Business Desk :
Bangladesh should put concentration on the green growth towards its journey of becoming the upper-middle income country, suggested World Bank (WB).
A new WB analysis observed rapid and unplanned urbanization causes air and water pollution in Dhaka and other cities. “So, Bangladesh must check environmental degradation, particularly in the urban areas.”
A workshop on the preliminary findings of the report “Country Environment Assessment for Bangladesh” on Sunday said the country is losing one percent GDP every year due to air pollution.
Noncompliant industries and inadequate waste management of hazardous and nonhazardous materials are polluting the cities’ air as well as surface and ground water, it added.
The report said for one ton of fabric, the dyeing and finishing factories discharge 200 metric tons of wastewater to rivers leading to health hazards in the capital’s poorer neighborhood.
Speaking on the occasion, World Bank Acting Country Director for Bangladesh Zahid Hussain said, “When growth comes at the cost of environment, it cannot sustain. The good news is that we have seen it is possible to grow cleaner and greener without growing slower.”
“To sustain its strong growth performance, Bangladesh simply cannot afford to ignore the environment. It must plan and act now to prevent environmental degradation and ensure climate resilience,” he added.
Bangladesh should put concentration on the green growth towards its journey of becoming the upper-middle income country, suggested World Bank (WB).
A new WB analysis observed rapid and unplanned urbanization causes air and water pollution in Dhaka and other cities. “So, Bangladesh must check environmental degradation, particularly in the urban areas.”
A workshop on the preliminary findings of the report “Country Environment Assessment for Bangladesh” on Sunday said the country is losing one percent GDP every year due to air pollution.
Noncompliant industries and inadequate waste management of hazardous and nonhazardous materials are polluting the cities’ air as well as surface and ground water, it added.
The report said for one ton of fabric, the dyeing and finishing factories discharge 200 metric tons of wastewater to rivers leading to health hazards in the capital’s poorer neighborhood.
Speaking on the occasion, World Bank Acting Country Director for Bangladesh Zahid Hussain said, “When growth comes at the cost of environment, it cannot sustain. The good news is that we have seen it is possible to grow cleaner and greener without growing slower.”
“To sustain its strong growth performance, Bangladesh simply cannot afford to ignore the environment. It must plan and act now to prevent environmental degradation and ensure climate resilience,” he added.
