Environment

Half of world’s largest lakes, reservoirs losing water, Study finds

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News Desk : dhakamirror.com

Photo: collected

More than half of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs have lost significant amounts of water over the last three decades, according to a new study, which pins the blame largely on climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption.

According to a team of international researchers, some of the world’s most significant freshwater sources -from the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia to South America’s Lake Titicaca have been losing water at a cumulative rate of roughly 22 gigatonnes per year for almost three decades.

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Waterways disappear as rivers die

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World River Day today

Rashad Ahamad

Inland waterways, once the prime mode of transportation in Bangladesh, have declined fast as many rivers, canals, and other water bodies have disappeared in riverine Bangladesh over the past decades.

Due to geographical location, inland waterways were the main mode of transportation in Bangladesh, a country part of the largest delta in the world, but that mode has changed due to erroneous policies in communication development, experts said.

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Chattogram city produces 249 tonnes of plastic waste every day

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Will generate 428 tonnes by 2052

News Desk : dhakamirror.com

Chattogram city produces 249 tonnes of plastic waste every single day — 56 percent of which remains uncollected and littered in the environment, according to a new study.

“Of the plastic waste, the most are sachets, single-use utensils, and personal care items, ” the study added.

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Non-stop river pollution threatens water security

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World Environment Day
Non-stop river pollution threatens water security
Laws, rules, HC directives go in vain
Rashad Ahamad
No pragmatic step is yet to be taken to protect the four rivers surrounding Dhaka even after declaring them ecologically critical 13 years ago.
In September 2009, the Department of Environment declared the four rivers Ecologically Critical Areas under Section 5 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act. There are total 13 ECAs in Bangladesh.
The government formulated the Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA) Management Rules 2016 for implementing the act, including

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Air pollution takes 3 years off life in Bangladesh

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Impact on life expectancy in Bangladesh worse than in India, Pakistan, Bhutan
Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
Air pollution cuts the average life expectancy of a person in Bangladesh by almost three years, said a global report.
It is higher than in India, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Afghanistan. Nepal, with air pollution-linked life expectancy loss of 3.05 years, is the worst affected in this region, according to the report released yesterday by US-based organisations Health Effects Institute and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
The report, titled “State of Global Air-2020: How Does Air Pollution Affect Life Expectancy

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Rain at the summit of Greenland for the first time on record

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Something extraordinary happened recently. On August 14, 2021, it rained at the highest point on the Greenland Ice Sheet for several hours — the first rainfall event in recorded history, and air temperatures remained above freezing for about nine hours.
The record-breaking rain is the latest in a string of warning signs about how climate change is affecting Greenland’s ice sheet.
Scientists confirmed these sightings on August 18th that rain were observed Saturday at Summit Station, a research facility that

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Emissions of CO2 driving rapid oceans ‘acid trip’

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Emissions of CO2The world’s oceans are becoming acidic at an “unprecedented rate” and may be souring more rapidly than at any time in the past 300 million years.
In their strongest statement yet on this issue, scientists say acidification could increase by 170% by 2100.
They say that some 30% of ocean species are unlikely to survive in these conditions.
The researchers conclude that human emissions of CO2 are clearly to blame.
The study will be presented

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Warming trees limit warming – a little

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Warming trees limit warming-a littleWarmer temperature prompts trees to release aerosols which in turn stimulate cloud formation. And that can help to cool the temperature, at least modestly.
Trees may provide the Earth with a little shade from global warming – indirectly. European and Canadian researchers report that they have found what engineers like to call a negative feedback loop above the forests of Europe and North America.
It works like this. Trees – those natural chemical factories that routinely deliver complex aromatic compounds such as

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Evaluating services of forest

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Biodiversity contributes considerably to economy and environment
Dr. M. A. BASHAR
In developing countries, the necessity of publicising services of forests is severely lacking. This sector must be given attention with special emphasis. The country like Bangladesh has to be very serious in all respects to understand and exercise the services offered by the forests. We must remember that the services are very important

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What the outcome yields for Bangladesh?

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Doha Climate Conference
What the outcome yields for Bangladesh?
Md. Mahfujur Rahman
Thirty-seven industrialized countries had been accused of releasing Greenhouse gases in Kyoto Protocol under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Signatory members to the UNFCCC have been meeting annually in Conference of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change since 1994. This year Climate leaders from all over the world gathered at Doha from 26 November to 8 December 2012 to find ‘what to dos’ for reversing the grim effect of global

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Down with the hills!

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Probir Kumar Sarker
Though Bangladesh is prominently a plain land, its Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban and Sylhet have hilly areas with forests and rich biodiversity. These areas are full of natural resources fulfilling needs of the people and other living species.
But at present, the destruction of hills in every area has become so alarming that many concerned people have been upbeat against the greedy grabbers who are out to convert these hilly areas into plain lands to set up industries and

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A prerequisite for sustainable development

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Natural Resource Governance
A prerequisite for sustainable development
Rukshana Sultana
The constitution of Bangladesh — article 143– illustrates that all natural resources on land and underground minerals and other things of value underlying the ocean within the territorial waters, or the ocean over the continental shelf of Bangladesh, are the properties of Bangladesh. In general, natural resources include oil and gas, minerals and metals, forests, fish, land and water. In Bangladesh, some 83% of the total population explicitly depends on natural resources. Therefore, to ensure sustainable use of these resources

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Contemplating mitigation measures

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Global Warming
Contemplating mitigation measures
Md. Atikur Rahman
All things that make up the environment are interrelated. The way in which people, animals and plants are related to each other and to their surrounding is known as
ecology. The ecosystem is a complex web that links animals, plants and every other life form in the biosphere. By altering any one part of the web you can affect all
other parts. For example, the destruction of forests may have serious ecological consequences for humans and animals

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Save Savar from further degradation

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Probir Kumar Sarker
Over the recent years, Savar is experiencing immense pressure of new industrial, commercial and residential establishments. But most of these have already been done or
are underway indiscriminately haphazardly, and by violating the environmental laws and ignoring overall public convenience, not to speak of the care for future growth.
It has been a lucrative

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Save Sonadia, save Sundarbans

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Sourav Mahmud
Sonadia Island is one of the biodiversity hotspot of Bangladesh. In 1995, the Government of Bangladesh included a provision for the declaration of Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act. Twelve sites are classified as ECAs and guidelines exist to control further damage to these areas. Sonadia is considered ecologically important by the government and in 1999 was declared as an ECA under Environmental Act of

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Ramsar Convention: Our obligation

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Dr. M.A. Bashar
It is learnt from newspapers very recently that in the Sundarbans area three large constructions will take place which are very dangerous and detrimental to normal functioning of the mangrove forest ecosystem. It means that the interactions between biotic and abiotic factors will be seriously hampered in the ecosystems conservation. The projects are: construction of coal-based electric plant; depot for storage of coal in Phulbari; and a ship-yard covering large area. Already it is protested by various environment related

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Legal response to loss and damage

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Climate Change
Legal response to loss and damage
Hafijul Islam Khan
The adverse impacts of climate change have continued to devastate the lives and livelihoods of millions of people and inflict large economic losses. According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there has been a global increase in weather related disasters between 1980 and 2003. The report estimated that during that period the economic loss due to damage caused by natural disasters is one trillion USD in total. Moreover, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated that in 2008 over

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Corals of St.Martin’s at stake

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Global Warming and Over-Exploitation
Corals of St.Martin’s at stake
Dr. Anisuzzaman Khan
Honey comb corals around Saint Martin’s island are under stress due to coral bleaching. While the COP 17 — UN climate convention — was being held in Durban of South Africa, a Nature Watch Team (NWT) of Ekattor Television watched that a noticeable coral bleaching was defacing the corals of Saint Martin’s island of Bangladesh due to global warming. A four-member Scuba diving team moved under water around Saint Martin’s during the last week of December, 2011. They observed that the honey comb corals on the east coast of the island are severely affected by

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Environment: Future farmers hold key

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GLOBAL food demand will double by 2050, according to a new projection, and the farming techniques used to meet that unprecedented demand will significantly determine how severe the impact is on the environment,  researchers say.
The study researchers warn that meeting the demand for food will clear more land, increase nitrogen use and significantly add to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. These actions could harm the atmosphere and cause the extinction of numerous species,

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Getting a consensus in COP 17

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How close the world is?
Shammunul Islam
The 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) will be held in the city of Durban, South Africa from November 28 to December 9. The world is waiting with hope that this time a fruitful and effective guideline will be made towards mitigating and adapting with climate change impacts. Much hype and expectation grew vis-a-vis this convention mainly hangs around the moods and stances of developed and

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