Development Research Paper Pedia

Impact of Financial Crisis on Garment Workers of Bangladesh

2010-08-25T09:38:00.000+06:00

Farida Akhter

Financial Crisis led Garment Workers to work harder but less food to eat

This paper presented at the workshop by Farida Akhter 'South Asia Regional Workshop on Global Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Women: A Human Rights Perspective' that took place on 22-23 August 2010 in Delhi, Inda and organised by UNIFEM, PWESCR and HEINRICH BöLL STIFTUNG. It was prsented as a Bangladesh country perspective on the impact of the current crisis on women, their livelihoods and human rights

Bangladesh Economy in the face of global crisis

In Bangladesh, any change in the global economic situation is felt almost directly. The years from 2007 to 2009 have been very difficult because of the effects of global financial crisis on the local economy of the country. For Bangladesh, it is not only the global recession, but also other factors, such as domestic political unrest and natural disasters that add to the existing crisis and therefore the effects on people, and particularly on women, becomes more complex.

The political crisis was severe in 2006 resulting in an unconstitutional Caretaker government to be in power for two years (2007 and 2008). This was followed by election and taking over by the present government led by Bangladesh Awami League from January 2009. The cyclone Sidr occurred in November, 2007 and Hurricane Aila occurred in May 2009 affecting the southern part of Bangladesh. The newly formed government continued with economic policies undertaken by its predecessor Caretaker government.

According the Bangladesh Economic Review, 2009 (Ministry of Finance, government of Bangladesh) the economy of Bangladesh demonstrated considerable resilience during FY2008-09 despite the “twin shocks” arising from global recessions and the adverse effects of the consecutive floods and the cyclone-Sidr of the previous fiscal year (FY2007-08). The economy is estimated to have grown at a rate of 5.9 percent, slightly below the growth rate (6.2 percent) of FY2007-08. According to the Economic Review, the key feature of the economic performance during FY2008-09 is the strong recovery in agriculture sector coupled with moderate growth in industry and service sector. “The impact of the ongoing global financial crisis on Bangladesh economy has not been as severe as it was anticipated” – the report says.

The two main sectors which fuelled the GDP growth of 6% are the garment exports and the flow of remittances from the overseas workers, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia. On the other hand, more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated through the Agriculture, fisheries and farming sector.

Among the three major sectors of the economy contributing to the GDP, the contribution of Agriculture to GDP is 20.16% , industry 29.95% and services 48.9% as of 2009-10, (source Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics). It is to be noted that the contribution of Agriculture to GDP is reducing fast from 23. 5% in 2006 to 20.6% in 2008-2009 fiscal year (Bangladesh Economic Review 2009).

The government acknowledges that “some weakening in remittance inflows and export earnings was observed in the months towards the end of the fiscal year of 2008-09”. Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, the new Government has been on high alert and has been monitoring its impact on the economy with the help of a Task Force involving the concerned stakeholders from both the public and private sector. The export growth rate reduced to 10.3% in 2008 -09 from 15.9% of the previous year. The Task Force set up by the government, recommended 34.24 billion stimulus package in April 2009, which included increase in cash subsidy to selected export industries by 2.5%, instant release upto 70% of total amount to be received as export support, Enhancement of Export Development Fund, increase in Export credit ceiling, lowering of bank interest rates on commercial lending etc. In 2008, the Caretaker government pursued a monetary policy aimed at sustaining high employment, but created higher inflation rates in the process.

Women’s participation in the Economy

Women, constituting 49% of the population, are active in almost all sectors of the economy, although not so much visible in the official statistics. Women’s economic participation rate has increased from 23.9% in 1999 - 2000 to 29.2% in 2005 – 2006. Women’s participation as labour force is increasing at a higher rate than male labour force over age of 15 years. At the national level, the male labour force increased from 30.6 million in 1996 to 37.3 million in 2005-6, while in the same period female labour force increased from 5.4 million to 12. 1 million.[1] [BBS, 2009] That is the rate of increase for women was 124%, while for men it was only 22%. The participation of women increased both in the urban and rural areas. In terms of age, women are more engaged economically, (35.1%) in the age group of 40 – 44 years. About 50.86% women labour force (2005–06) has no education and over 85.69% women are engaged in informal sector and only 14.31% are in the formal sector. In 2005-06 at the national level 68.13% women were engaged in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries followed by 31.87% in non-agricultural sector, 19.35% in service sector 11.51% in manufacturing sector and the rest in other industries [BBS, 2009].

The participation of women in the ready made garment industries made them quite visible. The number of ready made garment workers is increasing significantly from 1.35 million out of 1.8 million workers in 2001–02 to 2.04 million out of 2.40 million workers in 2006–07. The percentage of women workers among the garment industries has been 75% in 2001–02 to 85% in 2006-07 [BBS, 2009]. According to the garment workers Association and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) the number has increased upto 3 million.

Women are also increasingly going abroad for employment, although the number is not yet significant enough.

Readymade Garment sector and the impact of the crisis

The Ready made Garment sector has been the most visible due to its contribution to employment of over 3 million workers (of which 85% are women) and secondly its contribution in terms of export earning which has increased from US $40 thousand in 1978 –79 to US $6.4 billion in 2004-05. Moreover, the industry is located mostly in the capital city, Dhaka and in the port city, Chittagong. No one can miss the scene of garment workers walking to and from the factories in large numbers, mostly the young girls in the early morning and late night respectively. Now there are over 5300 Apparel factories including 3000 RMG factories producing shirts, jeans pants woven apparels, 1250 Sweater factories producing woolen sweater and 1050 knitwear factories producing T-shirts, (half and full sleeved) [Source: Srama bikash Kendra, UBINIG]

While the Readymade Garment factories were started in late seventies of the last century, the new addition was in Knitwear and Sweater factories which started in 1990’s. Therefore, there are two major groups of apparel manufacturers organised by Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). The Knitwear factories are mainly located in Narayanganj and Shiddhirganj areas. The Apparel industry was almost completely dominated by woven garments during the 1980s. The share of knit garments exports in total apparel export from Bangladesh rose from 17 percent in 1993-94 to over 43 percent by 2004-05, while the share of woven garments gradually declined. In the Sweater factories the wages are paid on production basis and apparently have higher wage rate than the woven factories. Yet, the workers are exploited by the management with delayed payment of wages and reduction of rate per unit production at the time of payment.

The apparel export goes to about 30 countries around the world, with over 45% to USA, 50% to the countries in EU and 3% to Canada and rest to the other countries of the world. The Woven garment exports are concentrated in the North American market, knitwear exports on the other hand are mainly sold in the European markets.

In 2007-08, the turnover from the export of RMG items was USD 10.69 billion in spite of the fact that the actual value addition that takes place locally is only a small portion of that figure. The growth rate of the industry over the last three years was 64% that has encouraged the RMG owners to set a target of reaching USD 18 billion by 2010 and USD 25 billion by 2013.[2] [BGMEA, 2008]

The woven RMG industry is heavily dependent on the use of imported inputs, particularly fabric, - the foreign buying houses and direct importers to specify the sourcing of fabric and also due to the inability of the local primary textile sector (PTS) to supply fabrics of the required quality specifications. As a result, local value-addition in the woven RMG sector ranged between 25-30 percent in the eighties but subsequently rose to reach about 40-45 percent in more recent times. The gain in the country was nothing but the employment of women but at a cheap wage rate. Local value addition in the knit sector is about 70 percent [Rashid, 2006][3].

The impact of the global financial crisis was felt in the readymade garment sector since 2007. The export orders fell by 35% and export earning reduced by 23%. Over 300 factories, mostly sub-contract factories, had to be shut down. Among the three kinds of factories the most affected factories were the woven factories where over 5700 workers were terminated.

The main concern among the workers is the low wage. The wage of the garment workers is considered to be one of the lowest in the world. Even in Cambodia, the minimum wage is currently 54 dollars, and the workers are demanding for 64 dollars. In Vietnam it is 92 dollars, Sri lanka 92 dollars etc. According to the World Bank, a Bangladeshi garment work earns 290 dollars by making 2536 pieces of T-shirts, whereas in India a worker can earn 668 dollars by making only 56 T- shirts [ Chintaa, August, 2010 www.chintaa.com].

The present wage structure, before the announcement of the new wage structure, starts with Tk. 1200 (17$) per month for an apprentice, Tk 1662 (23 $) for Grade 7 worker to Tk. 5,140 (71$) for the Grade 1 worker. Since 2006, the workers denied of the right to unionise, carried out movement demanding the fair wage and also other issues such as non-payment of overtime, late payment of wages, lack of contract between the worker and the employer, no maternity leave, and other benefits deserved by the workers. The foreign buyers also demanded certain minimum standards to be followed by the garment owners commonly known as ‘compliance with social standards’, which instead of supporting the worker’s rights posed additional pressure on the owners. The owners were more willing to satisfy the buyers with compliance conditions which mostly looked at working conditions, but hardly supported the workers demand for fair wages.

The latest garment workers movement held during 2010 is for setting the minimum wage at Tk.5,000 was not accepted by the owners. However, new wage structure has been announced by the tripartite Minimum Wage Board for the apparel industry workers on July 29, 2010. According to this new structure an entry point worker (a helper) placed at Grade 7 would get Tk. 3000 (42$) a month (which is a rise from Tk. 1662 set in 2006). The wage for Grade 6 worker, (an Operator) is Tk. 3210 under the new structure. According to the experiences of the workers it takes about two and a half years to be promoted from Apprentice to Helper and another two years to become an Operator. Few workers may get it earlier depending on their skills. The rest of the Grade from Grade 5 to Grade 1 is not “workers” but belong to the administration and supervision. According to the workers they are the Malik Pokkho. The highest wage for Grade 1 worker is Tk. 9,300 (129 $). So the workers wages remain below Tk. 5000 even for the Operators who have gained skill over of a period of minimum 4 years of work.

Even for this low wage, the owners Associations did not agree to government’s proposal and sought extension of time for implementation till November, 2010.

Threat of Relocation

The Apparel manufacturers do not want to respond to the demands of the workers on the grounds that the garment orders will move away from Bangladesh to other countries. At this moment there is no other country to offer cheap labour for garment works as no other country can offer lower wage than Bangladesh. As we know that the relocation process started in the US when domestic producers found it difficult to compete with apparel imports from low-wage developing countries. The American producers first moved production to low-wage neighbour Mexico, and then subsequently to other low-wage countries like Japan in the 1950s, and to East Asian NICs, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. These countries became large exporters of garments in the 1960s and 1970s. But as wages began to rise in the NICs, relocation countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh which were offering lower wages. In a similar pattern, European producers moved to low-wage developing countries like India, China, Bangladesh and the North African countries [ Rashid, 2006]. But after Bangladesh, where can they go?

Being a low-technology and labour intensive industry the Apparel industry could use the large number of emerging female labour force with cheap labour since 1981. The wage advantage in Bangladesh for the owners was even more than another very poor country like Nepal (per hour wage was 25 cents in 1994) as compared to 24 cents in Bangladesh. Not only that the garment manufacturers could bypass other necessary requirement of ensuring labour rights such as not giving weekly holidays, maternity leaves and providing good working conditions. A number of studies have shown that violation of Factory Act 1965 and Factory Rules 1979 and the Minimum Wage Ordinance of 1994 are widespread in the garment sector. The garment workers are deprived of any severance payment even though they are frequently dismissed. By depriving the workers of the minimum wage and severance pay, garment employers have been able to reduce labour cost and increase their profits. The widespread use of child labour in the garment industry of Bangladesh is a violation of the core ILO labour standard relating to minimum age of a worker, which was ratified by the Bangladesh government.

The threat of loss of the market and relocation is used by the owners against the workers demands for fair wages. In 2007, the international orders for apparels reduced by 35%. In the US market the export of woven garments reduced by 10%. In Europe Germany was a good market for the Knitwear’s, which was reduced by 3%, and in France reduced by 23%. (Daily Manabjamin, 23 October, 2007)

There was also significant reduction in price per unit of garments. According to BGMEA, the Cutting and Making (CM) charge in Woven industries reduced by 15%. They used to get CM charge for a dozen cloth 10 dollars, but after the crisis it was reduced to 6 to 7 dollars [Daily Ittefaq, 15 November, 2008). The Garment owners frequently used the arguments of lower international price for garment products for not giving fair wages to the workers. As the workers have no knowledge about the global market situation, they have to believe whatever the Management says. However, they are never given the information whether the global market price is up.

Government actions

In the post global financial crisis situation, certain government actions were taken. Among others these included particularly those addressing the workers issues were the following:

A special fund amounting Tk.20 crore has been allocated for the skill development programme of the workers' of the RMG sector in FY 2007-08.
Addressing compliance issues: To improve working environment, ensure safety and legitimate rights of workers as well as to see that the Bangladeshi RMG suppliers become increasingly socially compliant, a high powered `Social Compliance Forum' and two taskforces (Taskforce on Occupational Safety in RMG and Taskforce on Labour Welfare in RMG) have been formed for RMG' sector.
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by the owners, workers and the Government on 12 June, 2006 in order to ensure rights of the workers in the garment sector and its 10 points MOU are under implementation. 15 teams formed by the Ministry of Labor and Employment and 13 teams formed by BGMEA are working to oversee the implementation process of the MoU.

Impact of crisis on women’s overall wellbeing

The major impact of the global financial crisis aggravated by the global food crisis was the rising food prices in Bangladesh. According to a UNDP study, “between 2006 to 2008, the inflation became so high that it became difficult for the workers to survive with meagre wage. Indeed rising food prices are a big concern for most people in Bangladesh, where poor households spend nearly 70% of their income on food items. In December 2007 annual food inflation in Bangladesh reached 16% and prices of the most important essential, like rice and oil increased more than that in the last year. The situation compelled workers to take to the streets for their wage increase.”[4] [UNDP, 2008]

The country’s RMG sector has experienced at least 72 incidents of labour unrest, over demand for payment of dues, in the six months from January 1 to June 30, reveals a report of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies [http://www.bils.org]. UBINIG study conducted by its Labour Rights section called Sramabikash Kendra showed that the workers were forced to go to the streets because they could not manage to buy the essentials with the wage they were earning from working in the garment factory. In return the factory management controlled the movement by using police force, mastans and inhuman behaviour with workers. The workers were not eating properly, therefore, becoming sick while working in the factory. The death of a garment worker Salma, who felt stomach pain while working, and was not allowed to be taken to the hospital by the management created huge reaction, as it symbolised the sufferings of most of the workers. Salma died out of stomach pain. She might have been hungry and ill fed. This incident happened in 2007.

Reduced Food intake

Sramabikash Kendra conducted case studies by talking to the garment workers and leaders about the living conditions due to financial crisis, specially the increase of prices of food items. According to a garment worker leader Firoza Begum, a garment worker who has to walk up and down to the factory and work for 12 to 14 hours needs at least three quarter of a kilo of rice per day costing about Tk. 30, salt, potato and oil costs Tk. 30. That means for having only a three meals of rice with Alu Bharta (mashed potato) cost Tk. 60 per day. In a garment worker’s family with 5 members, minimum food cost per day is Tk. 300 but they can spend only Tk. 200 (if both husband and wife are earning). Being unable to meet these costs, they are eating less meals and less food per day.

During a week of observation (November, 2008) of the garment workers families, the garment workers were found to be taking left -over watered rice (called Panta bhat) with salt and red chili for breakfast, for lunch Bread (pau Rooti), banana, puffed rice (muri) and at night rice with papaya, arum (kochu) leaves, uncultivated sak like Kolmi, henchi, small dry fish, potato etc. whatever they could manage in each day. They reported that they could eat fish and egg only once a month. No meat was taken during this period. The children were mostly eating puffed rice in the afternoon. That means, only one full meal of rice and curry was taken per day. The consumption of egg was shared by family members, two eggs for four persons.

Family expenditures

The house rent of the garment workers for one room with common kitchen and common bathroom is Tk. 1400 per month. Cost for children’s education is Tk. 200 per month. No health expenditure was mentioned as many diseases of the family members were not treated at all. It was found that most of the workers earning about Tk. 3000 had to spend Tk. 2800 on essential items of day to day living. Some were not able to manage within Tk. 3000 and were forced to sell household items like electric fan, TV, jewelleries, etc.

According to a study by the World Food Programme [5], (WFP, 2010) Household’s budget spent on food increased on average by 5% during the last 12 months to 60% in March 2010. This increase was due to food price inflation. In general, the share of education has decreased by about 20% during the last 12 months, due to the expanded coverage of free school books provision to primary and secondary school students, resulting in a reported 10% increase of school attendance, compared to 2009. Expenditures on health have generally increased due to increased costs of medicines. The report pointed out that in response to the challenges they face (i.e. price increases and income losses) households cope by cutting down consumption of protein sources, dairies and fruits. They also diversify their income sources by involving more family members, in particular women and children, in income earning activities (mainly casual labour). Reduction of health care expenses is another negative coping mechanism adopted by households.

The 2008 global food price crisis sent a substantial number of households back to poverty, with 25% of found food insecure by end 2008 [WFP, 2009] [6] The WFP shows that in end-2008, households spent about 62% of their expenditures on food, 10 percentage points up from 2005. The global food price crisis resulted in increased severe acute malnutrition rates (from 2.9% in 2007 to 3.4% in end-2008), severe underweight (from 11.8% to 12.3%) and severe stunting (from 16.1% to 20.1%) over the same period.

Conclusion

The readymade garment industry flourished in Bangladesh and gave employment opportunities to poorer women, which has been recognised as a very positive response of the global economic situation. But we keep on forgetting that this industry was here mainly for the cheap labour and for exploitation. The foreign exchange earned through garment exports goes back for purchasing all the raw materials. Only the wage for labour and the profit of the owners remain. The owners compete with the wages of the workers to keep high margin of profit. Paying less amount for wage to workers means higher profit for the owners. This time during the labour movement for minimum wage of Tk. 5000, a garment owner said, “I wanted to purchase Lexus model of car this year. But if I agree to pay Tk. 5000 as minimum wage, I will have to change the model of the car.”

The women workers by this time have become mature enough to respond to the movements, but majority of the workers are so poor and cannot afford to lose the job. They also cannot go back to their villages. Many young women are the sole bread winners of the families.

The government must take strong actions to support the workers for minimum wage as the industry can only gain by a healthy atmosphere of work and healthy workers.

[1] Gender Statistics of Bangladesh, 2008, BBS, Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, GOB

[2] Speech of the President of BGMEA at the launching of Switzerland-Bangladesh Business Forum on 23 August 2008. as quoted in Labour Rights in the Readymade Garment Industry in Bangladesh, Annual Report, 2008, ODHIKAR

[3] Rise of Readymade Garment Industries in Bangladesh: Entrepreneurial Ingenuity or Public Policy by Md. Ali Rashid, North South University, Paper presented at the Workshop on Governance and Development organized by the World Bank and BIDS at Dhaka on 11-12 November 2006

[4] UNDP, 18 March 2008, Kemal Darvis discusses global price shocks in Bangladesh.

[5] Impact of the global financial crisis: Bangladesh Follow up Case study April, 2010, WFP

[6] WFP, UNICEF, IPHN, Impacts of Recent Shocks on Food Security and Nutrition in Bangladesh, Joint Assessment, Dhaka, March 2009.

Photography: Taslima Akter [Life and struggle of garments Workers]

source: Chintaa

Adidas and Grameen: the fantasy is real now.

2010-06-14T10:48:00.001+06:00

Recent time Adidas have lost a big profit share accused by money laundering charge in Asia and Europe region. Clearly, Adidas pass a bed time. Now a savior comes to rescue Adidas. He is Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus . Grameen Group and German sports apparel maker Adidas are planning for a joint venture to make low-cost shoes in

Bangladesh

for the poor.

On March 21, 2010 Bangladeshi newspaper ‘the daily star’ published a report about this venture. It is a brand new social venture by Grameen. At a meeting Yunus said: “The shoes will be cheap and affordable by the poor." “It will protect people from diseases." Nadina Terrera, assistant programme officer of Yunus Centre, told The Daily Star "We are working on the price issue. It will be quite affordable for the poor."

Prof Yunus in his speech on Prof Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Lecture on December 2009 in Indian parliament said: "The goal of the Grameen-Adidas company is to make sure that no one, child or adult, goes without shoes." “This is a health intervention to make sure that people in the rural areas, particularly children, do not have to suffer from parasitic diseases that can be transmitted through walking barefoot."

The original idea came from Dr. Muhammad Yunus,

Bangladesh

's Nobel prize winner and an Adidas spokesman said "It is correct that Adidas Group in conjunction with Muhammad Yunus aims to put such shoes on the market."

Devinder Sharma, a pronounced journalist, analyst, scientist writes an article titled, ‘Grameen Bank Uses the Poor to Bail out Adidas from Its Financial Crisis’. He writes, ‘I admire Muhammed Yunus for his ability to use the poor so effectively in promoting the commercial ventures of internationally known brands, which are faced with a serious economic crisis. Adidas is one such company, which recently faced a money-laundering probe, and has had its net profits falling by a whopping 97 per cent to just US $ 6.7 million. According to news reports, "Adidas has announced a major restructuring of its operations that would include the elimination of regional headquarters in Europe and Asia and was expected to generate more than €100 million in annual savings."

Adidas would remain eternally grateful to Muhammed Yunus for providing it an assured market that it was desperately looking for. Any shoe company would grab an opportunity where it can sell its shoes continuously for years, in bulk. In other words, Grameen Bank will end up bailing out Adidas from its present crisis of survival. Even if the market was for cheaper shoes (in any case, these shoes have often been allegedly manufactured in 'sweat-shops'), Adidas ends up making enough money to keep it afloat.’

It is not first time. Adidas is also charges in several times. As with the majority of productive brand-based transnational, Adidas' business practices and commitment to worker welfare have been hardly criticized.

In 2006, Oxfam published a report titled, ''Offside! Labor Rights and Sportswear Production in Asia.'' According to Oxfam, workers have been dismissed or threatened with violence when they have organized unions to lobby for better pay and conditions. The a majority of Asian workers are women from poor communities, many supporting children and families. Their report catalogues abuses at a giant factory in

Indonesia

that dismissed 30 union workers who took part in a legal strike demanding more than their current salary of 60 cents an hour.

We find a large number of charges against Grameen bank. Interest rate of Grameen bank is 24 per cent. Sometime this rate increase 35-50 per cent. It is very higher then commercial bank. As a result loan owner poor man gradually a poorest man in the nearest future. It is the fact. So what is social business? It is the question.

It is not social venture. In

Bangladesh

established huge number of footwear industries. So, are not promoted this footwear? This social venture is a symbol of friendship between two interest based dragons.

World Water Day and Bangladesh

2010-03-22T12:00:00.000+06:00

INTERNATIONAL World Water Day is held annually on March 22 focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. This year the dedicated theme is ‘Clean Water for a Healthy World’ and UN-Water is dedicating World Water Day 2010 to the theme of water quality, reflecting its importance alongside quantity of the resource in water management.

Water is the basis of life. The quality of life directly depends on water quality. Good water quality sustains healthy ecosystems and hence leads to improved human well-being. On the other hand, poor water quality affects the environment and human well-being. For example, waterborne diseases cause the deaths of more than 1.5 million children each year (www.worldwaterday2010.info).

Taking this as the base of our discussion, let us consider the status/context in

Bangladesh

. Before one considers the quality part of water, let us see what is the actual extent of water supply for drinking purpose in the country as a whole. Till very recently, it was accepted that water supply was reaching around 97 per cent of the population of this country, thanks to a massive participation of the people in digging shallow tube-wells around the country resulting from the government-UNICEF led successful social mobilisation activities on the subject in the 1980s. People were motivated to the extent that almost every household (mostly in the rural parts) was inclined to having its own tube-well, i.e. source of safe drinking water. However, this massive response of the people was being taken forward without any clear-cut testing of the water quality of the tube-well sites. Thus, the inevitable happened: towards the late 80s and early 90s, arsenic was detected in many areas which drastically brought down the water coverage to 72-74 per cent. It is now established that in varying proportion, all the districts of the country have arsenic in their water. In some areas like the coastal region, this is further aggravated by salinity which makes it difficult to find a spot/point of sweet water for miles, as in different upazilas of Satkhira. This picture is worsened by the reckless expansion of shrimp culture in these areas where saline water is artificially brought in destroying the very limited available sweet water sources and even agricultural land. The good news is that the 2009 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, jointly undertaken by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF, finds that this has registered some improvement going up to 85 per cent.

With this, consider the other aspects of water supply in the country:

Water table in the north-western part of the country or Barind as well as in parts of Jamalpur is fast going down which is causing problems for digging wells for potable water. In the urban areas, the slum dwellers are paying 10-20 times more for water than the official rate without even considering the aspect of ‘quality’ as survival comes first;

The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority is trying its best to cope with the ever increasing water needs of Dhaka city and Narayanganj. The extent to which it is succeeding is understandable from the fact that during the dry period of the year, there are huge hues and cries for water from almost all parts of the capital city. And when it comes to the quality of the supplied water – no one who can afford consumes the WASA supplied water without boiling it;

From the various reports and our own experience, water crisis, not to talk about its quality, is so rampant in the cyclone Aila-affected areas even after one year that one should easily understand the depth of the problem;

Consider the situation of pollution in the rivers in and around Dhaka which forces WASA to keep on relying on extracting the groundwater which is alarming (it is said that every year, because of this, the groundwater table of Dhaka is going down by as much as 5m!).

It is evident from all these that while considerable efforts have been put for ensuring supply of water to the population in general, the quality aspects have not been taken care of adequately. Thus, it is very clear that lot of works still remain to be done to ensure ‘arsenic-free safe water to all by 2011’, a commitment of the present government. How then should we try to address the overall water issue in this country?

First, there is a need to assess the realistic needs of water in the country and have appropriate plans supported by adequate budget in the national budget to take care of it. Second, we have to earnestly support and encourage more use of surface water particularly in Dhaka city for which the river pollution has to be taken care of quickly. Although the present Government appears to be quite sincere in this direction, support and participation from all quarters in this direction is a must; Third, whatever water we are producing, we need to ensure its judicious use. Steps like ‘progressive billing’ in the style of the power sector but with safety net for the ultra poor can be particularly helpful, especially for WASA to discourage wastage of supply-water. We need to be reminded consistently that in the absence of adequate water production, people just cannot use the supply-water for purposes like car washing, gardening, etc. Fourth, as a significant step towards good and wise of water, building codes should include mandatory provisions of ‘rainwater harvesting’ for every new structure coming up which will be particularly helpful in the cities for purposes like car washing, gardening, etc at least for a certain period of the year and also serve as a reliable source of drinking water in the coastal areas of the country. Fifth, the government should ensure that at least one khash pukur in each ward of the coastal districts be allocated for exclusive drinking provision through transformation by the already well-known ‘pond-sand-filter’ system. If asked by the government, the non-governmental organisations working in the concerned areas can be of significant help in this direction. Finally, it is necessary that in order for the people to have quality water for consumption, ‘Water Safety Plan’ that emphasises protection of drinking water right from the source continuing to transportation, storage and finishing at the point of consumption needs to be popularised through considerable campaign activities both by the government as well as all other organisations working on water supply in the country.

We need to remember that it is far cheaper to protect water resources than to clean up after pollution. Protection and maintenance of aquatic environments ensures the sustainability of their ecosystem services, i.e. benefits like potable water, fisheries, recreation and tourism. Increased funding is required to protect ecosystems and prevent water pollution. Funding should support and be complemented with concerted well-targeted awareness raising initiatives on water use and its quality issues. Finally, it needs to be re-emphasised in addition to ensuring enough water for drinking purpose that water quality is key to human and ecosystem health, and there are numerous add-on benefits to improving water quality, improved ecosystems and ecosystem services, improved health and improved livelihood. Is it not the appropriate time to start thinking and doing these seriously?

Dr Syed Ishteaque Ali Jinnah is director, policy and advocacy, WaterAid Bangladesh

source: New Age

Yunus: From micro credit to macro dreams

2010-03-17T14:47:00.000+06:00

From newspaper archive:

Prof Yunus offers the people a dream, an alternative to 'traditional' politics steeped in crime and corruption. Will the dream translate into reality?

by AFSAN CHOWDHURY

What began as a tiny poverty alleviation action research project in 1976 has become a global phenomenon. Prof. Yunus is not short of dreams or daring. By declaring his political intent to float a party, he has treaded a terrain which others have not dared to visit for long. Politics has become synonymous to most with crime and corruption.

Yunus is no stranger to daring and controversy. Micro credit was lambasted for many years as a dubious economic support programme but it has reached great success and credibility �flaws notwithstanding- in Bangladesh and in many parts of the world. Arguably it�s Bangladesh�s most famous export.

In his post-Nobel prize era, when he floated the idea of entering politics, it was certainly much more audacious than initiating a credit project. Bangladesh politics will see an alternative political persona, an option that was not on the table since 1972. His decision will directly affect the political and economic life of this country whether he becomes the next head of the government or not. But is it a sustainable venture?

Comparison with the launch of the Nagorik Shakti and the Grameen Bank should cease beyond a point. However, Grameen Bank projects have given Yunus high credentials as a non-corrupt quality organizer of a massive enterprise. Few professional politicians or bureaucrats can claim that and Yunus also has an acclaim rate matched by none in the country. He has created the first competition to the politicians-bureaucrats nexus that has ruled Bangladesh since 1972. It has already gained some support and some hostility as well and, of course, he has some solid backers. And that�s why his decision is fundamentally different than that of those made by earlier idealists.

The key is freedom from corruption

In the last 35 years, our politicians of the civil, military and money-making shades have displayed considerable lack of governance competence. The erosion of faith in the ability of the �politicians� to rule didn�t happen in a day. When Yunus criticized politicians, the politicians returned the compliments, but that is becoming muted as they face arrests and enquiries. These are not the best days for politicians of the older variety. Yunus offers corruption-free, mastan-free politics, however na�ve it seems. Our politicians can�t offer much more than rhetoric and partisanship.

Yunus has come with the backing of several powerful sectors that are not rooted in electoral power seeking. They can�t be wished away by our netas. But while politicians can be accused of being criminals and thieves, however much one may dislike Yunus, he can�t be. That in today�s Bangladesh is a very precious equation and political commodity.

Both Khaleda and Hasina had discredited political constructs and the Jammat-e-Islami and Jatiya Party fare worse, though they have millions of loyalists till date. But if the parties are denied access to funds channeling, distribution of favours, and impunity from criminal acts, the chances of political survival of the parties may not be very high. They have flourished through the development of patronage and absence of accountability. That phase appears over to be over for the moment.

If one can�t make money from political connections, the traditional parties now out of power will have difficulty keeping their organizations intact. If streets are not battlegrounds, they will disappear from media pages and public memory in Bangladesh, which always notoriously short may get shorter. How many previous ministers does one remember anyway? And in that possible vacuum may lie the possibility of the rise of Nagorik Shakti.

As the political party castles have face collapse and the party and business leaders - where does one end and where does another begin � look as vulnerable as any petty thief, Prof Yunus rides high. It also does mean he has supporters and patrons in the elitist civil society movement, within the donors and development agencies and of course in the armed forces who have become a critical component of the new stage in Bangladesh politics. For the moment let�s leave the public out of this. They haven�t arrived on the political scene yet.

Criminalizations of the political and economic system, non-accountable executive and a judicial system and the overall dysfunctional state management structure have all contributed to this mess. Such a situation demanded the reconstruction of the State parameter and in a way a Yunus was inevitable.

Prof Yunus has not yet offered much beyond his reputation and a party name but he has become a political reality, a fact impossible to imagine even a few weeks back. That smells of change and a transition. The days of old fashioned extra-constitutional politics, so popular in Bangladesh, may have had a cardiac arrest. We have to wait and see if it will recover and how much.

From BAKSAL to BNP

The biggest systemic collapse in Bangladesh occurred after the imposition of one-party rule followed by several putsches which ended the Mujib era and began the Zia era. On coming to power in 1975, Zia also cobbled together a cluster of �clean individuals� which included many who are now charged with misrule and corruption. Saifur Rahman, Huda etc came from that lot of honest and dedicated cadres who had never been in politics before and signaled the entry of elite professionals into the murky world of professional governance. What Yunus does next is the key. Will he repeat the method or try something new?

Till now he has not offered any process that is an alternative to that. Many think corruption is not a matter of bad intentions but systemic failure which every party has encouraged. Social discord is not a matter of ignoring law but not caring how flouting law affects public governance. This can affect everyone including the present government.

The brutal evictions of poor people from slums and footpaths which this government hailed as a �clean up movement� show how short-sighted and out of touch governors can be. Clearing of roads to drive through in this case also means destroying livelihoods. Till now Yunus backers have not said how governance is to be improved barring a law and order approach. This sounds nice in the beginning but soon disappears under pressure from the system if history is a witness.

Improving the system is more difficult than holding workshops or arresting stray godfathers and everyone knows that. The joint forces can�t clean up society and end mis-governance through arrests and orders. They can try to help roll the ball but reforms can�t be ordered. Yunus has to look at systemic change.

Level fields also mean that the party can�t be birthed in the seminar halls and military messes. Nagorik Shakti has to prove its ability and popularity at the ground level. Till now it�s perceived as a government-backed party and we have both the BNP and the Jatiya Party as examples of that which didn�t work. So Nagorik Shakti must prove its popularity over time, become rooted to the several classes that support its politics, ensure rule of law and become weaned from its backers who are not part of the civil society or come from outside this geography.

However, it�s already got a platform ready and doesn�t have to mimic its competitors because that what begins the rot in the first place. So the hope of the traditional parties that Yunus won�t be able to do what they need to do to survive, is maybe less of an issue because he may not do anything of that sort at all. Again, it�s wait and see.

A time for optimism?

Yet, it is a time for optimism because Yunus offers a real political option. Older parties will never be able to disassociate themselves from corruption and crime and people have suffered too much to ignore such connections. They will have many supporters but will inevitable lose many and the swing voters may decide to back Yunus.

Yunus stands on his track record and that fact is very important in a land where family line is the ultimate qualification in politics. Neither Mujib nor Zia succeeded in overcoming that problem and nor did their successors and all have paid terrible prices. But none have paid a bigger price for dynastic politics than the ordinary people.

Yunus offers hope because he has emerged from the professional world of poverty alleviation work. He needs more and different kinds of eggs and bread in his basket. No doubt the NGOs have matured beyond any analyst�s capacity to grasp their clout and credibility. It�s up to Yunus now to prove that running a country is a feasible development proposal. No rhetoric but functionality.

Once that proposal arrives, we shall have more concrete hopes. Till that happens, it is a still a dream.

'A party can't consist of an individual'

Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, Editor, Nutan Digantor

Dr. Yunus' entry into politics or his announcement of a new political party can be positive for politics in the sense that there will be a new political party on the scene. New people may join the party, maybe a significant section of civil society. They will get a chance in politics; it may be quite a sensation.

However, we do not know Dr. Yunus' agenda. A couple of years ago when he was in New York, he was asked about Bangladesh's politics. He replied that politics was not his forte. He said he would be happy to answer any question about poverty alleviation. Then in recent months he has been spreading propaganda against Bangladesh's politicians. Yet it was the politicians who brought independence to the country. Actually one can't promote oneself by abusing politicians in this manner. And now, ironically, he himself is entering politics. The entire process is unclear to us. We are interested in seeing his agenda.

We can assume he is in favour of globalisation. But this concept is harmful for us. We have seen that this has not improved our productive sector in any way. He wants to hand over Chittagong Port to the private sector. This will mean the port will go out of our control. This will be a blow to our national security, our national policy and the backbone of our economy.

In global politics at the moment, the US and India are one. If the port is privatised, this will go in favour of India. Dr. Yunus feels we will benefit by granting India transit facilities. But I think the opposite. During the last government, the deal with Tata did not go through, but he is in favour of this. The same may be said about Asia Energy. If these agendas come out into the open, he will not have acceptability anymore. After all, we struggled to earn our independence. The people will not accept such agenda easily.

We do not know the persons who will be in his party. If a party is to be formed, like-minded people are needed. I do not know how successful he will be in that regard. We just know he is forming a party. How? A party can't consist of an individual. A party is an ideology, a platform. We need to know who will be on that platform. We need to know the ideology of the party.

The problem is that in our country, the individual-centred political system still exists. In that case, what new will a one-person-centred party of Dr. Yunus have to offer?

'He can transform himself from a social leader to a political leader'

Prof. Ataur Rahman, Professor of Political Science, Dhaka University

In the context of the present political situation, there is space for the formation of political parties in Bangladesh, to think in a fresh way. There is a need also for restructuring or realignment of political forces and formation of new political parties in the new Bangladesh where democracy needs to be consolidated. In this context, Prof. Yunus' intentions to enter into the political arena in Bangladesh is a welcome stake. He has the stature, the ability and the potential to become a political leader in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh needs honest and efficient leadership. In this context, as a student of political science, I believe his wish to be a politician is a welcome sign for the consolidation of democracy in Bangladesh.

One thing is clear, though, is that it is not easy to form a political party. First of all, the party has to be democratic in nature. The formation must also create a good network of people around him.

Most importantly, the party should come from programmes and the ideologies. Prof. Yunus is yet to announce this. The programmes and ideology should pave the way for many people to think whether they should join politics or not.

If you look at the history of political party formation in Bangladesh, it can take three forms. One is, the parties can be formed by the compulsion of a movement against something, be it an authoritarian rule, injustices, etc. That is a movement-based party. Like Awami League was once upon a time born in the interests of the peasants of Bangladesh.

Another way is with the nationalist parties like General Ziaur Rahman's party -- Bangladesh Nationalist Party. There was a space at that time to fill the nationalist aspirations of the people of Bangladesh. So he got a political space to create Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The people of Bangladesh have experienced some kind of dynastic rule over the past 15 years. We need to get out of that rule. So Yunus needs to form a party based on popular support, not only on his personal appeal. Of course in any political formation, the person is very important. The leader is very important. But at the same time, the leader has to create a bond with the people.

Leadership is important particularly in a traditional society. In that context Yunus should not say 'my supporters', but say 'my party's supporters', or 'support my leadership.' He should talk more about leadership where there are many followers who are also leaders. Rather than supporters, behind a leader there should be many leaders.

During the emergency period, nobody should really do politics conspicuously. He can float his ideas, but not engage in activities which look political. A political party is an idea as well as a reality. As long as he is confined to the idea to float a party, he can do it, but he cannot actively engage in political activities outside or mobilise support for his political party. He should draw a clear cut line between political opinion and political activities. He should avoid exciting political emotions or political slogans.

As for people's apprehensions about his entrance into politics, there are many instances where a social leader becomes a political leader. There is no problem there. He can always transform his social leadership into a political leadership. But in Bangladesh, political leadership is a different construct. Here ideology is very important. Here the creation of trust between the people and the leader is very important. Here you have to understand the emotions, the sentiments, the values and the religious beliefs of people. If he can address those things, he can transform himself from a social leader to a political leader. He should really build a bridge with the sentiments, the religious values and the economic needs of the people and create a bond between the people and himself.

Politics is also about how you project national interests. Dr. Yunus should not be seen as acting in favour of other countries' interests or in the interest of international actors. Here people's perception is very important and he should really build that trust. He is correct in saying that we politicise Chittagong Port too much. We should not do politics with Chittagong Port. We should de-politicise Chittagong Port. That should be his message. Whether we privatise it or not, we should de-politicise it.

Dr. Yunus should reflect national aspirations rather than international interests, but he could always build a bond between national aspirations and international interests that is compatible with the interests of the people of the country. That is a challenge.

'It is a promising initiative'

Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman, PPRC

The people look forward to an improvement in politics. In that sense Dr. Yunus' initiative holds potential. Now it is to be seen how things develop. We have to wait for further specific developments.

I hope to see two achievements from this initiative. One is that he will be able to have a direct role in overall development. The other is that his entrance into political will have a positive influence on the other actors of the political arena. In other words, it will offer them competition. These are my two expectations.

Of course one can't simply take it for granted that he will be successful. His initiative is still in its primary stages. At this stage I see it as a promising initiative.

'Dr. Yunus has come too late into politics'

Prof. Abu Sayeed, Awami League leader and former Information Minister

About Dr. Yunus' entry into politics, I would say that good people should come into politics. Creative people should come forward. People with initiative, who can tackle adversities with courage, they are the ones who should enter politics, with their dreams and visions.

I feel Dr. Yunus has come too late into politics. It is late in the sense that his age may be a setback in the perspective of the age, initiative and time required to implement his vision and programmes. Each age has certain important aspects. Malaysia's Mohammed Mahatir came into politics in his thirties, not when he was 65. That is why he could use his creativity to materialise his ideas. Dr. Yunus has ideas, but he has come too late.

Dr. Yunus has vast experience in the NGO line of work, but running an NGO and practicing politics is not the same. He is experienced in the NGO sector, not in politics. Our society consists of good people and bad; people who think deeply and people who don't. All this makes up the political premise. In that sense, he will not be able to progress in politics being just centred on the individual, on certain issues, with a group of Yunus-supporters.

With what yardstick will he discern good and bad? It is a matter of trial and error. It needs vast experience, a matter of time. A politician emerges from a life of struggle, is purged by the struggle and forms his band of followers.

He has not yet announced his programmes, his ideology. Does his politics aim at introducing free-market economy in Bangladesh? Is he aiming at welfare-oriented politics? Has he taken up politics to build an exploitation-free society? After all, parliamentary democracy is rooted in capitalist ideology. It does include ideology against exploitation, but a contradiction remains. As for his politics, Dr. Yunus speaks of freeing the country from exploitation and poverty. But that is not in keeping with his age. So rather than coming into politics, he should work on how politics should be, how to tide the country over various crises and so on. But by entering into politics, he has left himself open to controversy. He does not have the age or the time required to overcome such controversies.

'Will the real Yunus please stand up?'

Farhad Mazhar, Founder, Ubinig; columnist; and socio-political analyst

Dr. Yunus' political intentions came to light after the state of emergency was declared. He has come at a time when Bangladesh was going through a political crisis; when in the War against Terrorism, after Iraq and Afghanistan, Bangladesh is being viewed as the training grounds for terrorists. His entrance into politics has to be seen in this context.

It is also significant that he announced the formation of a political party after the state of emergency. He is able to do his politics when the other parties cannot. So this is a contradiction already. It is as if the state of emergency is applicable to some and not to others.

His initiative is not a matter of being positive or negative; it is already questionable. I am not the only one questioning it; everyone in the country is doing so. There has been a slump in the response towards him. The attendance of the last reception accorded to him was sparse. And he has not issued any significant statement about Bangladesh's politics or other relevant matters, so we don't really know him. We do not know the political Yunus. We don't his ideas, his plans. He wants to give away the port to foreign hands. We know that. Global politics will remain as it is and he will give the poor loans at high interest rates. That is what we see. This is his political ideology. So how can we call this positive?

He received the Nobel Peace Prize. He is positive to those who gave him the prize. We are also happy that a person from Bangladesh got the Nobel award for peace. But we simply don't know him as a political entity.

So all we can say is, 'Will the real Yunus please stand up?'

'His party must stand against imperialism'

Haider Akbar Khan Rono, Politburo member, Workers Party

Everyone has the right to practice politics and so does Dr. Yunus. Other than political parties, it is not possible for anyone to bring about emancipation of the people and development to a country. If a party's programmes include steps against imperialism and fundamentalism, I can view it positively. I have to see that aspect first before I can comment. I will have a positive view about Dr. Yunus forming a political party if I see that the party has tangible programmes for the people's welfare. His party must stand against communalism and imperialism. Before I see that, I cannot comment in this regard. There are so many political parties and will be many more. I have nothing to say about that.

'He should have played the role of the nation's conscience'

Khushi Kabir, Chief Executive, Nijera Kori

The main problem of our political parties is that they are not accountable to the people. The parties are not transparent. They lack in democracy. There is no proximity between the political leaders and the public. Unless these matters are addressed, there is no use in forming a new political party. Ziaur Rahman came and Ershad came, they formed new parties. Kamal Hossain formed a new party, Badruddoza created a new party. But that is not the issue. What is needed now is reform, reforms of the whole system.

Coming to Dr. Yunus, he won the Nobel Prize for Peace. He has an honourable position. He should be above making a party. We know nothing of his party manifesto or anything about it. I have seen Dr. Yunus, but do not know what his party stands for, what is his party's position. So when he forms a party, people will comment on it, what they don't like about it and so on. He is bringing himself down to the level of any political leader.

He has brought great honour to our country. He should have retained a position from where he could challenge certain issues or highlight certain issues, if he felt the need to do so. I would have been much happier if he played the role of the nation's conscience.

ENSURING HEALTH FOR ALL Bangladesh must be ready for a bold new experiment

2010-03-03T10:03:00.000+06:00

Dr Anwar Islam

IT WAS back in 1978 – precisely thirty-two years ago – that the World Health Organisation at its pioneering Alma Ata Conference came out with the bold idea of ensuring Health for All by 2000. At that conference, first ever held in the former Soviet Union, the WHO also came up with the idea of comprehensive community-based and community-owned primary health care as the vehicle through which the HFA goal is to be reached. Unfortunately, the WHO neither remained focused on strengthening the primary healthcare system around the world nor achieved the goal of Health for All by the target date. Following the Alma Ata Declaration it was hoped that the WHO will renew its commitment to PHC and push for comprehensive primary health care in all member countries. However, that commitment did not last long. Instead of championing the cause of PHC around the world, the WHO soon went back to designing and supporting disease-specific vertical programmes often with extra-budgetary financial contribution from rich industrialised countries. Consequently, a number of vertical disease-specific programmes made their appearance during the 1980s and 1990s. These include the Roll Back Malaria programme, the Stop TB Programme and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

These vertical programmes achieved various degrees of success. However, due to neglect and lack of leadership from the WHO, the primary healthcare system remained largely under-developed throughout developing countries. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration, in 2003, the WHO carried out a global survey on the status of PHC in developing countries. The survey came out with a dismal picture of PHC in many developing countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Although in many countries governments build buildings across rural areas to provide effective primary healthcare services, the survey found little evidence of other essential ingredients of PHC – skilled human resources for health, necessary equipment, and drugs and supplies. In other words, the presence of infrastructure did little to ensure or enhance primary health care in the absence of necessary human, financial and material resources including drugs. Needless to say, in the absence of a robust comprehensive community-based primary healthcare system the dream of ensuring Health for All remained as such – a dream. The slogan of HFA was quietly abandoned or forgotten by the WHO and other United Nations agencies. In 2001 the United Nations quietly introduced another ‘revolutionary’ goal – this time to be achieved by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals – eight in total – first adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2000, soon emerged as the rallying cry for all development organisations and advocates. As developing countries adopted the Millennium Development Goals as their prime development benchmarks to be achieved by 2015, the rallying cry of Health for All largely vanished from the development vocabulary.

Well, not quite. By the turn of the millennium the World Health Organisation – and by extension other UN agencies – came under increasing pressure to get back to their original pledge and make renewed commitment to primary health care. At the start of the twenty-first century, a new grassroots-level movement emerged that drew renewed attention to the goal of Health for All. Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, the enigmatic founder of the Gonoshasthaya Kendra, played a critical role in the establishment and growing appeal of the People’s Health Movement. The PHM prides itself in having ‘its roots deep in the grassroots people’s movement and owes its genesis to many health networks and activists who have been concerned by the growing inequities in health over the last 25 years. The PHM calls for a revitalisation of the principles of the Alma Ata Declaration which promised Health for All by the year 2000 and complete revision of international and domestic policy that has shown to impact negatively on health status and systems.’ Not surprisingly, ‘equity, ecologically sustainable development and peace are at the heart of’ the vision of the People’s Health Movement. Its vision to create a ‘better world – a world in which a healthy life for all is a reality; a world that respects, appreciates and celebrates all life and diversity; a world that enables the flowering of people’s talents and abilities to enrich each other; a world in which people’s voices guide the decisions that shape our lives....’ In other words, inspired by the spirit and the vision of the Alma Ata Declaration, the PHM is dedicated to championing the cause of equitable, sustainable and universal primary health care.

With a modest start, the PHM became a global phenomenon with chapters in many countries – from Latin America, to Africa, the Middle East and to Asia. Currently, a South African health activist is managing the global secretariat of the PMH. It should be noted that the first People’s Health Assembly – mirroring the World Health Assembly organised each year by the World Health Organisation – was held in Savar,

Bangladesh

in December 2000. A total of 1,453 participants from 75 countries were at this first People’s Health Assembly. The delegates at the assembly endorsed ‘a consensus document called the People’s Charter for Health. The charter reflects the vision, goals, principles and calls for action that unite all the members of the PHM coalition. It is the most widely endorsed consensus document on health since the Alma Ata Declaration.’ By the second People’s Health Assembly held in July 2005 in Cuenca,

Ecuador

, the PHM had grown into a global civil society movement with chapters in over 80 countries representing all the continents. The second People’s Health Assembly was the culmination of a process of ‘local and national reflection, discussion, debate and exchange of experiences of communities and networks as well as conferences and workshops about the aspects that influence the health and well being of everyone.’ The assembly unequivocally demanded ‘Health for All Now.’ The PHM, with a view to continuing to make their presence felt, participates in the World Health Assembly organised by the WHO each year. It also coveys its messages through various popular and scholastic publications.

I have discussed the PHM quite extensively simply to highlight the fact that the vision of Alma Ata and that of Health for All is still alive and well. A number of UN agencies also raised the issue of universal health care from time to time. Even the World Bank dedicated its 1993 World Development Report to ‘Investment for Health’ and called for the availability of an ‘essential package’ of health services for all. The 2001 Report of the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health led by Dr Jeffrey Sachs went to the extent of costing out such an ‘essential package’ of health services and argued that with increase in overseas development assistance (as outlined by the United Nations back in 1975) it is possible to ensure basic health services for all. It should be noted that in 1975 the United Nations called for the developed industrialised nations to devote 0.75 per cent of their gross domestic product to overseas development assistance. Unfortunately, even after more than thirty-five years, few developed countries (mostly smaller Scandinavian countries) reached the target of 0.75 per cent of GDP for overseas development assistance. The wealthiest and the biggest (in terms of absolute dollars in ODA) countries like the Unites States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France are from achieving the 1975 target set by the UN.

In other words, although ODA is on the rise in recent years (in some cases the amount is decreasing for some developed countries due to the global economic downturn), developing countries must rely more on their own resources – and generate new resources – to ensure health for all. Two observations must be made here. The need for ‘health for all’ is much greater now than ever before. Although globalisation has produced enormous wealth in almost all countries, it has also exacerbated inequity within and across countries. Such inequity is restricting access to healthcare services for an increasingly impoverished segment of the population in many developing countries,

Bangladesh

not being an exception. It is also important to note that the term ‘health for all’ does not mean covering all types of health care services – from primary to tertiary level of services – for all. Increasingly, it is being recognised that the public exchequer should ensure availability of and accessibility to a ‘basic’ or ‘essential’ package of health services for all. The ‘essential package’ would differ from one country to another or even from one region to another within a country. However, the package must include all healthcare services that an individual or family would require to lead a healthy productive life. Health care is a combination of public goods, private goods and merit goods. The essential package must include all public goods (services like health education, illness prevention activities, family planning and reproductive health, maternal, newborn and child health including safe delivery and immunisation, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation) and probably some merit goods (for example, emergency accident care). Through dialogue among all stakeholders, including NGOs and civil society groups, consensus can be reached on the size and contours of the ‘essential package’. Obviously, the epidemiological and demographic characteristics would provide the essential backdrop in determining such a package.

Bangladesh

much of this ‘essential package’ is part of the publicly-funded healthcare system. The problem is that these are not universally accessible to all. On the other hand, the publicly-funded healthcare services are not often used by a large segment of the population because of a real or perceived lack of quality. Complaints against the publicly-funded health system are numerous: lack of skilled human resources when required, lack of required equipment (or that they are ‘broken’ and non-functional. The list often includes ambulances in the upazila health complexes or in district hospitals), non-availability of drugs, and an utter lack of cleanliness. Most consumers also complain of lack of attention and/or neglect from physicians, nurses or other healthcare workers. This non-use of the public health systems has two serious implications. First, it keeps the system underutilised and, therefore, inefficient. Secondly, it deprives the public health system of potential revenues (through nominal user fees and charges) that could be used to improve the system. In other words, this underutilisation acts as a catch-22 for the publicly-funded health system. The system fails to generate resources that could improve the system; and this lack of improvement continues to fuel underutilisation. For our public health system this is indeed a critical challenge: how to increase utilisation so as to improve the quality of the system.

The major problem is money – how to fund a universal healthcare based on the essential package? The term universality means that the identified services are available for and accessibly to every citizen irrespective of one’s place of origin or place of residence. In other words, migration or movement from one part of the country to another would not affect a citizen’s entitlement to essential healthcare services. Currently,

Bangladesh

spends about 3 per cent of its GDP on health care which is lower than many other developing countries with similar economic condition (i.e. similar per capita income or GDP per capita). The government can easily allocate increased resources for health care filling the resource gap to a certain extent. Nevertheless, additional resources would be required to implement universal health care. The additional resources must come through contributions from the public at large.

It is often asked whether people are ready or willing to pay. Our total expenditure on health is about $18 per capita per year. Almost 65 per cent of this total health expenditure is out-of-pocket expenses by individuals and families. The public exchequer contributes only 35 per cent of this total. In other words, citizens of

Bangladesh

are already paying a lion’s share of the total expenses on health. Are we prepared to pay more? The answer probably lies in four interrelated questions. First, what is the quality of services? Second, will services be available when needed (without unnecessary delay)? Third, is it assured that necessary drugs, equipment and other paraphernalia of health care would be there (and operational/functional) when needed? Fourth – and this is perhaps the most critical question, what would be the nature of the interaction between the service providers and consumers? Will consumers be treated with respect, and dignity? Will physicians and nurses (and other service providers) treat patients with humility respecting their rights and individuality?

If we can answer these questions in the affirmative, it is highly likely that the people of

Bangladesh

will be willing to contribute a fair share to the healthcare budget. The term ‘fair share’ means that the contribution asked from individuals and families must be tied to their financial ability. In other words, the amount of contribution to be made by individuals/families will be progressive – the amount of financial contribution will increase with increase in income. This also means that there must be a way to cover the ultra poor without any fee. The government might create a health protection fund to be managed by an independent agency to which individual/family contributions will flow. This independent health protection agency will be responsible to pool all available resources to ensure universal health care. This bold experiment could be carried out in few upazilas or districts on a pilot basis before replication throughout the country.

Bangladesh

ready for such a bold experiment? The convergence of the following three powerful factors seems to indicate the feasibility of such an experiment in universal health care.

Bangladesh

has a strong NGO sector dominated by three world-class, highly-respected non-government organisations – BRAC, GK and Grameen Bank. Their grassroots-level organisational reach and appeal could be mobilised for such universal health care. We are also blessed with a robust and increasingly penetrating private sector that thrives on the ingenuity of the individual agency of Bangladeshis across the country. Harnessing the individual agency of all Bangladeshi and the growing private sector could be a boon for universal health care. The third factor is perhaps the most important.

Bangladesh

has got a government that claims to be democratic, secular, progressive and pro-people. Political commitment and leadership from this government would be the most critical factor in ushering in a universal healthcare system based on a grand partnership between the people and their democratically elected government. As noted earlier, the convergence of these three factors makes it abundantly clear that the country is ready for such a bold experiment. This could prove to be the most powerful fundamental building block of ‘digital health care’ in

Bangladesh

so enthusiastically promised by the party in power.

Dr Anwar Islam is associate dean and director, James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University

source:New age

Power, present and future

2010-02-09T14:33:00.001+06:00

The government's predictions for zero-load shedding by March 2010 seem to have been wishful thinking and even with several projects in the pipeline, it will take at least another decade for this goal to materialise

by Badiul Alam

The wishful thinking of the grand alliance government to have a zero load-shedding option from the month of March 2010, has diminished. As the summer knocks on the door, the power officials have been forced to opt for load shedding management in order to maintain the minimum level of power supply. The two hours of load shedding - one hour during the daytime and one hour in the evening - has already been enforced.

According to the Power Development Board (PDB) officials, the volume of the current load shedding is around 700-800 mw. This will be increased further in the coming days because of various factors. One of the factors is that around an additional 1000 mw power demand will crop up for irrigation purposes. Another 350 mw power demand would be added for cooling purposes during the summer months.

In fact,

Bangladesh

will not have any zero load shedding option in the next decade. The following table of power demand and supply prepared by the PDB would testify to this statement:

From the table it is very clear that the statement made by the Prime Minister's Energy Advisor Dr. Towfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury about the zero load shedding option from March 2010 was not only wishful thinking, but also misleading.

Dr. Chowdhury made this statement on certain assumptions. Firstly, the government has drawn up a plan to supply energy-saving electrical appliances to all the private and public installations. A process has been initiated to procure around 2.60 crore energy-saving bulbs but this process is yet to be completed. It was thought if the energy-saving appliances could be implemented, this would help to save around 250 mw of electricity.

The government is also opting for different load management programmes, which include the increase of weekly holidays for the shops and other commercial installations and staggering the weekly holidays. The government has already divided the capital city into seven zones and staggered the weekly holidays. All shops and the commercial installations would enjoy one and half days weekly holiday, which was earlier one day. The government has also enforced the shut down of all shops and commercial installations within 8 pm following the Shops and Commercial Establishment Act. This would save another 250 mw of electricity. Despite all these measures, the power situation next summer would remain severe, according to the senior officials of PDB.

The power scenario presentation made by the power division stated that power generation could be 4381 mw during the current fiscal considering the fuel crisis. But it has been apprehended that the said forecast could not be maintained. The current power generation has been limited between 3500 to 3600 mw, leaving a shortfall of around 800 mw.

The power scenario in the Chittagong region has already turned worse because of the severe energy crisis. All the public sector power generation plants in the Chittagong region have been shut down because of the energy crisis. The generation of electricity in two units of the Rauzan plant and the Shikalbaha power generation plant have been suspended because of the gas crisis. Rauzan could supply 360 mw and the Shikalbaha could supply 60 mw to the national grid.

Looking for an immediate solution, the government has looked to costly rental power plant options. Several agreements have already been signed with the private developers to install rental power plants in the different corners of the country. The PDB officials hinted that a total 350 mw of electricity could be available from the rental sources within next June. But past experience suggests that none of private developers could maintain their time schedule and they took six months to one year more time to start commercial operations of their plants.

The PDB officials also said that two rental power plants would start commercial operations very soon. From these two rental units a total of 100 mw of electricity would be available. One rental plant is situated at Chittagong and other one in Fenchuganj of Sylhet. Agreements for these two rental plants were signed during the last caretaker regime. These plants were scheduled to start operation a year ago but they could not do so because of various complicities.

The 120 mw peaking plant at Siddhirganj would be ready for commercial operation within the next couple of months. But PDB officials cast their doubts as to whether the peaking plant at Siddhirganj could start commercial operation because of the gas crisis. The current gas crisis forced the shut down of the different power generation units having generation capacity of around 700 mw. In this situation it would be hardly possible to supply gas to the newly developed 120 mw Siddhirganj peaking plant.

The government has also signed a memorandum of understanding with

India

to avail 250 mw of electricity under the power exchange programme. But the imported electricity would only be available within next couple of years. It has already been estimated an investment of Tk 10 billion would be required to facilitate the import of power from

India

. This money would be required to develop the transmission lines and the transmission sub-stations.

The government has also drawn an investment plan of US$6 billion to be invested in the next five years to develop the country's power sector. Under this investment plan, US$4.4 billion would be spent for new generation of electricity. Projects have been prepared to have 3900 MW of new generation within the year 2013. The fuel of the planned generation would be coal and liquid fuel. A total 2600 mw would be available from the coal source and the 1300 mw would be available from the liquid fuel source. All the coal that would be required to generate the 2600 mw of electricity would be available from import sources.

People involved in the power business and the power sector development have expressed their doubts about the implementation of the coal-fired power plants. They pointed to the lack of back-up facilities to develop the coal-fired power plants. They pointed out about the port facility. According to them, the Chittagong and the Mongla ports do not have any facility to clear coal consignments. A minimum of three terminals with sufficient capacity would have to be dedicated to clear the imported coal consignment, they said.

An investment of US$ 600 million would be required to develop the transmission line and another US$1000 million would be required for developing the distribution lines. Such huge procurement would have to pass the existing cumbersome procurement process, which might stand as a road block in the immediate implementation of the government ambitious plan, the source said.

Mobilization of funds would be another constraint. Out of the US$6 billion, the government could organize only US$850 million from its own source. For the rest of the funds, the government would have to depend either on multilateral development agencies or from external private sources. Two road shows, one at London and the other at New York, have already taken place to attract foreign funding.

Bangladesh and the big ones

2010-02-08T21:46:00.001+06:00

As regional and international relations take on a fresh perspective in the global scenario, where does

Bangladesh

stand?

A PROBE report

In the present day matrix of global interactions, interdependence is the name of the game. All too often, though, the “inter” part of interdependence is obfuscated and the “dependence” part comes to the forefront. This is a cause of concern for the people of developing nations who find themselves caught up in the whirlpool of international political networking, and

Bangladesh

is no exception.

Make or break

Bangladesh

is perched at a critical juncture of its existence, where fitting into the global jigsaw is as important as its hold on ‘sovereignty’. Given its strategic location on the Bay of Bengal and its proximity to both

India

and

China

, along with significant presence of mineral resources both on and off shore,

Bangladesh

is certainly not just an overpopulated poverty-ridden third world country. In recent years it has shown potential for palpable socio-economic growth, despite political ups and downs and natural calamities, and today it stands on the threshold of change. It’s “make or break” time, say analysts.

At this crucial point in time, it is the Awami League government which holds the reins of the nation. Riding the power on “winds of change”, it has raised people’s expectations high. However, the expectations are tinged with a degree of apprehension when it comes to international relation, regional relations in particular, as the Awami League government and its leader Sheikh Hasina, are yet to rid themselves of the pro-Indian label. Whether founded or unfounded, this stigma is there. Even if other governments have been accommodating to

India

’s demands, somehow it is Awami League which always bears the brunt at home if the neighbour’s overtures are too strong for comfort. And Sheikh Hasina’s recent Indian trip, along with the deals signed during the visit, has given more grist to the mill; speculations run amok.

US-India nexus

Pundits of South Asian affairs in recent times have been watching with interest the strengthening nexus between

India

and the

United States of America

. This alliance, holy or unholy as it may be perceived, is a reality stretching from

Afghanistan

down to

Myanmar

and beyond.

Bangladesh

finds itself caught up in this plexus of interests and experts call for a honing of negotiating skills to ensure national interests are not sacrificed at the expense of others. “It’s a matter of give and take, and we must make sure we take as much as we give, or at least get the best deal on the table,” says a regional expert, discussing the present predicament of the country.

Now that US-India ties are cemented in no uncertain terms, the relationship equations in

Bangladesh

have taken a new turn. While leftist leaders have long cried themselves hoarse against “

imperialism”, they may find themselves faced with a confusing conundrum to contend with. Rather any overt presence as feared by many (in the shape of

marines swarming all over the place à la old Hollywood movies), the

is likely to use its regional ally

India

to do its job here.

India

, over the past years, has grown in stature and clout and all indications are that the

is very much behind strengthening

India

as a regional power. If

India

has the ability to emerge as economic and strategic super power in the region, and it is proving so, it has full blessings and backing of the

. After all,

India

has all the features which the

values – democracy, economic strength and more. In fact, among the emerging powers of BRIC (

Brazil

Russia

India

and

China

India

enjoys a strong reputation for democracy.

Analysts contend that the

is giving

India

leeway regarding

Bangladesh

. Whether it is its business interests or otherwise, it finds it more expedient to utilize

India

’s services in this regard. After all,

India

and

Bangladesh

share a multitude of commonalities in culture, methods of business and transactions, etc. It is not as if the

is giving up its interests in

Bangladesh

, say analysts, it has long being eying the gas, oil, coal and other mineral resources of the country, as well as the deep sea port and more. It is likely to work to this end through consortiums with

India

and thus ensure its interests in

Bangladesh

The

also wants to see a consolidation of

Bangladesh

’s image as a moderate Muslim country. It has always portrayed

Bangladesh

in this light. This is perhaps a departure from the Indian propensity to identify

Bangladesh

as a haven for “Islamist militants” or “terrorists”. But the

realizes that the sheer homogenous nature of

Bangladesh

’s demographic composition is unique – to a greater extent it enjoys one language, one religion and one culture.

Confirming US interests in

Bangladesh

, there are reports that

President Barack Obama is likely to visit

Bangladesh

at the end of this year or early next. This will be on the last leg of his scheduled visit to

Afghanistan

Pakistan

and

India

. He has reportedly met with seven Congressmen in the

concerning

Bangladesh

. Three points are supposed to have been highlighted during this meeting –

Bangladesh

’s possible role as a moderate Muslim country; the relationship between the present government and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus; national unity and to what extend democracy is actually being practiced in the country. In the meantime, the Awami League government is lobbying hard to ensure Obama’s visit to

Bangladesh

. If he does actually come, all pending issues between the

and

Bangladesh

will be finalized prior to the visit.

Inscrutable

China

In the meantime,

China

may be maintaining its characteristic inscrutable silence, but it has its eyes wide open where regional developments are concerned.

If there had traditionally been more than a degree of coldness and tensions between

China

and the

, things have relaxed to a great extent. Trade relations have stepped up and the vibes between the two powers are more positive than they have ever been in the past. However, it is not the same story where

India

and

China

are concerned. Tensions prevail and relations are strained. The borders between the two are more often than not on alert.

It is the animosity between

India

and

China

that had made

India

all the more determined to strengthen its position in

Bangladesh

, whether through transit, use of the port, trade facilities or more. The

, on the other hand, would rather maintain its cordial bilateral ties with

China

. If interests conflict, says analysts, there is always

India

to do the needy. “With

India

and the

,” elaborates the analyst, “It’s a sort of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ kind of deal.”

However, the equations may not be all that simple.

India

and the

may have conflicting agendas in certain areas where

Bangladesh

is concerned.

India

’s actions concerning its insurgency-ridden northeastern states added to its present understanding with the

Bangladesh

government, may well result in a backlash in

Bangladesh

. The situation in

Bangladesh

could grow volatile and

India

has always propagated the idea of Islamist terrorism in

Bangladesh

. The

, on the other hand, is not against the Islamic forces in

Bangladesh

, be they Jamaat-e-Islami or other Islamic groups which represent the nation’s moderate stand. They be want to see a Muslim majority sans the stigma of terrorism.

Observers of the region feel that

China

is none too pleased with recent developments between

Bangladesh

and

India

. It is not happy with the position

India

is assuming in the region either. If its interests are threatened or hurt,

China

is not one to sit back and lick its wounds. Its power should not be underestimated. It is a dark horse, but has proven to the world that it is a force to contend with. And if

India

flexes its muscle in that direction, say analysts,

China

will show

India

exactly how powerful it is. The

, in the meantime, will be friends to all and reap the benefits.

Hasina’s government is also aware that proximity with

India

may rub

China

up the wrong way. This is not something that

Bangladesh

can afford. To appease the Chinese,

Bangladesh

is reportedly already planning all sorts of trade and business deals with

China

. Perhaps the construction of the deep sea port may also go to

China

. Other big infrastructural contracts with

China

are also in the pipeline.

The

Myanmar

factor

Another interesting development in the region was the recent tensions between

Bangladesh

and

Myanmar

. The maritime boundary issue had loomed large on the scene as casus belli, the cause of possible war being

Myanmar

’s claim on nautical territory which

Bangladesh

considers its own.

India

has similar claims on the waters in the bay, territory rich in mineral resources. But as Indian influence grew in

Myanmar

and even the

took a softer stance regarding the

Myanmar

military junta, the border tensions defused. Some regional experts feel that

India

had stepped up pressure on

Bangladesh

, even through

Myanmar

, but released the pressure as it was getting what it wanted. Others see

intervention, as it has its eyes riveted on the oil and gas blocks in the bay and

Bangladesh

is its best bet.

Discontent

Meanwhile, within

Bangladesh

itself, discontent brews. Nationalist forces are going blue in the face crying foul over the deals with

India

. Their slogans about

Bangladesh

being sold out may sound like a broken record of clichés, but when the business community begins to protest, it is time to take notice.

The trade deals and business agreements between

India

and

Bangladesh

have not made the business community happy this side of the border. There is a distinct sense of apprehension that the domestic market is going straight to the hands of Indian businessmen and industrialists. As it is,

Bangladesh

’s poultry sector has been hit hard. If other sectors follow suit, the discontent may be manifest in more vocal and violent terms.

Dilemma over democracy

Despite degrees of dissatisfaction here and there, all seems to be going hunky dory particularly where the US-India collaboration is concerned. And the present government in

Bangladesh

, already in

India

’s good books to all apparent appearances, seems also to be winning kudos from the American side too.

However, the

has one particular concern and that is the matter of democracy. Whether through war or peace, the

has always prided itself as the champion of democracy. So when it comes to

Bangladesh

, it will be vigilant in its watch on democratic practice in the country.

But just how is democracy faring in

Bangladesh

? Antagonism continues to brew between the ruling party and major opposition BNP. BNP remains away from the parliament and the government is hardly offering them an olive branch. In the meantime, government quarters talk of a ban on religion-based politics, meaning a blow to Jamaat-e-Islami. A prohibition on Jamaat may well lead to an aggressive outburst. It won’t take much for its younger activists to turn from moderation to militancy.

The

will not condone any such detraction from democracy. It has always maintained that if democracy is to survive, a robust opposition must be allowed to flourish. But will the Awami League government allow a forceful opposition to grow? And how will

India

view a consolidated nationalist opposition waiting in the wings for the next election? Analysts say that they would want to see the present government at the helm for another term at least, to ensure a continuity of their agenda implementation. But what about the

determination for democracy? Despite the intentions and the agenda, there is no foolproof guarantee that all will go according to plan. After all, “the best laid schemes of mice and men” are often known to backfire.

Decimating wetlands: a courtship with calamity

2010-01-27T14:20:00.000+06:00

A rapid decline in wetlands would have tremendous impact on the recurrent flooding in the city, and probable climate change may exacerbate the situation. Flooding and water-logging may assume catastrophic proportions in the absence of these expensive natural resources,

writes Dr Ashraf Dewan
WETLANDS are among the most important natural habitats that support biodiversity and provide subsistence for humans. Although wetlands occupy only 6 per cent of the earth’s surface, they support roughly 20 per cent of all living organisms on this planet.

Bangladesh

is endowed with water resources. Numerous rivers, haors, beels, estuaries, ponds, baors, mangrove swamps and low-lying floodplains cover 72,499 square kilometres or 50 per cent of the total land surface. These water bodies have wider ecological, economic and commercial values for

Bangladesh

. For instance, 80 per cent of the nation’s daily animal protein intake comes from fish, and the fisheries sector contributes more than 5 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product. Moreover, the fisheries sector employs approximately 10 per cent of the country’s labour force. Sadly, as the demand for lands for housing and agriculture increases, these water bodies are under tremendous pressure. Many of them are either encroached upon or about to die because of acute water shortage resulting from development activities. Upstream water diversion is another significant factor that has contributed to water shortage in lean season. For example, many rivers in the Ganges basin in

Bangladesh

have been dried up due to water withdrawal by the Farakka Barrage in

India

.
   Dhaka, one of the fastest growing cities in the world, is facing a number of environmental crises. Rapid population growth along with unplanned and breakneck urbanisation is compounding the situation day by day. Historically, the city was endowed with natural water bodies. With the span of time, most of them have been either filled up to meet the growing demand for housing or are in the process of being filled up by land grabbers. An increasing demand for housing is now being met by filling up natural water bodies by real estate agencies without considering the environmental impact. In order to quantify wetlands of Dhaka and their role in alleviating flood damage, various data have been used in this write-up. They include multi-temporal remote sensing images (e.g. Landsat, IRS, ALOS), historical paper maps and flood data. In addition, a number of field visits were made to estimate and delineate existing wetlands in the city.
   Though there are a number of definitions of wetlands, only permanent and temporary water reservoirs, swamps and low-lying lands have been considered to be defined as wetlands in this article. Note that river networks have not been considered as wetlands. A geographic information system has been used to estimate wetlands in the Dhaka metropolitan area. It may be noted that a rectangle of 42,000 hectares of the entire metropolitan area has been extracted from satellite images and considered to study the wetlands scenario. The rectangle covers the entire city corporation area and adjacent fringe zones in all directions. The timeframe of the study includes 1960-2008. The estimation of wetlands in the metropolitan area by using latest technology provides a frustrating as well as distressing picture. In 1960 wetlands in the metropolitan area covered 14,000 hectares but were and reduced to about 13,155ha in 1975. In 1988 the area covered by wetlands was 11,715ha but shrank in 1999 to 10,797ha. The situation is getting worse.
   As the population continues to grow, demands for housing and infrastructural development have also increased to a greater extent. Consequently, vast tracts of low-lying floodplains and wetlands have been earth-filled by real estate agencies since 1980s. In 2003 and 2005, further depletion of wetlands was observed, amounting 9,124ha and 7,129ha respectively. In 2008 the situation became alarming, and only 7,128 ha of lands remained as wetlands. In contrast, urban areas have shot up to 10,858ha and 23,549ha in 1988 and 2008 respectively. Note that only 4,625ha of lands were urbanised in 1960. Since wetlands are considerably low lying lands in the periphery of the metropolitan area, massive earth filling was observed after 1975. It was found during public interview that the scarcity of flood-free lands, and relatively cheaper low-lying water bodies/wetlands were the major factors for carrying out earth filling activities in order to meet consistent housing demand. In addition, absence of land uses policies in the country as well as loopholes in the Water Bodies Conservation Act 2000 assisted developers greatly to go for rapid encroachment.
   As of today, a good amount of wetlands has been earth-filled. In 2005 1774ha of wetlands were filled up and 2,345ha in 2008. This clearly demonstrates that the Water Bodies Conservation Act 2000 is not enforced by the relevant agency. Private developers cannot be blamed alone for land development in the metropolitan area, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, a state-run organisation, is equally responsible. The recent plot allotment in Uttara 3rd Extension Project is a glaring example of wetlands encroachment. Another reason for wetlands depletion in the metropolitan area is the construction of a 32-kilometre flood embankment on the western fringe of the city. Since the embankment provides flood security, land grabbers have already encroached vast tracts of wetlands in the western zone for housing purpose. A similar situation is feared in the eastern part of the city when the eastern embankment-cum-bypass will be in place.
   Wetlands in the metropolitan area are of significant value in terms of alleviating flood loss, providing means of livelihoods to people, etc. A rapid decline in wetlands would have tremendous impact on the recurrent flooding in the city, and probable climate change may exacerbate the situation. Flooding and water-logging may assume catastrophic proportions in the absence of these expensive natural resources. A recent study using historical records revealed that flood damage in the city is rising as development activities continue on lowlands and wetlands. About 47 per cent of land area was flooded in the 1988 flood while 53 per cent area was flooded in 1998 as depicted from remotely sensed data. The flood damage was double during the latter event. Estimation shows that a total of $4.4 million was lost during 1998 flood whereas in 1988 the amount was just half. Again, during the 2004 flood, only 43 per cent area out of 42,000ha was flooded but the damage was massive, amounting to $5.6 million. These results can be used to visualise the importance of wetlands in the city not only to lessen the flood damage but also for other purposes such as preservation of environmentally sensitive areas, groundwater recharge, conservation of biodiversity, etc.
   In order to save the remaining wetlands of the metropolitan area, the government needs to revise the existing Water Bodies Conservation Act 2000 since a number of drawbacks in the act are observed. For example, the act supports the preservation of cities, towns and divisional water bodies. There is no clear-cut rule on saving rural water bodies. Since most of the wetlands are located on the outskirts of the in the metropolitan area and necessarily pertaining to rural area, the developers are just taking the advantage of this loophole. Moreover, water bodies are also loosely defined in the act. In order to revitalise wetlands in the metropolitan area, actual demarcation is needed on the basis of historical documents. A tough and comprehensive law for preserving different types of water bodies can hardly be over emphasised. Stakeholders’ participation should be ensured and awareness should be raised among wetlands users.
   We are talking about climate change, sea level rise and adaptations. The government is about to invest huge resources for the development of adaptation measures. Is not it a natural adaptation to save wetlands of the metropolitan area which provide many benefits to us? Are not these wetlands and floodplains conserving biodiversity? Are not they useful as flood retention basin? We do talk a lot during wet season to save the city from flood and water-logging but right after the flood, we forget everything. Every year, we witness hue and cry during flood time, however as days pass away, nobody thinks to make the city flood free.
   A one metre rise in sea level by the year 2100 is far away and we can easily take necessary steps to save lands of

Bangladesh

from inundation. Hence, saving Dhaka from a number of environmental impairments is also as important as saving lands from sea level change because Dhaka contributes greatly to the national economy. Also, it is home to more than 12 million people. At present, Dhaka is facing massive wetlands encroachment by the private developers. We are not bothered about these but we are much worried about global warming and associated impacts. Initiatives to save wetlands are badly needed to make the city liveable otherwise the future of the city looks uncertain.
Dr Ashraf Dewan is associate professor of the Department of Geography and Environment at Dhaka University. dewan1971@gmail.com
source: New Age

Hasina-Singh summit ends with zero-sum outcome

2010-01-25T12:30:00.001+06:00

M. Shahidul Islam

With all the grandiose designs that

India

harbours to re-shape the geopolitical destiny of the continent of Asia, any Bangladeshi leader is bound to have a heart- sinking feeling of imminent danger while meeting its counterpart in Delhi. That is what has made the just concluded visit to India of PM Sheikh Hasina a sensitive and dreadful one.

   But, the second- time- Prime Minister seems to have weathered it quite well, without conceding much to our voracious neighbour, and, bringing home even much little in return. On a more positive tone, she looked cool, composed, curious and someone in control over things; perhaps upon knowing that there was no ice-breaker to change things substantively.

   Pauperized protocol
   That is why, contrary to wild fears of her capitulating to �unreasonable� Indian demands, the visit ended up with a zero-sum outcome. In game theory, a zero-sum outcome is described of a situation in which one participant�s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other. If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they sums to zero.
   That also explains why the visit kicked off with a subtle snub, the

Bangladesh

PM not being treated as per the deserved protocol upon her landing at Delhi�s Indira Gandhi International Airport on January 10.
   Much to the surprise of observers, the PM was received at the airport by Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur, and Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, which looked debasing for a leader representing 150 million people. This �pauperized posture� was least expected when the visit has been showcased as a �ground breaking� one by many pundits and policy makers in both countries.
   Observers felt dismayed by this intentionally created protocol hiccup, especially due to the visit occurring following the Bangladesh PM�s risky and gutsy venture in December 2009 to hand over to India one of Delhi�s most wanted fugitives, Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), along with the outfit�s deputy commander-in-chief, Raju Baruah, and at least five other senior aides.
   Also, in a synchronized gesture to curry Indian favour prior to the visit, India�s Bharti Airtel (BA) was accorded on January 9 an approval from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to buy a controlling 70% stake in Bangladesh�s Warid Telecom that has 2.7 million customers, with 5.3% market share. In return, the BA has reportedly declared to invest $300 million on upgrading Warid�s network.

   Intent rebuffed
   Although a summit between two leaders does not achieve much unless it aims to do so prior to the leaders� face to face interactions, the visit displayed the serious intent of Sheikh Hasina to accord higher priority to

India

in regional politics. The very fact that she has chosen Delhi ahead of Beijing as her first regional destination speaks volume about her mindset and loyalty.
   For, upon coming to power in 1996, Hasina decided to visit Beijing first in order to neutralize a lingering negative image of the regime of her father who faced serious internal oppositions due to a �distinctly pro-Indian� foreign policy stance, something many analysts characterized as being devoid of the required tact and the talisman that were much needed in balancing a new nation�s foreign policy.
   But that sincere intent got rebuffed in kind in the wake of this visit. Not only Delhi failed to rein in its forces at the border, its BSF went virtually berserk against unarmed Bangladeshis. Within hours of the PM�s landing at Delhi airport, two Bangladeshi cattle traders were killed by BSF on January 10 in Chapainawabganj and Benapole. Then, on Januray 12, while the PM busied herself in parlaying with various segments of state luminaries in Delhi, BSF killed another Bangladeshi cattle trader at Benapole border and took away his body.
   Unfortunately, the summit made no dent in obtaining an assurance to rein in such human rights abuses by Indian border forces. Especially since the AL�s coming to power early this year, there were 308 incidents of attacks by the BSF on innocent Bangladeshis at the border, resulting in 96 people killed, 79 injured, 25 kidnapped and 92 remaining as yet lost. Such occurrences sour people to people ties and impact bilateral interactions.

   Clever moves
   Despite that, PM did her best to show a tolerant and brave face to her Indian hosts, according to people who travelled with her and the imagery seen in TV and newspaper exposures.
   In the game of diplomacy, often each side is aware of the inner minds of the other. This was no exception and the Indian moves were palpably heuristic. Such consternations notwithstanding, the PM did obtain a promise from Delhi of US$1 billion worth of line of credit in infrastructure building, which experts say remains contingent upon Bangladesh�s consent in collaborations in developing railways and other infrastructures to facilitate transportations of Indian goods and services from the mainland to the landlocked North Eastern provinces via Bangladesh.
   In return, however, she had conceded little substantive, deferring the decision to allow

India

the permit to use the Ashugonj port to subsequent discussions. This was a deft move. It also implied two particular things for certain. First,

India

must show that its power generation project in neighbouring state of Tripura will meet the dual requirements of both nations, and, Delhi�s promise to allow

Bangladesh

the promised corridor to

Nepal

and

Bhutan

will be complied with.

   Paltry progress
   All these made the visit look grand on paper but virtually ritual in substance, especially it yielding little in terms of immediately- accruable economic benefits. The huge army of business delegation that had accompanied the PM in order to foster greater economic ties between the two neighbours felt frustrated by the Indian decision to allow only 47 items of commodities from the voluminous negative list of Bangladeshi products, despite Bangladesh insisting for years to obtain duty-free access to Indian market of a selective 232 products in particular, in order to reduce the Himalayan trade imbalance that lies heavily in Indian favour, overshooting well past $3 billion mark lately.
   As well, the long-awaited Teesta water sharing deal did not receive any serious significance in the summit level discussions, according to sources. They say, although the two PM discussed the pending border demarcation matter relating to yet unmarked 6.1-km stretch of the 4,096 km border, �enclaves� and �adverse possessions� (pockets in each country with nationals of the other) � and have exchanged lists of such enclaves once again�no progress has been made in that particular front either, excepting promises and assurances to continue further discussion at bilateral levels.
   Yet, there was no dearth of solace and smiling on either side, despite the visit being virtually a ceremonial one in nature. The Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee termed the Bangladesh PM�s visit a high point of relations between the two countries, observing, �This is a historic visit; it marks a new era in Indo-Bangladesh relations.� He added, �For the first time, Dhaka understands our concerns and we understand theirs.�
   That mutual understanding has ripened since the army-backed caretaker regime jumped into the Indian bandwagon in 2007 to jointly fight radicalism and extremism. And, that is what has led to the conclusion of three agreements on January 11 by the two PMs. The agreements relate to (1) mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, (2) transfer of sentenced prisoners, and (3) combating international terrorism, organised crime and illicit drug trafficking. The two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) include (1) framework on exchange of electricity, and (2) cultural collaborations.
   Viewed closely, the signed MoUs too seem loaded with lots of ifs and buts. For instance, under the collaborative arrangement to import electricity,

Bangladesh

would buy 500 MW of electricity from

India

to start with, and, by 2012, the cap can be raised to 1200 MW. Official sources say, Bangladesh�s state-owned Power Grid Company and Indian state-run Power Grid Corporation will jointly set up transmission lines to carry the power to the

Bangladesh

grid, for which

India

needs access to our port facilities and Dhaka needs lots of money.
   That also proves that the prospect of any viable power generation and sharing remains contingent upon India�s construction of the proposed power generation centre in the power-starve Tripura state which currently imports from Bhutan about 1400 MW of electricity to meet its peak hour shortfall, and Dhaka�s ability to build commensurable infrastructure and conduit to share the fruit.

   Standing by Delhi at UN
   However, in a brilliant stroke of classical diplomacy, the PM has offered her government�s support to India�s candidature for the permanent membership of the UN Security Council and promised to lend support to Delhi in the Indian candidature for a non-permanent seat of the UNSC for 2011-2012.
   �Responding to the prime minister of

India

, the prime minister of

Bangladesh

conveyed her country�s support in principle for India�s candidature for the permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council as and when the reform of the UN Security Council is achieved,� says a joint statement.

   Dirty politics
   The killing of three more innocent Bangladeshis during the visit aside, a number of other detractions and dirty politics dogged the visit, the most prominent among which was the disclosure in Dhaka by the ruling party secretary general, Syed Ashraful Islam, that former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has had a meeting in Dhaka with the ULFA leader Anup Chetia, in July 2002, which was facilitated by then prime minister Khaleda Zia.
   The alleged meeting, the veracity of which was challenged instantly by BNP leaders, took place in Musharraf�s hotel room while the latter visited Dhaka. This was a dirty politics that the AL should have avoided, unless the information came as a design to do so in the wake of PM�s Delhi visit.
   Chetia, incumbent secretary general of ULFA, remains detained in a

Bangladesh

jail since his arrest in 1998, and, his handover to

India

is the most coveted aim of Delhi at this very moment, especially ULFA�s military commander, Paresh Barua, reportedly being in

China

. Yet,

India

may not get Chetia in the manner it got the possession of the seven other ULFA leaders who had recently been �kidnapped� from Dhaka by, according to a number of sources, Indian special force.
Anup Chetia is a refugee claimant, which is his legal forte, and his ultimate disposition relies on Bangladesh�s final decision to deport him from the country. Even when such a decision is made, according to the concerned Geneva Convention (1951) relating to fate of refugees seeking protection in a third country - of which Bangladesh is a signatory - one particular clause of that Convention circumvents Dhaka�s option to handover him to India.
source: Weekly Holiday

Should Bangladesh politics be treated as a development project?

2010-01-22T11:40:00.000+06:00

Afsan Chowdhury

NGOs may do a better job than parties have till date
Bangladesh's politics lives on as before with both the AL and the BNP behaving as if parties mattered more than the people. Both continue to fight with each other on every issue at every occasion and it has reached a point where it's no longer necessary even to know what one will say about the other on any issue. It's not about politics but some kind of ancient rivalry and hate rituals that no one can fathom. Can people cope with the many challenges of 2010 while dealing with the difficulties political parties pose as well?
Although martial law departed in 1990 and except for the Caretaker Government phase it has largely been an unbroken run of civilians in charge, the nature, culture and ineffectiveness of politics remains the same. There is no need to do a survey to learn what the people think of parties but people do regularly vote every time hoping that this time around things will be better. Each time they are disappointed. Many would say, things may have gotten worse even.
Two recent incidents are noteworthy, both relating to campus violence. One in Chittagong concerned the ruling party students while the second at Dhaka University was a product of BNP's students' wing's infighting. Blood has been shed for the nth time and in future more will be shed but more than that these incidents show that traditional politics has reached a point of almost no return.
One must ask if the problem in Bangladesh is with political parties or politics itself.
The two parties have been born out of discord and the conflict between the two will never disappear and nor will the political culture that has now become entrenched. One has to take a deep breathe and see if there are any options in hand to this.
At one time, many would see this as a an argument for military ruled politics but global history has shown that the military as a political force has no quality and is far more damaging than even a bad political party. In the last CG phase, its ham-fisted management of matters political, law and order, anti-corruption etc shows a force as out of touch and equally out of date as the political parties.
It seems many of the notions of governance we hold are actually products of the era when politics was closely liked to state management only. In the last fifty years, most states have failed quiet spectacularly in this regard. Its speculated that political institutions are too archaic for the challenges of today including global economic instability, environmental crisis, security threats etc If the traditional structure is so out of date, what can be done ?
One could be tempted to think that perhaps the traditional party system can be ended and a new system introduced in the form of a national government something in the line of the one-party rule of Sk.Mujib. One would like to place this offer on the table because it can work provided the parties want to. However, that being impossible, the option is still born.
Another option would be to ban politics totally as is practiced now and replace political offices with local and regional bodies and with a technical body at the top instead of a cabinet. This will allow new people to enter politics with no partisan axe to grind, end partisan politics and create spaces for more focus on action rather than politicking. Its closer to the direct democracy model.
It's also quite an absurd proposition and there is no chance of the implementation of this option because there is no one who can or will do it and political parties will never voluntarily decide to act responsibly. It's another idea that has absolutely no possibility.
The reason why such absurd proposals are being discussed is because, politically, Bangladesh seems to have not much hope left. The danger is that should this pattern continue Bangladesh will not suddenly explode but slowly choke to death.
Maybe one could consider if the political governance and future of Bangladesh could be treated as a development project like a health ministry or any such initiative and perhaps it could be farmed out to one or the several NGOs that operate so successfully in Bangladesh and have a better track record than any other institution including the government.
Why not if parties can't deliver?

source: dhaka courier

Corporation and news media – uncovered relation in bangladesh

2010-01-18T14:56:00.001+06:00

"Prothom Alo" censored my intervew

Shaheen Dill-Riaz

Few days ago, the bengali daily news paper "Prothom Alo" in

Bangladesh

requested me for an interview regarding my film "Ironeaters" (Eisenfresser). They want to print it on their isue of 16th January 2010. After I agreed for the interview they sent me a couple of questions via e-Mail which I also answered in written form. Two days later, one of my friend sent me a scanned-copy of the printed version of that interview. To my utter surprise, I saw that: they distorted my name completely and thrown out more then eighty percent, the main content of the interview. I mentioned here in the (( )) the text the news-paper censored. It is in deed very interesting to see which part of the interview was not printed by this news paper. Take a careful look!
------------
Q: How the idea of "Ironeaters" came to your mind for the first time?

When I was a young boy, by father used to work in the Kashem Jute Mill, near Shitakunda (Chittagong) as a sivil-engineer. Since the Shipbreaking Industry was very near to that place we heard a lot aobut it. Though the entry of outsiders were strictly forbidden, stories could fly over the boundery and spread among the villagers. After a long time, as I was shooting my first feature-length documentary "Sand and Water", I mate a lot of farmers in North-Bangladesh who used to go to Chittagong as seasonal workers and stayed in the Shipbreaking Yard for months. They told me their horrific experience of this hard work. As I was listening to their stories I was wondering, how these symple-minded farmers, who are living from cultivation in the soft soil on the bank of Brahmaputra since a couple of centuries, can survive the hadrship of a lobour-life in such an industry? In fact this curiosity was motivation the journey of my film "Ironeaters". It was the begining of 1999. With the support of numerous people at home and abroad we could at last start the shooting of the film in January 2005 and the final editing of the film has been completed in 2007.

Q: 'Shipbreaking in

Bangladesh

' means( according to your own perception) what?

When we started the shooting in the PHP-Yard, one of the owner told me: " You know, this industry is a kind of gurbage dumping. The work with the gurbage is always very durty. But we ourselves decidd to do this job and earn money from that. Still there are other people who are in fact earning a huge profit from this work we are doing indirectly for them. You will find me very easily but you won't find them at all." (( This gentleman described the Sipbreaking Industry in it's proper context. The shipbreaking started in the west but to do it in a chieper way and to make maximum profit out of it and to avaoid environmental polution the so called developed countries exported this industry to our sub-continent. Because of the same reason the garments industry, lot of chemical industries, medicin industries etc. are exported to this part of the world. As long as the western world let the people here do these durty jobs without paying the proper price, the fate of the workers of these industries will never change. We have shown the film "Ironeaters" in the European Parliament. Among many others Mr. Sravros Dimas, the Environmental Commissioner of the EU, came to see the film. He wanted to see just 20 minutes but at the end seen the complete film and hold a emotional speech after that. But later I heard from the many frustrated NGO-Representatives that they are listening to this kind of speeches since for last tweenty years. The demand of several NGOs, who are working to change the situation in the Shipbreaking Industries, is that EU should put presure on all the international business organizations who are involved with the shipping business, specially IMO (International Maritime Organization), who are indirectly controling the Sipbreaking Industries arround the world. But EU is not willing to put any pressure on them. I think the reason why IMO is not interested to take any step to change the situation of the Shipbreaking Industry is exactly the same why WORLD BANK or IMF often don't give any importence on our national interest in the deeds and contracts they sign with our goventent. IMO will never want a reduction of profit that are been made by the western shipowners. Because the main job of IMO is to protect the interest of this business community. The fact that EU will not enterfare in this matter is not a surprise. If the shipbreaking industry in

Bangladesh

is a gurbage dumping then the people who are woking there are just insects. Death of some of these insects are not really important in the context of world economy. In terms of evironmental polution or in terms of violation of labor-rights, our behaviour everywhere in this country is more or less same. I don't see any difference between the death of a worker in an oil-tanker while breaking this ship and the death of another worker in a construction-spot while breaking a mulit-stored building. These accidents mainly happen because of our basic inhuman attitued towards the workers. Our western business-partners know it very well. If our workers have to clean the garbage of western civilization, then these workers are also THEIR workers. ))

Q: How was your experience with the labors at ship yard?

(( The workers and also the owners of P.H.P-Shhipbreaking Yard (PHP is for "Peace Happyness and Prosperity") has supported us during the shooting much more then we expected. We wouldn't be able to make such a film without their active help. We had observed the workers in the yard with the camera everyhwhere and almost all the time... during their work, in their free-time even while they were sleeping. But they never expressed their slightest annoyance because of the disturbance we caused through our presence. The people of this Ganges-Delta are basically extremely polite and freindly - I have experienced this phenomenon once again during the shooting of this film. ))

Q: Any interesting or memorable event while shooting the Documentary?

(( Once, while shooting in an Oil-Tanker, a fire broke-out all on a sudden. We heardly managed to save our life at the last moment. But while we were running for our life the Gas-Cutters burst into laughter and looking at our embarracing faces. We asked them: What appeared so funny to them in this situation? They told us that they have never seen anybody got so scared before. Nonetheless, to let us feel secured, they mentioned that the danger during their work is no more life-thretening as it was before. Even if the fire breaks out now and then, it is not really life-thretening. They have learned a lot through all these years. Then I asked: "Why the hell some people die almost every second month in one of these yards ?" A young Gas-Cutter came closer to me with a smile in his face and saide: " We die intentionaly, just to let you know that we are still living! You journalists would never come to see us unless couple of workers die in an accident. You are always interested to know how we died, but you are not at all interested to know how we are living here." This illiterate young man quoted the Bengali Poet Tagore in his statement. I would never forget that accident.. I would never forget the face of that young man and his words. We should make sure that these people don't have to die again and again to prove that they are still living there. ))

source: facebook

joint communiqué of PM Sheikh Hasina’s India visit

2010-01-16T21:41:00.001+06:00

Following is the full text of the joint communiqué issued on the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India:

1. Reaffirming the shared history, traditional links and the desire of

the leaders of the two countries to launch a new phase in their bilateral relations, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina is paying a state visit to

India

from January 10-13, 2010 at the invitation of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. Apart from attending the official programme in New Delhi, the Bangladesh Prime Minister will also visit Ajmer Sharif.

2. The

Bangladesh

Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 11, 2010. She called on President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

3. Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister Shri S.M. Krishna, Railway Minister Kumari Mamata Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition Smt. Sushma Swaraj called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

4. Reflecting the friendly relations existing between the two neighbouring countries, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in her capacity as President of the Awami League Party and the Awami League-led Mohajote government also called on Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance. She also met with former Prime Minister Shri. I.K. Gujral. The meetings and exchanges were marked by great warmth and cordiality on both sides.

5. The Prime Minister of

Bangladesh

paid tribute and respect to the memories of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawarlal Nehru, Smt Indira Gandhi and Shri Rajiv Gandhi at Rajghat, Shantivana, Shaktisthal and Virbhumi respectively.

6. During the visit, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was conferred the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2009 at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

7. The Prime Minister of

Bangladesh

had a meeting with the Prime Minister of India on January 11, 2010, which was followed by delegation level talks. The talks were marked by great warmth, deep understanding and a spirit of close friendship between the two sides. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted a banquet in honour of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina and her accompanying delegation.

8. On the Bangladesh side, assisting the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in the talks were: Mr. Ramesh Chandra Sen, MP, Minister of Water Resources; Dr. Dipu Moni MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Advisers to the Prime Minister Mr. H.T. Imam, Mr. Mashiur Rahman and Mr. Gowher Rizvi; High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India Mr. Tariq A. Karim and other senior officials of the Bangladesh Government.

9. On the Indian side, assisting the Prime Minister of India were: Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister; Shri P. Chidambaram, Home Minister; Shri S.M. Krishna, External Affairs Minister; Kumari Mamata Banerjee, Minister of Railways; Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce; Smt Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs; Shri M.K. Narayanan, National Security Adviser; Shri T.K.A Nair, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and other senior officials of the Indian Government.

10. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her party’s impressive electoral victory in the general elections held in December 2008 and lauded the people of Bangladesh for their abiding faith in democracy, which eventually paved the way for return of multi-party democracy in Bangladesh. Both leaders agreed that the recent elections in both countries presented them with a historic opportunity to write a new chapter in their relationship.

11. The

Bangladesh

Prime Minister recalled the shared bonds of history, culture and aspirations that bind

Bangladesh

and

India

, and paid tribute to the sacred memory of the lives sacrificed for the freedom and independence of the two countries. She called for rededicating efforts to establish a society free from ignorance, fear and want.

12. Both the Prime Ministers agreed on a vision for the future in the pursuit of the common good – bilaterally, regionally and globally. In this context, they reiterated their commitment to work together to solve all issues through cooperation and mutual understanding. They also shared their outlook on the strengthening and reform of

multilateral institutions in which developing countries have an effective voice and participation.

13. The Prime Minister of

Bangladesh

and the Prime Minister of India recognize that peace and stability in the region is necessary for development and well-being of the people of their respective countries. In this context, they emphasized the importance of close cooperation between

India

and

Bangladesh

and the need to effectively harness their respective resources for the good of the peoples of the two countries.

14. The two Prime Ministers agreed to put in place a comprehensive framework of cooperation for development between the two countries, encapsulating their mutually shared vision for the future, which would include cooperation in water resources, power, transportation and connectivity, tourism and education. They agreed on the need to operationalize the various areas of cooperation at the earliest.

15. Both Prime Ministers agreed to consider strengthening diplomatic and consular presence in each other’s countries.

16. Both Prime Ministers reiterated their commitment to democracy, pluralism and rule of law. They expressed satisfaction that the people of both countries have rejected violence, extremism and terrorism and reaffirmed their faith in democracy and development. In this quest, the two leaders resolved to work together to strengthen the forces of democracy and moderation.

17. Both Prime Ministers condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They noted that security remained a priority for both countries, as terrorists, insurgents and criminals respect no boundaries. They underscored the need for both countries to actively cooperate on security issues. Both leaders reiterated the assurance that the territory of either would not be allowed for activities inimical to the other and resolved not to allow their respective territory to be used for training, sanctuary and other operations by domestic or foreign terrorist/militant and insurgent organizations and their operatives.

18. Welcoming the Home Secretary level talks held in New Delhi in December 2009, the two Prime Ministers directed their respective Ministries and agencies to cooperate closely and implement all decisions taken during the talks. While recognizing the need to check

cross border crimes, both Prime Ministers agreed that the respective border guarding forces exercise restraint and underscored the importance of regular meetings between the border guarding forces to curtail illegal cross border activities and prevent loss of lives.

19. The Prime Minister of

Bangladesh

thanked the Prime Minister of India for facilitating the provision of electricity in Dahagram-Angarpota and invited

India

to construct a flyover across Tin Bigha Corridor for exclusive Indian use, as agreed earlier.

20. Both Prime Ministers agreed to comprehensively address all outstanding land boundary issues keeping in view the spirit of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement. In this context, agreed to convene the Joint Boundary Working Group to take this process forward.

21. Both Prime Ministers agreed on the need to amicably demarcate the maritime boundary between

India

and

Bangladesh

. They noted the initiation of proceedings under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and, in this context, welcomed the visit of a delegation from

Bangladesh

India

22. It was agreed that Ashuganj in

Bangladesh

and Silghat in

India

shall be declared ports of call. The IWTT Protocol shall be amended through exchange of letters. A joint team will assess the improvement of infrastructure and the cost for one-time or longer term transportation of ODCs (Over Dimensional Cargo) from Ashuganj.

India

will make the necessary investment. Both Governments agreed to expedite implementation. Contractors from both countries shall be eligible for the work.

23. It was agreed that

Bangladesh

will allow use of Mongla and Chittagong sea ports for movement of goods to and from

India

through road and rail.

Bangladesh

also conveyed their intention to give

Nepal

and

Bhutan

access to Mongla and Chittagong ports.

24. It was agreed that the construction of the proposed Akhaura Agartala railway link be financed by grant from

India

. A joint team of the railway authorities of the two countries will identify the alignment for connectivity.

25. They welcomed the starting of “Maitree Express” between Kolkata and Dhaka and called for resumption of road and rail links between the two countries.

26. The Prime Ministers agreed that RohanpurSingabad broad gauge railway link would be available for transit to

Nepal

Bangladesh

informed of their intention to convert Radhikapur Birol railway line into broad gauge and requested for railway transit link to

Bhutan

as well.

27. Recognizing the sufferings of the people of both sides in the face of scarcity of lean season flows of the Teesta River, the Prime Ministers expressed that the discussions on the sharing of the Teesta waters between

India

and

Bangladesh

should be concluded expeditiously. The two Prime Ministers directed their respective Water Resources Ministers to convene the Ministerial

28. +-level meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission in this quarter of 2010. The Joint Rivers Commission will also discuss issues relating to Feni, Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharla and Dudhkumar.

29. They also agreed that the following actions be taken:

a. Dredging of Ichhamati; and

b. River protection at Mahananda, Karatoa, Nagar, Kulik, Atrai, Dharla, and Feni

30. The Prime Minister of

India

agreed to support implementation of strategy of Government of Bangladesh to dredge rivers for flood control, navigation and access to ports. In this context,

India

agreed to provide, inter alia, dredgers to

Bangladesh

on an urgent basis.

Bangladesh

indicated the need for 9 dredgers.

31. The Prime Minister of India reiterated the assurance that

India

would not take steps on the Tipaimukh project that wouldadversely impact

Bangladesh

32. The Prime Minister of

India

agreed to supply to Bangladesh 250 MW electricity from its grid. In this context, both Prime Ministers emphasized the need to expedite inter-grid connectivity. They also agreed that the two countries shall cooperate in development and exchange of electricity, including generation from renewable sources, and may set up joint projects or corporate entities for that purpose.

33. With a view to encouraging imports from

Bangladesh

, both countries agreed to address removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers and port restrictions and facilitate movement of containerized cargo by rail and water. In this context,

Bangladesh

welcomed

India

’s initiative to provide duty-free access to SAARC LDCs to the Indian market.

Bangladesh

also welcomed the reduction of the number of items from

India

’s negative list that were of direct interest to

Bangladesh

and requested for further reduction in the list.

34. The Prime Minister of

India

agreed to support the upgradation of the Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute with a view to building capacity on certification.

35. The Prime Ministers agreed that investments, including joint investment and joint ventures, shall be encouraged by both countries. They agreed that the participation of the private sector in both countries will give an added fillip to economic engagement between the two countries.

36. The Prime Ministers agreed to operationalize land customs stations at Sabroom-Ramgarh and Demagiri-Thegamukh including putting in place necessary infrastructure and issue necessary notifications. Further, with respect to existing land custom stations, it was agreed to take measures for strengthening infrastructure.

37. It was agreed that border haats shall be established on a pilot basis at selected areas, including on the Meghalaya border, to allow trade in specified produces and products and in accordance with the regulations agreed and notified by both Governments.

38. It was agreed that trucks for movement from

Bhutan

and

Nepal

be allowed to enter about 200 meters into Zero Point at Banglabandh at Banglabandh-Phulbari land customs station. Necessary arrangements shall be mutually agreed and put in place by both countries.

39. The Prime Minister of

India

announced a line of credit of US$ 1 billion for a range of projects, including railway infrastructure, supply of BG locomotives and passenger coaches, rehabilitation of Saidpur workshop, procurement of buses including articulate buses and dredging projects.

40.

Bangladesh

requested for assistance to construct road infrastructure in Dhaka, including flyovers.

India

agreed to consider this request.

41. Recalling the shared legacy of the great poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the Prime Ministers agreed to oversee the joint celebrations of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011 in a manner befitting his vision and spirit.

42. Government of

India

would offer

Bangladesh

300 scholarships annually for a period of five years for study and training in Universities and training institutions in

India

, covering a wide range of disciplines as may be required by scholars and persons in government employment. The number may be increased through mutual consultation.

43. Both Prime Ministers underscored the role of SAARC in promoting regional cooperation. Both leaders agreed to work together in making SAARC a purposeful organization oriented towards implementation, which can revitalize the region through positive measures, concerted action and mutually reinforcing cooperation.

44. Both leaders welcomed the various steps taken to strengthen regional cooperation under BIMSTEC. In this context,

Bangladesh

requested

India

to support its aspiration to host the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka.

India

agreed to give the request due consideration.

45. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the initiatives taken at the Climate Change Summit at Copenhagen in December 2009. They underlined that climate change was one of the most important global challenges. They reaffirmed the provisions and principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including that of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and underscored the importance of its full, effective and sustained implementation, giving due consideration to the needs of those which are most vulnerable, especially Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Africa.

46. Both leaders recognized that the eradication of poverty and ensuring food security were great challenges of the century. They agreed that the international community should initiate a fully coordinated response and address these issues in a comprehensive manner, from short to medium and long term. They also recognized the need to give added focus on rural development policies, transfer and diffusion of technology and development, in particular to enhance agricultural productivity.

47. The Prime Ministers underscored the importance of an effective multilateral system, centered on a strong United Nations, as a key factor in tackling global challenges. In this context, they stressed the urgent need to pursue the reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, to make it more representative, credible and effective, particularly with regard to its working method. They also advocated involvement of smaller countries in the reform process.

48. Responding to the Prime Minister of India, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh conveyed her country’s support in principle for

India

’s candidature for the permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council as and when the reform of the UN Security Council is achieved.

Bangladesh

conveyed its support to the Indian Candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC for the term 2011-2012.

India

also conveyed its support to the

Bangladesh

’s candidature for a non-permanent seat in UNSC for the term 2016-2017.

49. The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing in their presence of the following accords:

a. Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters

b. Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons

c. Agreement on Combating International Terrorism, Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking

d. Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Power Sector

e. Cultural Exchange Programme

The Prime Ministers also expressed the desire that Line of Credit and the comprehensive framework of cooperation for development be operationalized at the earliest.

50. The Prime Minister of

Bangladesh

thanked the Prime Minister of India and the Indian Government and people for the warm and gracious hospitality extended to her and the members of her delegation during their stay in

India

51. The Prime Minister of

Bangladesh

, on behalf of herself, her Government and the people of

Bangladesh

, extended her warm invitation to the Prime Minister of India and Mrs. Manmohan Singh to visit

Bangladesh

at a mutually convenient time. The Prime Minister of India thanked the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and accepted the invitation with great pleasure. The dates for the visit would be decided by mutual consultations through diplomatic channels.
[This text is from my personal collection, as I got it it is published here. I hope it is, as it is in the actual signed officially. I am unable to authenticate.-P. Munshe]

source: P. Munshe

TIFA would guarantee regular attention to Bangladesh - James F. Moriarty

2009-12-28T22:04:00.001+07:00

James F. Moriarty, the current U.S ambassador to Bangladesh, is a career foreign service officer with the rank of a minister-counselor in the State Department. Having taken up his present post in March 2008, Mr. Moriarty has extensive prior experience in the region, having previously served as the U.S ambassador in Nepal, as well as working as a senior director at the National Security Council responsible for advising and coordinating U.S policy in East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific region.

Since taking up his post, Ambassador Moriarty has worked vigorously to cement closer ties between the U.S and Bangladesh, besides adding Bangla to the list of languages he speaks (Chinese, Nepali, French, etc). Recently, during the first week of the Copenhagen climate talks when the world was an altogether more optimistic place, Dhaka Courier engaged in an e-mail interview with the most important American in the country, in an effort to gain the world's sole superpower's view on a variety of issues from climate change to Afghanistan. The transcript of this interview is reproduced here for our readers.

Dhaka Courier: With President Obama's number 1 domestic priority, healthcare reform, passing through the House of Representatives, and then the Senate more recently, it has given him the chance to once more turn his attention to matters away from home, such as the Afghan war. Would you say the recent announcement of a 30,000-strong troops surge by President Obama, part of his Afghan strategy, is more of an exit strategy?
James F. Moriarty: The president has decided to deploy an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. These troops will deploy on an accelerated timeline to reinforce the 68,000 Americans and 39,000 non-U.S. ISAF troops already there, so that we can target the insurgency, break its momentum, and better secure population centers. These forces will increase our capacity to train effective Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans get into the fight. And by pursuing these partnerships, we can transition to Afghan responsibility, and begin to reduce our combat troops in the summer of 2011. In short, these resources will allow us to make the final push that is necessary to train Afghans so that we can transfer responsibility.
As President Obama stated, "Our whole concept here is to train and partner with Afghan forces and to transfer to them even as our troops are fighting alongside each other."
The United States will not again turn our back on Afghanistan or the region. The United States and our many friends and allies around the globe are determined to defeat those who stand between Afghanistan and a peaceful and a prosperous future. Together we will succeed and our partnership will flourish for decades to come.
DC: Israel has been defying Mr. Obama's call to halt settlement activity in the occupied territories. Can the president be expected to make a tougher push for Israel to comply with that condition in future?
JFM: The United States continues to pursue comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution. We define comprehensive peace as peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel and Lebanon, Israel and Syria, and the full normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab states.
Our goal is two states living side by side in peace and security - a Jewish State of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people.
The United States will continue to vigorously pursue this goal.
DC: The current administration has also resolved to engage in dialogue with Myanmar, and President Obama met the Myanmarese prime minister on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Singapore last month. Did the issue of the Rohingyas, and Myanmar's disputed maritime boundary with Bangladesh come up in those talks at all?
JFM: We are not aware of any meetings between the United States and Burmese officials on the sideline of the U.S.-ASEAN Summit. The United States Government will continue to work with the Burmese authorities, the democratic opposition, ethnic leaders, Burma's neighbors and other stakeholders to promote concrete progress on reform.
The Burmese authorities have the opportunity to improve its standing in the international community by engaging in a dialogue on democratic reforms, improving their human rights record and releasing all political prisoners immediately and without condition.
Rohingya are systematically persecuted for their religions and ethnicity by the Burmese regime, which does not recognize them as citizens despite their centuries-long presence with the modern day boundaries of Burma.
We therefore urge governments in countries where Rohingya seek refuge to carefully screen arrivals for protection need - in a process that involves the UNHCR. We welcome efforts by concerned governments to work together on a common approach for protecting Rohingya. We urge those governments also to press the government of Burma to end its persecution of Rohingya and address the root cause of their migration so that those who have already fled can return home safely.
DC: When the newly appointed Bangladeshi ambassador in Washington, Akramul Qader, presented his credentials to President Obama at the White House, the president highlighted 3 areas (education, healthcare and disaster management) for continued U.S assistance to Bangladesh in its development efforts. What exactly might assistance in these 3 areas entail?
JFM: Since 2007, U.S. Government assistance to Bangladesh has steadily increased and is projected to double by 2010. This is a testament to the excellent bi-lateral partnership between our two countries. The U.S. assistance program in Bangladesh currently spans all of the major development sectors; in the coming years, there will be additional resources for the priority areas of food security and health.
U.S. Government assistance in the education sector is focused on improving education opportunities for pre-primary children. Our programs have developed a pre-primary curriculum that has been endorsed by the government and other donors. In collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, USAID is working to make pre-primary education programs more broadly available in the public education system.
In the health sector, we collaborate closely with the Bangladesh Government to increase access for the poor to a broad spectrum of affordable and quality health services. In FY09 the U.S. Government provided more than $50 million in medical commodities, operational support, training, and technical assistance to public and private health care providers. We expect support to the health sector to increase substantially in the coming years as a result of President Obama's commitment to the Global Health Initiative.
As far as disaster management is concerned, the U.S. has partnered with the Bangladesh Government for a long time in building Bangladesh's internal capacity to mitigate and respond to natural disasters. Most recently, Bangladesh received $75 million in supplemental funds to assist the victims of Cyclone Sidr. Our development programs continue to focus on building economic resilience and better warning systems to save lives and help at risk communities mitigate the devastating effects of natural disasters.
DC: As a champion of democracy, how does the present U.S administration view Bangladesh's progress towards consolidating democracy since last year's elections? What are the key steps needed to eventually institutionalise democracy here?
JFM: Bangladesh is an impressively vibrant democracy. You only need to look at the high voter turnout during last year's elections.
To make democracy even stronger here, Bangladeshis need to insist on constructive dialogue among the political parties. The best legislature is a place where government policy is examined and debated.
DC: American companies are often apprehensive about doing business in unstable democracies. Can we expect more FDI from U.S companies as our democracy matures? In spite of the presence of companies like Chevron, the overall figure is still quite low…
JFM: Businesses, both foreign and domestic, are looking for places to invest where the political environment is stable and rules are applied consistently and transparently. Nations with governments that provide an overarching regulatory framework for business and then step aside to allow entrepreneurs to innovate will attract the most investment.
DC: Which sectors contain the greatest potential for economic cooperation between the U.S and Bangladesh?
JFM: There are opportunities in many sectors. U.S. firms can provide technical expertise and investment in a range of sectors, including power, energy and information technology. The US Government is also helping Bangladesh develop competitiveness in the seafood, horticulture and leather sectors. The USG is also looking for ways to partner with Bangladesh to promote agricultural development and food security.
Another way to promote closer trade and investment ties between the United States and Bangladesh would be through a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or TIFA. At its heart, a TIFA is an agreement that commits both sides to meeting regularly to discuss trade and investment issues; it would guarantee regular attention to Bangladesh by senior USG trade officials, and it includes a mechanism for businessmen to provide input on issues of importance to investors.
DC: Do you believe the U.S, which has lagged behind in the fight to save the environment from the harms of climate change since the Kyoto Protocol, is ready now to play a leading role after the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference? What are the changes that need to take place in U.S domestic policy for this to happen?
JFM: The United States is committed to getting the strongest possible agreement we can at the climate negotiation in Copenhagen. The Administration has demonstrated a strong commitment to this issue and under President Obama the United States has done more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than ever before, both by supporting domestic policies that advance clean energy, climate security and economic recovery, and by vigorously engaging internationally, including through the UN Framework Convention process.
We have announced our intention to cut our emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and ultimately in line with final climate and energy legislation. In light of the President's goals, the expected pathway in pending legislation would extend those cuts to 30 percent by 2025, 42 percent by 2030, and more than 80 percent by 2050. These are the kind of strong national actions that a successful agreement requires.
The United States has also pursued an unprecedented effort to engage partners around the world in the fight against climate change, and we have produced real results. President Obama launched the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate which brought together key developed and developing countries to work through issues essential to an accord. He also spearheaded an agreement, first among the G-20 and then among the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations, to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. This effort alone could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent or more by 2050.
DC: As a country living on the frontline of climate change, Bangladesh has an obvious stake in this. Barring a binding commitment in Copenhagen, what scope do you think there is for bilateral cooperation between the U.S and Bangladesh in helping Bangladesh to dealing with its fallout?
JFM: The United States and Bangladesh have a long history of friendship. Since independence, the U.S. Government has provided more than $5.5 billion in development assistance. Since 2007, U.S. Government assistance to Bangladesh has steadily increased and is projected to double by 2010. One of the key areas of our development assistance is building Bangladesh's internal capacity to mitigate and respond to natural disasters. This is an area where our assistance has already had tremendous impact.
The U.S. views Bangladesh as a leader on climate change. Just this week President Obama spoke with Prime Minister Hasina about climate change. President Obama encouraged Prime Minister Hasina to help reach robust agreement at the leaders summit this week in Copenhagen. The president reviewed efforts by the United States on climate change and reiterated his commitment to making progress. He emphasized his desire to reach a pragmatic solution that encompasses action by all countries. The two leaders agreed on the importance of working closely with the Danish prime minister to reach an appropriate agreement and of encouraging all developed and developing countries to play a constructive role.
source: Dhaka Courier

Copenhagen Analysis

2009-12-24T16:43:00.000+07:00

The climate summit in Copenhagen was no success, not even a small one. Pledging to give funds to the victim countries can’t be a result. That’s why one can’t criticise the results, which many world leaders have warned not to do. Copenhagen was an all-out failure writes Sirajul Islam

Following two years of zealous preparations and two weeks of intense negotiations, the much talked about Copenhagen conference on climate change yielded little. The 193-nation meeting was left with little to show for itself but an unclear commitment to edge global warming to 2 degrees. An eleventh-hour deal agreed upon by a smaller group of countries, including the United States, China and Brazil lacked any legally binding limits to CO2 emissions, and was not adopted by the assembled delegates but they’ve merely ‘noted.’ The combined pressure to negotiate that had built up in the weeks and months leading up to the conference have disappeared into thin air like CO2. It will hardly be possible to build it up again before the next climate conference in

Mexico

. Without the minimum of figures that the powerful countries should have committed themselves to in Copenhagen, an agreement in

Mexico

will not be enough to achieve the distant goal of climate protection, insofar as an agreement is even possible. The fight against global warming has been set back by years.
The consequences will be widely felt. With every wasted year, the path toward climate change becomes steeper and pricier. If the leaders come together again in a few years, perhaps having realised that climate change is actually dangerous, then they will be amazed to discover that reversing this is a lot more pricey and difficult than it would have been back in 2009. The solution to the climate problem will become all the more unlikely, just as it is becoming all the more drastic. It is almost like someone who is seriously ill, but going to the doctor too late. Worse still, those who were at the forefront of climate protection are now losing authority. European Union justified their climate targets by saying that someone had to make a start. That was right. However, what happens when no one joins in? Those industries that were regarded as a burden when it came to climate protection will regard the Copenhagen failure as a liberation. They will push even harder to avoid strict guidelines. The conference made it clear just how little others were prepared to negotiate.
Above all, national selfishness stood in the way of an agreement. As long as one country can hope for short-term economic advantage by opposing measures the majority support, the others won’t voluntarily join in. That can only change if such a refusal has consequences. There are already methods of imposing sanctions, whereby many developing countries like

Bangladesh

are only given financial and technical aid if they agree to reduce their CO2 emissions. However, naturally that won’t help when it comes to big developing countries like

China

India

or unwilling developed industrialised countries like the

United States

. The only thing that may work here is threats, such as a climate tariff, that states with a real climate target might impose on imports from states that have no clear climate goal in the future.
In a globally connected world, economic sanctions bring many problems, and would not be easy to impose. However, to simply wait until the blockade continues at the next conference is no alternative. The states that are willing to solve the climate problem have to make a serious threat to go forward alone. And they must be able to protect themselves against others who derive an advantage at the expense of the rest of the humanity. Forget Copenhagen. Now we are making a climate treaty in 2010 in

Mexico

. That is the message from those who are talking up the conference, and trying to sell the result as some kind of progress. But after the fiasco there is no sensible reason for assuming that things will be any better next year.
From the very beginning it was an illusion to believe that the two biggest climate sinners,

China

and

America

would allow themselves to be roped into a binding agreement with clear emission targets and international monitoring. The new global power

China

is using its growing weight above all to uncompromisingly ensure that there is no international interference in its national sovereignty. It is also greatly sobering to realise that the Europeans, the model students, when it comes to climate politics, have no appreciable influence any more on climate diplomacy. Whether the EU offered 20 or 30 per cent reductions played no role in Copenhagen. The decisive moment was when American President Barack Obama and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao made a deal in the latter’s hotel room. It has never been made diplomatically clear that the Europeans have lost enormous influence when it comes to the central questions in international politics.
   In Copenhagen, the world had to experience a climate disaster of the political kind. Those who want to see a resolute climate protection will have to reform the process, in order to achieve ambitious targets in the big economies that emit the most greenhouse gases.
   There are some hurdles that have to be cleared. First, it is only when the American delegation has a climate law that has already got through their Congress that they will make any commitments. It is the most important stumbling block, one that cannot be cleared through international negotiations. President Obama still has a lot of work to do in persuading his people in his country. He is a taskmaster, and he proved he can do it when we see the healthcare reform bill passed the Senate hurdle. He may not be terribly ideological, but he seeks to achieve what can be achieved rather than holding to specific ideas that are impractical politically. He demonstrated how to compromise at first in order to provide a foundation for future reforms. So, the world should use this resource to get the job done.
   Secondly, the world has to handle the next big player

China

cautiously. There is no big way to make sure, I mean, international monitoring of China’s efforts to see whether they’re reducing emissions they’ve already pledged, or will pledge in future. So, the world has to devise a formula to get that job done. Otherwise all of

China

’s assurances that it wants to drastically sink greenhouse gas emissions will be worthless. Thirdly, the topic of legally binding limits has to return to the negotiating table. And fourthly, the Europeans have to fix their position also.
   Over 40,000 politicians, diplomats, scientists, journalists, lobbyists and NGO activists travelled to Copenhagen to save the world. 140 private jets flew, travelled and landed there to make sure the world should reduce carbon emissions while each of the planes burnt more or less 750 litres of jet-fuel per hour while their engines were on, and 1,200 limousines ferried delegates around. Just take a note of the carbon footprints the Copenhagen summit yielded, and just take another note of what the heated summit, which gave a new name to gigantism, offered. Analysts said it ‘offered nothing but a soapbox for alarmists and the self-important.’
   It is time to consider whether smaller, more businesslike conferences would make more sense. It would also mean allowing those scientists to speak who have expressed rational doubts about the scenarios presented by the IPCC. They have many facts on their side also. Evaluation would be more appropriate than roaring that the world is about to end. The question of whether binding and dramatic limits of CO2 emissions are the only correct way to protect the climate must also be revisited. A global competition for the cleanest energy production and investments in saving and replanting forests would be more easy and useful than the caps in emissions at the cost of economic growth. We want to grow too, and nobody knows if we won’t grow in future. So, if somebody says, ‘You Bangladeshis can’t manufacture’, then we also feel we are victimised.
   The climate summit in Copenhagen was no success, not even a small one. Pledging giving funds to the victim countries can’t be a result. That’s why one can’t criticise the results, which many world leaders have warned not to do. No one can make them sound better than they are. Copenhagen was an all-out failure. How this process is to be brought to an end in the next year remains a mystery. The format of the consultations at the UN level, in which every member state can exercise veto power, holds no promise of any success. The balancing of interests between those who want to preserve their standard of living and the emerging economies that want to soon reach such levels of prosperity appears to be impossible. Meanwhile, the global population is growing with its energy needs, which will lead to even greater CO2 emissions. Only the most stubborn climate change deniers would say that this is not going to impact the lives of millions of people.
   Delegates had demanded only numbers, timeframes and instruments at Copenhagen. They didn’t get them, and that’s going to be a problem for the governments. Many governments declared their CO2 emissions are to sink by this or that per cent by this or that year. The fewer the nations that participate in binding emissions curbs, the pricier that will be. The leaders, who are already under pressure over their this or that domestic policies but have until now been viewed with some respect for their work on climate protection, will now face a double burden because of Copenhagen.

The writer is a development professional and social sciences researcher, presently working as consultant at the Asia Regional & Bangladesh country office of INAFI — a global microfinance network, registered in the Netherlands.

source: New Age

Why Copenhagen failed

2009-12-22T13:56:00.000+07:00

Contrary to the hopes of billions of people, the talks were a purely elite affair. Many of the thousands of delegates sent to the conference were not looking to save the planet, as advertised, but were looking out for the national interest of their native governments. Most of these countries are dominated by the
‘special interests’ of giant corporations, writes Shamus Cooke

To anybody interested in the future of the earth’s climate, the conclusion of the Copenhagen conference represents either colossal disappointment or profound rage. The financial pledges — if honoured — that rich nations made to poor nations will do nothing to combat global warming. The few climate related agreements that were made were of zero substance, especially when compared to what the situation demanded.
The sorrowful outcome, however, could have been predicted in the conference’s first week, based on two seemingly unrelated events: The conference showcased the largest police action in

Denmark

’s history (including mass arrests of ‘troublemakers’); while also producing the largest ever boom in limousine rentals. Both happenings helped reveal the true nature of the conference, spelling doom for climate progress.
   Contrary to the hopes of billions of people, the talks were a purely elite affair. Many of the thousands of delegates sent to the conference were not looking to save the planet, as advertised, but were looking out for the national interest of their native governments. Most of these countries are dominated by the ‘special interests’ of giant corporations.
   Big business in the rich nations used the conference as a cynical manoeuvre to maintain their economic dominance over the ‘emerging business’ in the developing countries. This fact was at first obscured by technical language, until the now-famous ‘Danish Text’ was leaked to the press in the first week of the conference.
   This document was a conference proposal written by the

and

England

, though submitted by

Denmark

. The Danish Text proposes that developed nations — the

, Europe,

Japan

, etc. — be allowed to pollute twice the amount of developing countries —

China

India

Russia

Brazil

, etc. — for the next 50 years.
If enacted, the corporations of the developing nations would be forced to function under an incredible economic handicap. Their governments would have, of course, rejected such nonsense, giving the

delegates the needed excuse to blame

China

for the failed talks (the

media has done this with absolute disregard for facts).
The Danish Text also proposed to move future climate talks out of the realm of the too-democratic UN into the US/Europe dominated World Bank. Obama has thus surpassed his predecessor in the realm of global arrogance.
However, the

torpedoed the talks long before they ever began, forcing the international media to campaign in favour of ‘lower expectations.’ The New York Times explains:
   ‘… when Mr Obama and other world leaders met last month, they were forced to abandon the goal of reaching a binding accord at Copenhagen because the American political system is not ready to agree to a treaty that would force the United States, over time, to accept profound changes in its energy, transport and manufacturing [corporate] sectors.’ (December 13, 2009).
   Instead of building upon the foundation of the already-insufficient Kyoto Protocol, the Obama administration demanded a whole new structure, something that would take years to achieve. The Kyoto framework was abandoned because it included legally binding agreements, and was based on multi-lateral, agreed-upon reductions of greenhouse gasses (however insufficient). Instead, Obama proposed that ‘…each country set its own rules and to decide unilaterally how to meet its target.’ (The Guardian, September 15, 2009).
   This way, there is zero accountability, zero oversight, and therefore, zero climate progress. Any country may make any number of symbolic ‘pledges’ to combat global warming, while actually doing very little to follow through — much like billions of dollars rich countries pledged to Africa that have yet to leave Western bank accounts.
   Obama’s manoeuvring to ruin Copenhagen was correctly assessed by Canadian writer Naomi Klein, who said that Obama, like Bush, is ‘using multi-lateralism to destroy multi-lateralism.’ This means that Obama is participating in international organisations like the UN Copenhagen conference, with no intention of reaching agreements. Once the

blames its overseas rivals for the failure to ‘cooperate,’ a more independent path can be struck.
This is reminiscent of Bush’s path to invading

Iraq

: he used the UN Security Council to pass resolutions against

Iraq

, which helped him weaken

Iraq

while strengthening

public opinion. But when the Security Council wouldn’t agree to an invasion, Bush assembled a pathetic ‘coalition of the willing’ to attack, completely abandoning the UN (Obama appears to be following an identical approach with

Iran

). The

corporations wanted to dominate

Iraq

’s huge oil reserves and other treasures, to the detriment of the corporations within Europe,

Russia

, and

China

.
Another example of Obama’s fake multi-lateralism is the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The

is again being blamed for blocking a multi-lateral agreement in this corporate-controlled organisation — some

corporations want market protection from rival corporations of other countries.
   The international WTO continues to be unofficially abandoned in favour of regional (unilateral) trade blocs like NAFTA, CAFTA, the EU, etc., increasing international tensions, which, if one looks below the surface, are conflicts between giant corporations based in rival nations, battling for control of international markets, raw materials, and cheap labour.
   The failure of the WTO, the UN, and now Copenhagen are all examples of an increasingly conflict-ridden world, based on the emerging economies challenging the rule of the old powers. This dynamic clearly resembles the situation prior to World War I, when the big powers — England and the US — felt threatened by the rise of Germany and Japan, and used a strategy of ‘containment’ to stunt their growth. The end result was war.
   This time, however,

China

India

Brazil

, and

Russia

are the emerging threats, and the issue of climate change is being used as yet another tactic to ‘contain’ their growth.
   With such a dynamic unfolding, there can be no future multi-lateral agreements expected, minus the ‘symbolic’ type that Copenhagen produced. The unbridgeable national conflicts are not the result of bad policy from naïve leaders, but an inherent future of a market economy [capitalism].
   Giant corporations in different countries are constantly growing and competing with each other for a very limited global marketplace, always attempting to monopolise markets, raw-materials, and labour by any means necessary. This vicious competition pushes all other social issues into the background — human needs are subordinate to blindly chasing profits.
   Such an irrationally competitive system cannot be smoothed over with good intentions and on-paper cooperation. Deeper, conflicting corporate interests between nations are the motor force pushing countries further apart the more cooperation is needed.
   But soon the fake cooperation Obama stresses will be too much for the

corporate-elite to bear. Many of them are bored with the international community, especially when the

is the sole military superpower in the world. Soon Obama’s ‘failed attempts’ to cooperate internationally will evolve into a more independent, Bush-like approach.
The largely ignored UN is likely to be further pushed aside so that brute force can continue to dictate US international policy, an agenda already begun by the US invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq, Obama’s expanding war in Pakistan, and the ‘looming threat’ that supposedly Iran is.
As long as governmental policy is dictated by the corporations — represented in the

by the two party system — multi-lateralism and cooperation are doomed. Thus, the battle to save the environment and end war must include a fight against these corporations, who wield a political/economic vise grip over society. Only by publicly controlling these billionaire-owned mega-enterprises can the peaceful and cooperative impulses of the earth’s people find their full expression.
Source: http: //countercurrents.org
Shamus Cooke is a social service worker, trade unionist, and writer for Workers Action (www.workerscompass.org). He can be reached at shamuscook@yahoo.com