Dr. M. Abul Kashem Mozumder, Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
Sustainable development focuses on inclusive development that allows people to contribute to and benefit from development and at the same time preserves and conserves the natural ecosystems. The long term development vision of Bangladesh has been set in the Perspective Plan as transformation from a low income economy to the first stages of a middle-income nation by 2021. Bangladesh in 2021 is expected to be a country in which (i) every citizen has equal opportunities to achieve his/her fullest potential, (ii) all citizens enjoy a quality of life where basic health care and adequate nutrition are assured, (iii) all citizens have access to a modern, technical, and vocational education tailored to meet the needs of a technologically advancing nation, (iv) sustainability of development is ensured through preserving and conserving natural ecosystems and better protection from climate change and natural disasters, (v) there is respect for principles of democracy, rule of law, and human rights, (vi) gender equality is assured; so are the rights of ethnic populations and of all other disadvantaged groups including persons with disabilities, and (vii) diversity and creativity of all people are valued and nurtured, (viii) effective participation in equitable and rules based multilateral trading system will be promoted, and (ix) people will have respect and tolerance for others, understanding, moderation, religious freedom and human dignity. In the transformation process the government will play the role of facilitator of private initiatives and innovation while the private sector will serve as an engine of growth. The public and private sectors will collaborate effectively and efficiently through public private partnerships and other innovative models to deliver infrastructure, utility and other services (GoB. 2012). The global environment is changing due largely to ‘the rapid sea-level rise occurring in all climate models whether they depict low, medium or high rates of greenhouse-gas emissions. In a medium greenhouse-gas emission scenario, the coastal areas would see an additional rise of about 8.3 inches above the mean sea level rise that is expected around the globe because of human-induced climate change’ The scientists express grave concern over coastal belts. This is because of the fact that ‘about half of the world population live in coastal belts. Of course there is a large variation among countries. Changes in climate will affect coastal systems through sea level rise and increase in storm-surge hazards and possible changes in the frequency of extreme antecedents. The people in developing countries are four times more likely to die in natural disasters than people in developed countries. An increase in the global temperature is likely to potentially result in a sea level rise as much as one meter that may cause inundation of coastal areas and high frequency of submersion of vast area under water. The consequences are being faced by the people in different parts of the world regarding health hazards, natural calamities, draught, acid rain, desertification, sea level rise and so many greenhouse effect Contemporary global warning stemming from global warming and rising seas is a veritable reflection of experts’ concerns calling attention of the policy level political and official high-ups. Fast changing rainfall pattern showing decreasing trend in monsoon and increasing trend during post monsoon period is a danger sign. Unexpected heavy rainfall as a mark of capricious play of nature threatens to lead to increasing runoffs causing devastation of flood. There has been increasing debate over global warming. . Poor regions, particularly Asia and Africa, are vulnerable to ‘the projected effects of global warming despite the fact that their emissions have been small compared to the developed world. The exemption of developing countries from Kyoto Protocol restrictions has been used to justify non-ratification by the U.S. and a previous Australian Government. Australia has since ratified the Kyoto protocol. Another point of contention is the degree to which emerging countries such as India and China should be expected to constrain their emission.’ A host of global warming skeptics in the political community debated ‘all or some of the global warming scientific consensus, questioning whether global warming is actually occurring, whether human activity has contributed significantly to the warming, and on the magnitude of the threat posed by global warming.
According to the latest UN Global Warming report underlining facts and predictions ‘the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) delivered a huge blow to global warming skeptics. Leading climate scientists are now 90 percent sure that human activity is heating up the planet. The concerns of the government of the small island states deserve mention. Maldives, for illustration, is a small island state vulnerable to changes in sea level. Due to climate change there are possibilities of being badly damaged by cyclone, floods, tidal surge, and tsunami. The Maldives and Bangladesh are among the SAARC countries with clean air having much less incidence of emission of greenhouse gas. Despite this reality these two countries are going to be the worst victims of global warming and ‘consequential sea-level rise’. Scientists apprehended Maldives would go under sea water and one third of Bangladesh would go under sea water.
The state of governance will be a matter of grave concern if it does not avoid stoic indifference to the damages already taking place unplanned urbanization with growing urban jungles and industries is polluting and suffocating air. The deluge of urbanization is beginning to adversely affect the countryside. Development under rural modernization experiment has by now shown many a contraindication. There has been wanton destruction of forest trees in costal belts that serve to absorb carbon and the scorching heat of sun. So think of green beckoning to prevent global warming. Environment economists advocate ‘carbon-neutral economic production system’. Local administration at the upazila level must be quick at responding to the need for rehabilitation of climate change displaced families with global climate change fund or green fund. This is the need of the hour. At times local administration can well do to conduct policy advocacy for sustainable development and conserving bio-diversity.
Rural development ceases to be sustainable without reference to the involvement of major stakeholders and beneficiaries in policy formulation and policy implementation process. In recent years the national and donor agencies, too, have been at the forefront of the growing international consensus that participatory approach and sustainable development are indivisible. The belief is that developing capacity building or learning by doing through participation can be and should be the primary way to eliminate poverty.
It is increasingly realized that only participatory approach underpins understanding of the beneficiaries understanding their predicaments. It gratifies villager’s needs for self-development. Also it paves for social mobilization and wider network of communication involving the cross section of the rural populace. The policy goal, as it is clearly visible in recent policy dialogue, put the last first through participation in mandatory areas of development.
We define sustainable rural development in terms of sustaining livelihoods, reducing poverty, protecting and regenerating environment, intergenerational justice in resource use, conservation of bio-diversity, expansion of green and bio-technologies, institutional viability, resound economic growth, social and political stability. Developing capacities for good governance underpins all participatory elements in sustainable development process.
By now campaign for sustainable rural livelihoods (CSRL) has organized a shadow climate change tribunal as a part of its series of events on climate change. The tribunal is expected to provide necessary directions on the issue of climate change afflicting the poor, especially women and child.
Of late OXFAM has undertaken extensive activities on climate change working with the government and the people. This to think of sustainable rural livelihoods. Agriculture is the key to rural livelihoods; according to the size of the farms, small and marginal farmers are the key to agricultural production. And agriculture is an interaction between people and nature
Sustainable rural development is influenced by the cultural, socio-economic and political characteristics of the community organization. Such characteristics vary at various cultural sets and sub-sets. Ad times, PR seems to be the function of the society exposed to the forces of political development. Here the individuals as policy consumers are both individually and collectively aware about their own problems and predicaments and about human rights and public affairs. PRD by implications involves all promotional activities and modern extension services tilting policy intervention to the favour of community interests. Organizationally linked both horizontally and vertically participatory institutions are effective tools for communications, networking and planning and directing all promotional and extension functions at the rural-local point.(Mashreque 2015)
According to World Bank rural development is “a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of the rural people” (The World Bank, 1975).. Some degree of Development administration at the micro level is present in all instances of decision making at least theoretically. Decision-making with regard to rural development program seems to be the functions of political leaders. Their participation in various organizations and committees is a key component of development administration.
It is heartening to note that the proximate policy officials and policy adviser mainly agronomists have given concepts notes about sustainable agriculture trough proper irrigation. Green landscapes are of course the blessings of god. All the same deep as well as shallow tube wells supplying water to land under cultivation are really producing the benefits of cost s of production. Especially during boro season . modern irrigations like deep and shallow tube wells have been installed by BADC, Krishi bank and BRD. The role of BARD as a think tank cannot be left out of equation. Based on Comilla model it has long been experimenting with sustainable irrigation with a commensurate results. It enable the implementing agencies, BRDB and Thana agricultural extensions to follow up according to policy guidelines of BARD.
The rural sector in Bangladesh continues to be underdeveloped despite the fact that it feeds its national economy. Until and unless rural economic can be improved to a certain standard any institutional intervention to develop the country will be thwarted. For this reason. Any successive regime in Bangladesh stresses the imperatives of development administration and governance at the micro-level for the implementation of participatory rural development programs. For an agro based economy it is imperative that the creation of local institutions will succeed in educating the people about the changes in the social outlook towards modern development projects in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Our local administration needs to be revamped with the components of development administration to facilitate good governance for a desirable rural transformation
To ensure sustainable rural development rural people need scope for developing local initiative. Participation as individuals in local or national programs contribute to rural development nut rural people need increasingly to take initiative rather than just wait for the national government to organize programs. So the question of involvement of the people at grass root level into production and development comes in. The government has been taking effective steps to bring all sections of the people the educated, the scientists, the technologists, the students, the political leaders, the illiterates, in other words the people of all community and classes in their respective spheres of production and development process. Thus effective participation of the rural masses is shaping their own destiny is important. Involvement of the people at all the stages of planning implementation and in organizing production and distribution system must form the basis of the rural development strategy. There should be a large scale of mobilization of the masses for participation in the building of rural infrastructure such as roads, canals, irrigation facilities, schools, horticulture, fisheries etc.
(Dr. M. Abul Kashem Mozumder, Pro-VC , BUP, Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque , Ex-professor, Chittagong University)
