Badrul Ahsan ;
Experts underscored the need for an inclusive urbanisation policy and strong political commitment to make cities sustainable by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They said the rapid urban population growth in the country will make it difficult for Bangladesh to attain the 11th goals of the global agenda.
They also suggested measures to reduce the overburdened urban population from mega city Dhaka through planned decentralisation and developing its adjacent towns with civic amenities and job opportunities.
“Bangladesh needs to go for rapid decentralisation, reducing internal migration with a special focus on the growth of all the cities and towns with socioeconomic opportunities to attain the 11th goal of the global agenda,” said Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), a private think-tank.
“Rapid urban population will hinder makeup of a city as per SDGs. It will also compel the government to be engaged to solve its city dwellers problems rather than giving attention to other sectors,” he added.
“Besides, coordination among different government bodies and strong city governance are also vital to ensure better use and management of the country’s urban spaces,” he opined.
Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), A Atiq Rahman also put his opinion on the issue suggesting the country should have a urbanisation policy to keep everything under control and govern the cities smoothly.
“If there is an urbanisation policy, the problems would not have been so acute. Over-population has now become a big headache for the government. In such a situation, achieving SDGs may become tough to the country,” he said.
Rahman also urged the government to make a policy, address the root causes of rapid urbanisation and then go for remedy.
“Time is running out. We should decide now on what we will do for the achievement.”
However, at the Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September, 2015, UN member-states adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which included a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.
The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. The MDGs, adopted in 2000, aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality and access to water and sanitation.
Enormous progress has been made on the MDGs, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets. Despite this success, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all.
The new Global Goals, and the broader sustainability agenda, go much further than the MDGs, addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people.
Experts underscored the need for an inclusive urbanisation policy and strong political commitment to make cities sustainable by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They said the rapid urban population growth in the country will make it difficult for Bangladesh to attain the 11th goals of the global agenda.
They also suggested measures to reduce the overburdened urban population from mega city Dhaka through planned decentralisation and developing its adjacent towns with civic amenities and job opportunities.
“Bangladesh needs to go for rapid decentralisation, reducing internal migration with a special focus on the growth of all the cities and towns with socioeconomic opportunities to attain the 11th goal of the global agenda,” said Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), a private think-tank.
“Rapid urban population will hinder makeup of a city as per SDGs. It will also compel the government to be engaged to solve its city dwellers problems rather than giving attention to other sectors,” he added.
“Besides, coordination among different government bodies and strong city governance are also vital to ensure better use and management of the country’s urban spaces,” he opined.
Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), A Atiq Rahman also put his opinion on the issue suggesting the country should have a urbanisation policy to keep everything under control and govern the cities smoothly.
“If there is an urbanisation policy, the problems would not have been so acute. Over-population has now become a big headache for the government. In such a situation, achieving SDGs may become tough to the country,” he said.
Rahman also urged the government to make a policy, address the root causes of rapid urbanisation and then go for remedy.
“Time is running out. We should decide now on what we will do for the achievement.”
However, at the Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September, 2015, UN member-states adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which included a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.
The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. The MDGs, adopted in 2000, aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality and access to water and sanitation.
Enormous progress has been made on the MDGs, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets. Despite this success, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all.
The new Global Goals, and the broader sustainability agenda, go much further than the MDGs, addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people.
