets that can be used by the many concerned
government agencies as a basis for operationalizing the 12

general targets. The following table summarises existing

policies and highlights any need for change along with the
main responsible ministries.

Theme

Summary of policy status and needs

Ministries/bodies to take action

Governance

The framework should be set in the Constitution: sustainability

can be formally recognised by adding as a basic human right
the right to a safe, healthy environment. The priority need is
to ensure greater accountability in implementing policies.
Appropriate policy (PRSP-II) being implemented, but when
revised and extended needs to explicitly incorporate sustainable development principles.

Lead: Prime Ministers Office

Population policy 2004 needs revision to target a lower more

sustainable stable population through renewed emphasis on
immediately achieving replacement fertility.
No specific policy although various plans for Dhaka. A new
land use and planning policy could cover urban and rural areas,
including decentralising urban growth, under local government.
National Agriculture Policy 1999 promotes environmentally
friendly sustainable agriculture but implementation needs
strengthening. Emphasis on expanding irrigation needs revision
to optimising returns from scarce dry season water.
National Water Policy promotes sustainability of wetland
functions and community participation, implementation needs
strengthening. In fisheries gaps between current jalmohal
leasing policy and fisheries strategy need resolving in favour of
environment.
No specific policy, covered partially in policies such as agriculture, water, and in instruments under Department of Environment. Need to consolidate air and water quality assurance in a
new policy and supporting instruments, such as a clean water
act.
National Forest Policy 1994 focuses on social forestry and
20% of the nation being under tree cover by 2015, implementation needs strengthening. Policy needs revising to enable comanagement and ecosystem sustainability in all reserve forests.

Lead: Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare

Extreme poverty

Population

Urban
Villages
Agriculture

Water and wetlands

Pollution

Forests

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All Ministries for harmonising policies

Lead: Ministry of Planning/ Planning

Commission
All Ministries for incorporating sustainability

Lead: Ministry of Local Government and

Rural Development (with revised/new
agency for Dhaka)
Lead: Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Water Resources

No clear lead, jointly involves:

Ministry of Water Resources
Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
Ministry of Land
Lead: Ministry of Environment and
Forests
Ministry of Finance/Finance Division for
supporting taxes and subsidies
Lead: Ministry of Environment and
Forests
Ministry of Hill Tracts Affairs

Theme

Summary of policy status and needs

Ministries/bodies to take action

Biodiversity

National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2004, generally

consistent with vision, but implementation is limited.
Renewable Energy Policy 2008 already sets incentives for
expanding renewable sources of energy, needs to be complemented by wider policy that also promotes energy conservation.
Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009, implementation starting. Otherwise focus has been disaster management
which needs revision to link into wider development planning

Lead: Ministry of Environment and

Forests
Joint leads: Power and Energy and Mineral Resources Divisions

Energy

Hazards

No clear lead, crosscutting issue involving almost all ministries

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

1 Governance
The key to this vision is a fundamental change towards
good environmental governance. There are already a
large number of policy initiatives and strategies that are
supportive of sustainable development in Bangladesh. These
include sectoral policies such as the National Conservation
Strategy 1992, National Water Plan 2000, and National
Fisheries Strategy 2006, and cross cutting strategies such as
the recent Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan and
National Sustainable Development Strategy. However, their
implementation and adoption into practice has been at best
piecemeal and often constrained by contradictory policies
for land management and revenue. The table at the start of
this section highlights where policy change and new policies
are needed.
To give due weight to this major change towards
sustainability, and to enable necessary actions under the
remaining 11 themes, two fundamental policy actions are
proposed:

Suggested amendments to The Constitution of the

Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
Part II
Amendment to clause 15 Provision of basic necessities.
It shall be a fundamental responsibility of the State
to (new text) protect and improve the environment for
present and future generations, and to attain, through
planned economic growth, a constant increase of
productive forces and a steady improvement in the
material and cultural standard of living of the people,
with a view to securing to its citizensa. the provision of the basic necessities of life,
including food, clothing, shelter, education and
medical care;
b. the right to work, that is the right to guaranteed
employment at a reasonable wage having regard to
the quantity and quality of work;

1. Recognition of the right to a safe, healthy environment

as a basic human right under the Constitution.

c. the right to reasonable rest, recreation and leisure;

and

2. Making the national budget from the Financial Year

2010-11 environmentally responsible, with a separate
heading for climate change, and explicitly using taxes,
duties and utility pricing to reflect the social and
environmental costs of technologies and consumption.

d. the right to social security, that is to say to public

assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from
unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered
by widows or orphans or in old age, or in other
such cases.

The vision will be further achieved through a set of subtargets and actions:

Part III

1. Activate in 2010 the National Environment Council to

meet regularly and oversee mainstreaming of sustainable
development.
2. Incorporation of environmental sustainability as a
fundamental objective and requirement at all levels of
development planning undertaken by all public agencies.
3. Establish effective cooperation across ministries, line
agencies and departments, new regional planning
bodies, and local government to achieve sustainable
development.

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New clause: Environment

Subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law
in the interests of the security of the State, every citizen
shall have:
a. the right to a safe and healthy environment
b. the right to information pertaining to the condition
of the nations environment.

4. Harmonisation of policies under a framework of

sustainability across all relevant sectors, not just
environment and forests; but including industry, water,
agriculture, fisheries, land management, and taxation and
revenue.
5. Decentralised policy implementation, with primary
responsibility at local government level (upazilas and
municipalities), but with stronger checks and balances
including rights to appeal and a public inquiry process to
limit any potential abuses of power.
6. Enactment of a land use zoning and planning control law
to enable decentralised land use planning and establish a
process to review and permit or deny land use changes
(see next sub-targets).
7. Openness and accountability in development planning
supported by strengthening monitoring of environmental
quality and making the data publicly available.
8. A change in policy emphasis to planning controls and
incentives decisions on what forms of development
and land use change will and will not be allowed and
where.
9. Establishing a cadre of well trained planning professionals
directly answerable to the relevant level of elected
government (and thereby the electorate they represent)
who will implement and enforce land use and
development controls.

2 Extreme poverty
Poverty reduction is already addressed extensively in
national policies and strategy. This is currently embodied
in: Moving ahead: national strategy for accelerated poverty
reduction II (FY 2009-11) or PRSPII. However, this is
short-medium term and has a largely economic focus.
Moreover more attention has been paid to reducing the
overall incidence of people in poverty (upper poverty
bound), although by 2005 the proportion of people living
below the lower poverty line had fallen to 25%. Greater
emphasis is now being placed in PRSPII and through various
projects on ending extreme poverty, for example in terms
of people living on less than the minimum necessary diet. To

ensure that this target is achieved in a long term sustainable

way requires that future updates explicitly incorporate
sustainability principles by demonstrating that all the
sectoral components of the strategy will not lead to adverse
environmental impacts, conflict, or close future development
options by 2021. There are, therefore, no additional policy
actions under this strategy beyond existing policies and the
mainstreaming of sustainable development under target 3.

3 Population
The Bangladesh population would need to stabilise earlier
with zero growth by 2021, when it is likely to be 185 million.
One of the few assessments of Bangladesh carrying capacity
by FAO estimated with high technology levels a sustainable
population of 185 million, although other assessments based
on fuelwood and foodgrain availability give much lower
estimates. The concept of carrying capacity assumes that a
finite number of people can be supported long term in a
given area without reducing the ability of the environment
to sustain the desired quality of life. However, there are
trade-offs between higher population with more stress on
resources and poverty, and vice versa, while technological
change increases land productivity. Poverty reduction by
improving health, education and incomes helps reduce
population growth, but the rate of reduction will be too
slow. On present trends and policy the population would
only stabilise at 210-250 million between 2060 and 2085.
This would undermine all other efforts to achieve sustainable
development. To reduce the existing population growth
momentum requires placing a renewed high priority on
limiting population. The PRSPII recommends that limiting
population be reinstated as the nations top priority. An
implication of a stable population is a higher proportion
of older people, up to 2021 this will see an increase in
the proportion of working age, but numbers of elderly
dependents will also rise. Policy actions and targets will
include:
1. Immediately generate widespread public debate on
population pressure and its implications for sustainability
and create a social preference for families of up to two
children.

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

2. Use national identity data bases and birth registration to

support incentives for later marriage and having no more
than one child (such as education or health allowances).
3. Make recruitment and continued employment of new
recruits in all public sector and semi-public jobs (e.g.
teachers), and holding of public office, conditional on
having no more than two children.
4. Renew and reinvigorate promotion of measures to limit
population growth and family size within a year, through
general education, health care and civil society opinion
leaders.
5. Establish a conditional safety net of pensions as an
incentive within five years: persons over 65 who fall
below a means test and have no more than one child
would receive a modest pension.

4 Cities
Urban centres will have expanded, but this will be kept in
line with new city and municipal region structure and land
use plans that also invest in public space for flood/storm
drainage storage and parks. With the need to maintain
agricultural land and space for biodiversity, urbanisation
will involve dense housing, but with improved services
and sufficient planed open space. Private developers and
landowners will pay the full costs of maintaining drainage and
sewerage treatment provisions to meet surface water quality
standards. The polluter pays principle will be adopted to
generate funds to mitigate pollution. As a special priority
a sustainable development plan for greater Dhaka will be
developed and implemented (see later box). But these
changes will be extended to all urban centres. Actions will
be taken to meet sub-targets:
1. Develop and implement overarching land use/structure
plans for each urban area based on zoning to maintain
a healthy environment, maintenance of floodways and
drainage systems, and neighbourhood development with
a mix of housing, business and industry, services and
recreational areas to reduce travel.
2. In major cities adopt and enforce efficient transport

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

plans through pedestrian and rickshaw zones, one

way systems, and more efficient public transport using
existing infrastructure.
3. Strict enforcement of existing water and air quality
standards at sources of pollution (see target 8).
4. Restoration of urban storm drainage and encroached
urban waterways sufficient to avoid street flooding in a
one in 20 year extreme rainfall event.
5. Improved public sewerage systems co-financed by
requiring private developers (housing and industry) to
invest in facilities for treatment, and with users required
to pay service charges that cover the costs of meeting
quality standards.
6. Adoption in industry, transport, and housing of cleaner,
low carbon technologies, through public incentives
reduced duties for appropriate imported equipment,
and subsidies for retrofitting key installations.

5 Villages
Improvements in rural life will mainly be addressed by other
targets poverty reduction and sustainable use of natural
resources (water and forests), and complemented in specific
areas by pollution control and changes in energy policy. In
addition to limit the loss of agricultural land, more efficient
use of village lands will be promoted through research and
development, and use of public lands and infrastructure will
be rationalised. Actions to achieve this target will include:
1. Enact a framework making rural land use planning
and zoning the responsibilities of upazilas and union
parishads. The main entry point for planning is expected
to be the upazilas, and this will require building capacity,
accountability, and funds. The aim will be to maintain a
balance between agriculture, wetlands, other commons,
and growth of villages and towns.
2. Develop regional sustainable development plans to meet
the special needs of each region of the country. Rules and
powers will be set for defining and enforcing land use zones
and restrictions on uses in Environmentally Critical Areas.

3. Develop the role of planners in this process, which

should no longer be considered the province of
engineers and infrastructure development.
4. Rationalise and reduce rural infrastructure for example
where flood control and road embankments duplicate
purposes, consolidate them in one place and allocate
the freed land for settlement or cultivation by the poor.
5. Support identification and promotion of building
practices that enable more efficient use of land.

6 Agriculture
Agricultural research and extension efforts will focus on
ensuring food security, environmental sustainability and
climate change adaptation, including salinity, drought and
flood tolerance. While efforts will need to continue to
increase yields, returns from water will be maximised and
irrigation of rice optimised. Diversification of crops on higher
land will be promoted in favour of high value crops and
horticulture suited to drier conditions, thereby reducing
groundwater and surface water depletion. Measures to
improve soil conservation and soil fertility will be promoted,
including composting and greater recycling, as will integrated
pest management. Relevant sub-targets include:
1. Significantly reduce use of harmful agro-chemicals (and
end use of persistent organic pollutants).
2. Halt loss of agricultural land to infrastructure, towns and
cities through zoning and its enforcement.
3. Reduce consumption of irrigation water relative to the
yield of dry season boro rice.
4. Achieve reduced soil loss and sedimentation of khals
through extension of improved land management
practices and soil conservation.
5. Reduce the area of higher drought prone land under
irrigated dry season rice which depletes ground
and surface water, by developing market chains and
providing subsidies to promote adoption of lower water
demand high value crops and horticulture.

6. Achieve zero organic content in urban waste used

for landfill by promoting public-private partnerships in
recycling urban waste for use in maintaining soil fertility
for high value peri-urban agriculture.

7 Water and wetlands

Water resources, wetlands and water security will be
ensured for environmental health, livelihoods based on
aquatic resources, and sufficient safe drinking water.
Bangladesh already has considerable success in local
community management of wetlands, fisheries and water
resources, and this will be expanded. Long term use rights
and responsibilities will be devolved to local community
organisations which will be entrusted with conserving and
sustainably using wetlands and waterbodies. Wetland and
fishery management will incorporate conservation measures
such as designating and protecting wetland and fish
sanctuaries. Development will recognise and maintain the
interconnectivity of water, including surface water flows, fish
migration routes, and surface-groundwater links. Minimum
flows in cross-border rivers should be sufficient to meet
environmental needs in the dry season. In general existing
policies, particularly the National Water Policy, already
support these aims but implementation and enforcement
have been patchy and need strengthening. Sub-targets
include:
1. Determine and then negotiate for minimum dry season
flows that will maintain ecological functions of crossborder rivers.
2. Reorient the water sector, from drainage and flood
protection for crops, to maintaining wetland areas,
functions, and services; and enabling optimal productivity
of floodplains.
3. Revise the current leasing policy so that the majority of
jalmohals move from traditional leasing to sustainable
community management by ensuring long term rights
and responsibilities at minimal lease costs for community
organisations that adopt conservation measures for
aquatic resources through good governance.
4. In 50% of jalmohals wetland habitat is restored and
Sustainable Development Vision 2021

sanctuaries established by 2021 through NGOgovernment facilitation to establish effective community

organisations of poor wetland users and fishers that plan
and implement sustainable management.
5. Laws and rules will be modified to preserve
interconnectedness and functioning of wetlands
and floodplains. The spread of public and private
infrastructure blocking waterways and enclosing
floodplains for aquaculture will be limited to areas zoned
as not part of significant natural floodplain fisherywetland systems and not affecting agricultural drainage.
6. The efficiency of use of irrigation water in agriculture will
be increased in terms of yields and returns to volume of
water used.
7. More efficient use of urban water supplies will be
promoted and the full costs of urban water supply
passed on to consumers.
8. Retention of surface water will be promoted for use
in the dry season both for irrigation and to maintain
fisheries and wetlands, for this re-excavation of silted up
waterbodies will be promoted.
9. Dry season ground water levels will be stabilised
(presently falling by 1 m per year in places).
10. Ensure that 95% of households have access to drinking
water of acceptable standards (including arsenic
contamination).
11. Rationalise and reduce the total land take from
embankments and infrastructure, by making them multi
purpose (flood control, transport, settlement of poor,
afforestation).
12. Revise existing surface water management arrangements
so that larger systems are owned by consortia of local
user organisations and government (co-management),
responsible for operating and maintaining infrastructure
from locally generated funds.

8 Pollution
Healthy water and air will be ensured through a carrot
and stick approach. To consolidate measures addressing this
major cross-cutting issue, a new policy will be developed,
supported by appropriate instruments based on the polluter
pays principle and using these funds to mitigate pollution.
This will phase in strict enforcement of existing water and air
quality standards, enable installation and enforce operation of
effluent treatment plants by industries and adoption of cleaner
technologies and vehicles. Monitoring of effluent, emissions,
surface and ground water quality and air quality will all be
strengthened and the results made publicly available. In the
short term a move to an environmentally responsible national
budget will start by making pollution a leading factor in setting
taxes and subsidies. Taxes and duties will be enhanced on
items and technologies that result in pollution problems.
Import taxes will be reduced on technologies that treat
pollutants and/or minimise emissions. Restoring urban storm
drainage and improving public sewerage systems will require
investments by private developers and higher service charges.
Incentives will encourage links with use of cleaner technologies
rather than short term cost considerations which can result in
adoption of older less efficient processes and equipment. Subtargets to achieve this vision include:
1. By 2021 90% of urban air quality tests and dry season
surface water tests will show that national quality
standards are met.
2. Establish effective monitoring and licensing systems
operated by government regulated private sector
operations covering mechanised point sources of
pollution (motor vehicle and boat licensing based on
testing safety for both movement and emissions by
authorised mechanics against payments that cover the
costs of the process) and general ambient air quality
testing and spot checks on certified vehicles.
3. Strict enforcement of existing standards, including vehicle
emissions and water quality standards.
4. Enhance public transport, particularly rail services, to
reduce emissions per passenger kilometre travelled.

10

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

5. Raise annual taxes and duties on vehicles and engines to

include an emissions tax component based on the level
of emissions from the engine.
6. Allow duty free import of equipment and supplies
needed specifically to operate Effluent Treatment Plants.
7. Ensure that all ships imported for breaking are
decontaminated prior to entering Bangladesh waters and
that breaking only takes place in authorized zones after
passing environmental checks.
8. Revise rules so that the fines for failure to comply with
standards are a real deterrent. For example, vehicles not
meeting standards cannot be driven, factories without
effluent treatment plants that they were required to
have or persistently failing to discharge water within
target standards would face fines equivalent to the cost
of a treatment plant.
9. The conditions set in all industrial development
approvals through Environmental Impact Assessments
will be checked and enforced during construction. On
commissioning of the development if effluent treatment
provisions required in the assessment have not been
met the industry will not be authorised to operate.
10. Establish a system for integrated waste management in
all urban areas based on separation of solid waste at
source into organic compostable, other recyclable and
non-recyclable components.
11. Maximise recycling of solid waste and ensure that
disposal of residual unusable waste is non-polluting.
12. Enforce zero production and stocks of Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs), including clean up and safe
disposal of remaining POPs and their replacement with
safe alternatives in all industries.
13. Support research and development during the next
three years to find ways of making brick production low
carbon and low emission, for example using renewable
energy sources such as solar power, and enforce
conversion if this is successful.

9 Forests
In keeping with the National Forest Policy 1994, 20% of all
lands will have forest cover, but the quality of forest in both
public and private lands will be assured. On public lands
all reserve forest will be protected and managed to have
high biodiversity conservation value, maintain ecosystem
functions, and so far as possible under those aims meet the
livelihood needs of local communities involved in their comanagement. Substantial forest restoration and protection
will be achieved by accessing global climate change
mitigation funds, such as carbon credits and REDD, from
both private and public sectors. Active co-management will
ensure that the biodiversity value of existing protected forest
areas and reserve forests is restored and maximised while
ensuring better livelihoods for those dependent on nontimber forest products. Community-owned afforestation
with native trees will be encouraged in deforested
environments including wetlands, coastal areas, and the
southeastern hills. Partnerships between public sector,
communities, private sector, and civil society will expand
provision for responsible tourism in forests. Sub-targets to
achieve this vision include:
1. By 2021 90% of those lands designated for forests (16%
of land) will comprise of full canopy or regenerating
native trees, this will require a large programme of forest
restoration.
2. Forest land boundaries will be surveyed and delineated
in the field and forest cover will be monitored at five
year intervals making use of ground-truthed remote
sensing.
3. All forest protected areas will have conservation based
management plans prepared by and endorsed by comanagement bodies comprising of local resource users
and Forest Department within two years, these will
cover participation, habitat restoration and protection,
biodiversity and species protection, funding, and
sustainable eco-tourism.
4. Changes in use of forest lands will be subject to the
same planning controls as other land uses covered in

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

11

land use planning and ECAs. Loss of and leasing out

of other forest lands reserved forest and unclassified
state forest to other (non forest-based) uses will end
immediately except where after a public inquiry loss is
found to be in an overriding national interest.
5. The targets for reserve forest and unclassified state
forest management will be changed within three years
to comprise multiple objectives: generating a sustainable
income for local user communities and the national
exchequer from sustainable harvest of native trees and
other forest products while maintaining forest cover and
high biodiversity value.
6. The mechanisms for certifying and approving reforestation and forest protection under carbon credit
and REDD mechanisms will be rationalised and
streamlined within a year and used to enable substantial
forest restoration and coastal afforestation through
partnerships with civil society, local communities and
private sector.

10

Biodiversity

Ecosystem based biodiversity conservation is already

covered by targets 7 (wetlands) and 9 (forests). However,
the following totals of species globally threatened with
extinction have been found in Bangladesh: 27 (7 extirpated)
out of 120 mammal species, 33 (9 extirpated) out of 650

Over 99% of three species of vultures disappeared

across South Asia since the mid-1990s after
feeding on cattle carcasses treated with diclofenac
(an anti-inflammatory drug lethal to vultures). India,
Nepal and Pakistan outlawed its manufacture in
2006, but it continues to be produced and used
in Bangladesh. An alternative, meloxicam, is just as
good a treatment and causes no harm to vultures.

bird species, 22 out of 154 reptile species, one out of 34

amphibian species, and 6 out of 402 marine fish species.
Several are not dependent on existing forest or wetland

12

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

protected areas. Most are indicator species for the health

of the ecosystems they belong to. To protect and restore
populations of threatened species will require species
recovery or action plans, similar to that already prepared
for the tiger. Priority will be placed on early actions for
species for which Bangladesh holds significant proportions
of the global population or of other special significance to
Bangladesh. Sub-targets include:
1. Prepare (within two years) and implement during the
remaining period species recovery plans for all globally
threatened species regularly occurring in Bangladesh.
Conduct a review and revision of these plans at five year
intervals.
2. Establish additional protected areas as necessary
within five years that will enable conservation of these
threatened species as well as significant eco-systems that
are not covered or are under-represented in the existing
protected areas and ECAs, particularly in non-forest
habitats.
3. Update national threat assessments for vertebrate taxa
within four years.

11 Energy
The energy demands of economic growth for a larger and
more urban population will be met through a low carbon
strategy, subject to availability of funds and technology.
Government support will be coordinated across relevant
industry, power, and revenue sectors with the aim of
promoting innovation and joint ventures that bring in
cost-effective technologies based on high energy efficiency,
use of renewable sources, and low emissions that are
suitable to rural and urban Bangladesh. Inefficiency taxes
will be introduced as surcharges on imports of equipment
that does not qualify as low carbon. The full economic
costs of energy will be charged to consumers and industry.
Mechanisms will be developed for the private sector,
including local communities, to sell surplus electricity
generation into the national grid if it comes from certified
renewable sources. The following sub-targets will enable this
vision:

1. Expansion of dispersed electricity generation from

renewable sources (notably solar power) through
subsidies and enterprise development in small scale
solar power, so that all stationary rural power needs
(including irrigation, rice processing, lighting) are met
within 2021 from renewable sources.
2. Achieve significantly more efficient use of biomass in
domestic cooking.

protected areas and ECAs, species recovery plans, and

as appropriate identify how to maintain those habitats
by 2021, if necessary in new areas.
2. Ensure that land use zoning and controls, and associated
development and building permitted under this system,
take into account likely hazards, including increases
in extreme flood and cyclonic storm frequency and
earthquake risks.

3. End subsidies for use of fossil fuels.

4. Reduce emissions per megawatt of electricity generated,
by adopting cleaner technologies in use of fossil fuels.

12 Hazards
Resilience of the livelihoods of all, but particularly the poor,
and of the nation as a whole, will be strengthened to face
the challenge of external pressures and natural hazards.
In particular better adaptation and coping with the threats
posed by climate change such as increased severity of
floods, drought and salinity intrusion, will be ensured. But
development will also address reducing vulnerability to
earthquakes and hazardous development. Climate change
adaptation will include strengthening flood mitigation and
protection works, but this will not be simply business
as usual. The opportunity will be taken, through local
participation in planning, to correct negative impacts from
the past by ensuring a better balance between agriculture,
drainage, fisheries and wetlands. A precautionary approach
to uncertainty means that in some coastal areas alternatives
will be tested. For example, the option of enabling siltation
coupled with flood-proofed homes and less intensive
livelihoods based on livestock, fisheries and mangrove
afforestation, instead of raising embankments with associated
costs and risks of failure. There are already detailed
strategies to address climate change adaptation, and the
other targets set in this vision mainstream climate change
adaptation within sustainable development. Additional subtargets are therefore limited to:
1. Assess the likely impacts of climate change on critical
ecosystems in Bangladesh within two years, and feed
this information into the management of existing
Sustainable Development Vision 2021

13

Regional Sustainable Developement Vision

In this section brief sub-national visions are presented as
boxes for some key environments. To achieve the national
vision real changes need to happen on the ground and this
should start in some priority pilot areas. In particular Dhaka
as a region is of such high national significance that an
outline is of key principles and steps needed for a sustainable
city. Other regions face special issues or are important as

flagships to publicise and demonstrate the policy change

to sustainable development, for example the large coastal
zone highly vulnerable to climate change, the ecologically
and culturally fragile southeastern hilltracts, and the globally
significant Sundarban home to a national symbol the Royal
Bengal tiger.

A sustainable coastal zone

Bangladesh already has a well developed plan for Integrated Coastal Zone Management but this is yet to be implemented, it
will be updated and revised in line with national sustainability planning. The overall vision is to promote economic growth that
builds in resilience to the expected increasing intensity and frequency of natural hazards (including storm surges, sea level rise,
salinity intrusion). Key ecosystems will be maintained and protected. Future options will be kept open by limiting intensification and
urbanisation to focus sites that are less vulnerable and considered worthwhile to invest in protecting.
The Chittagong region will be favoured for industrial and port development rather than areas of greater ecological significance and
vulnerability to pollution. While this will aim for economic growth based on transhipment and business development similar to that
of Singapore, it will also replicate the same standards for environmental and urban health found there by requiring that businesses
adopt green investment. Moreover properly regulated energy efficient onward water-borne and rail transport of a high standard
will be encouraged for bulk goods and people to Dhaka and the north-west region, and for international travel and transhipment.
Existing environmental initiatives and laws will be implemented and enforced, including improving the environmental and human
health and safety of the ship-breaking industry and limiting its area. In the offshore zone care will be taken to balance exploitation
of resources such as gas and fisheries, with ecology to ensure sustainable harvests. Globally important and productive ecosystems
will be maintained, notably mangroves and estuarine mudflats. These key ecosystems and their components will be protected
by expanding and improving management of Environmentally Critical Areas to include coastal and marine protected areas for
cetaceans, mudflats that are globally important for wintering shorebirds, and St. Martins Island.
Land use zoning and management will continue successful promotion of mangrove and coastal afforestation to support land
stabilisation and shelter during storms. It will be supported by agricultural research and extension to promote climate change
resilient crops and practices in appropriate zones, including zones for responsible shrimp and fish farming.
Land use zoning and planning will also identify and make provision for difficult choices of where to enhance protection against
storm surges and floods and where to allow nature to take its course to erode and accrete. In the latter cases, this will include
support for relocating settlements when necessary from the most vulnerable areas to designated urban growth zones at locations
that are less vulnerable and where investments in higher levels of protection from floods and storm surges will be made. In
addition disaster preparedness services including information, forecast and warning systems, communications, cyclone shelters, and
evacuation provisions will be strengthened for vulnerable populations.

14

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

A vision for environmentally sustainable development of Dhaka

By 2021 with business as usual the population of the greater Dhaka conurbation is expected to be exceed 22
million people, with a third living in slums. Traffic speeds would grind almost to a standstill. There would be
growing inequality not only in wealth but also in health between better off and poor. Those who can afford
better housing, cars and air conditioning will add to energy consumption and pollution levels. Surface water
and air quality will pose significant health hazards. Open space and recreation facilities for the majority will be
an unattainable dream. Drainage congestion and storm water flooding will continue to worsen. Environmental
damage will increasingly result in economic costs and impediments to a third of our GDP which is based in this
region.
An environmentally sustainable greater Dhaka will be founded on coordinated planning and enforcement of
plans. The needs and quality of life of the majority of inhabitants will be enhanced by developing a structure
plan for the Dhaka region as a whole (the districts of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj). This will maintain
environmental services, define land use zones (residential, industrial, peri-urban food production, open space
including floodways, wetlands and forests), and devolve detailed local planning and enforcement to local
authorities. Dhaka region planning and local planning within the region will be consolidated under agencies
headed by elected councils. While enforcement of building regulations will remain a priority, the focus will
be firstly on strict enforcement of the structure plan and its zones, which will extend to relocating unsuitable
landuses such as inner city industries and conversion of resulting brown-field sites to public open space.
These plans will adopt sustainable development principles, by implementing and enabling:
1.

Neighbourhood development to reduce travel time and energy wastage and improve quality of life (for
example, zones in new and old developments will include relatively dense housing for a range of income
levels, services including schools within walking distance, and sufficient open space).

2.

Integrated water management by re-opening and maintaining surface drainage, creating and preserving
wetlands for sufficient flood storage within the region as a whole and linked with new developments,
protecting wetlands for environmental health and recreational opportunities, and on-site rainwater
harvesting and storm drainage retention within new developments.

3.

Efficient and environmentally healthy waste management by consolidating polluting industries to where
they treat effluent on-site, ensuring sewage treatment to maintain surface water quality, and maximising
use of solid waste for recycling, energy generation and soil nutrient replenishment.

4.

Mitigation of communications congestion (for example, strict enforcement of existing rules, incentives
for electric vehicles, enhanced public transport, pedestrian only and rickshaw only zones/roads, improved
pavements, congestion taxes, and charges for use of public parking spaces).

5.

Increased use of cleaner energy and greater efficiency to minimise air pollution. Research and
development will be expedited to minimise construction pollution and produce low-carbon buildings
(e.g. this might result in solar powered brick kilns and alternative construction methods).

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

15

Renewal of community livelihoods in the Chittagong Hilltracts

The vision in this unique region is of a more harmonious development where the basic needs of all
communities are met, through development of service provisions that meet the desires of communities and
are directly responsible to regional authorities. Existing natural forest will be protected through local comanagement. Forest cover will be restored by devolving responsibilities and rights to local communities and
then providing access to grants, expertise and enabling access to external climate change mitigation funds.
Land management support will extend soil conservation measures including village based horticultural and
agro-forestry systems. It will also recognise traditional land rights on condition of adopting sustainable land
uses and taking up subsidies offered for community reforestation. By 2021 these approaches will have been
demonstrated in selected watersheds.
Sustainable development will be enabled by facilitating villages to promote and benefit from their individuality.
For example, by adapting the one tambon one product [one village one product] approach of Thailand
to specialise in adding value and enhancing livelihoods based on products using local raw materials and
expertise for external markets. This will be coordinated and facilitated through a regionally based livelihood
development authority. Small scale eco-tourism will be facilitated through advice and capacity building for the
local communities that will control it, appropriate trekking routes and local guiding, and enhanced facilities in
rejuvenated protected areas.
To encourage administration by local people and self reliance, and to minimise external influence, extra
allowances made for armed services and public servants posted in the region will be ended

Tigers and the Sundarbans

A high priority will be placed on strengthening the successful protection of a national emblem the Royal
Bengal Tiger and key indicator for the health of the Sundarbans World Heritage Site. The Bangladesh Tiger
Action Plan 2009 will be implemented, conservation capacity of the Forest Department strengthened, and
responsible boat-based eco-tourism promoted. Public-private partnerships will be encouraged to support
and invest in these initiatives. To minimise irreversible changes and pollution hazards, and considering climate
change and higher sedimentation, trade and port expansion at Mongla will be limited.

16

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

Priority Enabling
Measures During
2010-14
Government policies
1. Strengthen the capacity of local government (Upazilas
and Union Parishads) to develop structure plans,
enforce a simple planning process for development
and change in land use, and to take as stronger role in
coordinating water management. The latter will be a
priority since seasonal excesses and shortfalls of water
are a major force shaping rural development.
2. Taxation, duties and subsidies reviewed and revised
to complement and enable sustainable development
principles: polluter pays, adoption of green technologies
and development, wise and efficient use of renewable
and non-renewable resources.

Supportive collaboration in research

and development
1. Establish transparent competitive mechanisms to award
grants from public funds and to attract matching funds
from diverse sources.
2. Give priority to research and development for
adaptation to climate change in agriculture, renewable
energy, and improving efficiency in use of water and
energy.
3. Demonstrate implementing the suite of sustainable
development principles and practices in an integrated
way in at least one pilot area for each key environment.

Public-private partnerships
1. Encourage larger companies of Bangladesh to adopt
voluntary environmental codes and to sponsor

environmental clean up around their sites and adopt

nearby communities.
2. Establish awards to encourage green industries,
innovations and interventions for sustainable
development in categories to cover individuals,
communities, small and large business enterprises, local
government, and public agencies.
3. Develop incentives for investment by expatriate
Bangladeshis and joint ventures in renewable energy,
environment friendly smaller scale rural industries,
industries that add value to rural production.

Priority Actions
for 2010
Public consultations
A cross-cutting need is to hold public hearings to foster
debate and obtain broad support from civil society for
the highest priority areas where major policy changes are
proposed:
1. Hearings on this vision and the main policy changes and
steps required to refine the steps needed and develop
broad based ownership.
2. Hearings on the need to end population growth by
2021 if the aims of poverty eradication and sustainable
development are to be achieved and how best to
achieve this.
3. Hearings on land use planning controls, sustainable
development of greater Dhaka, and institutional
reorganisations needed for Dhaka.

Governance
1. In conjunction with implementation of the Climate
Change Action Plan, activate the National Environment
Council to meet regularly, recognise sustainability as a
Sustainable Development Vision 2021

17

national priority, and oversee the adoption of the vision

in all sections of government.
2. Establish an independent body to review Environmental
Impact Assessments.
3. Identify where laws need to be harmonised and revised
in support of sustainable development.
4. Make the national budget from the 2010-11 Financial
Year an environmentally responsible budget that
includes a separate allocation for climate change
adaptation, and that uses taxes, duties and utility
pricing to reflect the social and environmental costs of
technologies and consumption. Simple initial measures
could include setting annual vehicle taxes and import
duties proportional to emissions, and increasing
service payments for urban waste management and
water treatment to cover the costs of necessary
improvements to services.

Poverty
1. Adopt sustainable development objective and targets in
Planning Commission.
2. Develop a short PRSPII plus to harmonise PRSPII with
this sustainable development vision for period to 2014.

Population
1. Develop with the NGO sector through PKSF a pilot
preferential fund for livelihood development of the
poor who commit to permanent birth control after
having no more than two children (with a higher level
of support for having no more than one child).

Cities
1. Establish Dhaka region planning authority incorporating
under it all existing relevant agencies.
2. Prepare and approve a structure plan for greater Dhaka
with landuse zoning through pubic consultations and
hearings.

18

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

3. Revise and harmonise service provision costs (e.g.

higher water and electricity charges for buildings lacking
on-site storm water retention, rainwater harvesting,
solar panels, etc).
4. Revise and enforce building codes/ regulations covering
lower carbon buildings and earthquake resistance.
5. Enact rules requiring developers for new urban
development to meet standards for drainage, flood
retention basins, water treatment.
6. Build capacity in planning and zoning through
recruitment of planners and training.

Villages
1. Establish rural land use planning and zoning system.
2. Initiate capacity building and staffing in land use planning
at upazila level.

Agriculture
1. Enhance funding for development of crop varieties
adapted to drought, salinity and floods.
2. Switch all demonstration funds and effort to cultivation
practices that adopt sustainability concepts (e.g.
integrated pest management, cultivation of rice with
reduced irrigation, alternative low water demand crops)

Water and wetlands

1. Hold public hearings and debate on changing waterbody
leasing into a mechanism to promote sustainable
wetland management by community organisations of
poor users.
2. Enact rules/laws to recognise wetland sanctuaries and
community conservation initiatives, and to protect
water flows and common fisheries in floodplains.

Pollution
1. Revise fines for non-compliance with existing standards

to create meaningful penalties.

2. Establish duty free import of equipment and materials
necessary for effluent treatment plants.
3. Strengthen monitoring and testing, and make water and
air quality information public.

Forests
1. Streamline mechanisms for using international climate
change mitigation funds in restoring native forest
cover and enable significant proposals using these
mechanisms.
2. Establish reliable baseline surveys of forest land
boundaries and forest cover.

Biodiversity
1. To conserve White-rumped Vulture (critically
endangered, named after nation Gyps bengalensis,
Bangladesh is the main range state that has not acted
against lethal drugs) ban possession, manufacture, sale
and use of diclofenac and ketoprofen for veterinary use,
promote use of meloxicam instead.
2. To conserve Spoon-billed Sandpiper (critically
endangered, under 250 pairs left worldwide, Bangladesh
coast (with Myanmar) main wintering ground) drop
plans for deep sea port on Sonadia Island ECA and plan
port in a less ecologically damaging site.

Gibbon, Fishing Cat, Irrawaddy Dolphin, Baers Pochard,

Spotted Greenshank, Pallass Fish Eagle, Masked Finfoot,
Indian Skimmer, 14 species of globally threatened
freshwater turtle, 3 species of nesting marine turtle, and
Ganges Shark.

Energy
1. Replace all subsidies for diesel irrigation with subsidies
for solar powered irrigation systems.
2. Promote private and community initiatives for
renewable power generation in remote rural areas and
for use by brickfields.

Hazards
1. Harmonise this vision, the Bangladesh Climate Change
Strategy and Action Plan and existing laws such as the
Environmental Conservation Act.

Targets and
Indicators
The following table summarises proposed indicators and targets for monitoring achievement of this vision. It is expected
that working groups to implement the vision in each theme
will add intermediate indicators and targets to cover the full
range of actions envisaged.

3. To conserve Tiger (endangered, national symbol, about

10% of world population in Sundarbans) implement
Tiger Action Plan.
4. To conserve Gangetic River Dolphin (endangered, large
part of population in Bangladesh) establish at least one
river sanctuary covering a significant population.
5. Develop national species recovery action plans for
the above four species and the following high priority
globally threatened species for which Bangladesh holds
important populations: Asian Elephant, Northern Pigtailed Macaque, Capped Langur, Western Hoolock
Sustainable Development Vision 2021

19

Theme and indicator

Governance

Current status

Target 2015

Target 2021 Comments

Proportion of policies and strategies

that incorporate sustainable
development principles

To be assessed

100%

100%

Proportion of population below

national upper poverty line

40% (2005)

29%

20%

MDG 1

Proportion of population below

minimum level of dietary energy
consumption

19.5% (2005)

11%

5%

MDG 1

Total population

155 mill

165 mill

185 mill

Growth rate

1.4%

0.5%

0.0%

Proportion of land covered by

sustainable zoning plans

0%

30%

70%

Proportion of inappropriate
development applications refused

unknown

50%

100%

1%

0.5%

0%

13%

50%

<0.3 m/year

0 m/year

25 million

10 million

Poverty

Population

Cities and villages

Agriculture
Proportion of agricultural land
converted per year to other uses

Agriculture includes
fisheries here

Water and wetlands

Proportion of jalmohals with
About 3-4%
improved ecosystem based
management by community
organisations
Rate of fall in dry season
0.1-1.0 m/year
groundwater level (non-coastal areas)
Number of people drinking water
49 million
with >10 ppb arsenic

Pollution
Proportion of surface water
monitoring stations in dry season
pass 5 quality standards

0% (2004)

40%

90%

Number of days with particulate

matter in Dhakas air exceeding
national standard

100

50

10

20

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

Dhaka only at present

Theme and indicator

Forest

Current status

Target 2015

Target 2021 Comments

Proportion of land covered with

good quality native forest (>90%
canopy cover)

Believed to be about
6%

9%

15%

Quality indicator
needs review

Likely no more than

10%

50%

100%

Of those species
regularly occurring in
Bangladesh

0.5% (20 MW)

5% (450 MW)

10% (1,600
MW)

Data and targets in

Renewable Energy
Policy

50%

100%

Excludes transport

25%

50%

Biodiversity
Proportion of globally threatened
species with stable or increasing
populations in Bangladesh

Energy
Proportion of electricity generated
from renewable sources

Proportion of rural power needs met Not assessed

from renewable sources

Hazards
Proportion of land use units have
adapted for anticipated hazards

Not known

Note: development of indicators and targets is presently limited by availability of information, a major element of implementing
this vision will be developing indicators with expert advice and establishing public information on these indicators based on
reliable monitoring systems to measure achievements.

Sustainable Development Vision 2021

21

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