Sustainable development

Bangladesh faces great challenges in coping with the infrastructure and service requirements of its growing population. Access to food, sanitation, pure drinking water, healthcare, education and social security are obviously inadequate in both urban and rural areas of our country. Poverty still remains a major environmental concern. Poverty means a lack of income, a permanent state of vulnerability and lack of access to resources. Over 40% of the population of our country live in abject poverty. Poverty, population growth and environment have strong linkages in our country. It is critical to check population growth to achieve sustainable development. Because the growing numbers of the poor are forced by the few powerful rich to over utilize the environmental resources and put strain on their carrying capacity while the environmental degradation further limits access to resources for the poor. Poverty has devastating effects on people's lives.

Reducing poverty is the central theme of development dialogue in our country. Promote sustainable development through increasing the productivity of natural resources involving the people in planning, decision making and management. Bangladesh, despite its increasing population pressure, poverty, illiteracy and natural disasters, will be able to manage its scarce resources in a sustainable way with continued political commitment and with the help of public and private sector bodies, NGOs, civil society, the media and the people at the grassroots level who have been managing the resources. Even the recently introduced Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) has been criticised for giving less attention to the environment.



It is necessary to alleviate poverty keeping environment in mind through proper use of the natural resources. It is also necessary to have ecological balance to make development sustainable and poverty alleviation more effective.