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Friday, March 19, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Srinking water in rivers



Srinking water in rivers
 
 
 
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Shrinking overseas labour market



Shrinking overseas labour market
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Continued BCL excesses, a crying shame for AL, govt



Editorial
Continued BCL excesses, a crying shame for AL, govt

THE clash between rival factions of the Bangladesh Chhatra League at Rajshahi University on March 18, which left at least eight BCL activists injured, underlines, yet again, the failure of the ruling Awami League to rein in its associate organisation for students. The Chhatra League has constantly hogged the headlines – for the wrong reasons, needless to say – since the AL-led government assumed office in January 2009. In the first few weeks, BCL activists were seemingly on a campaign to rid the campuses of different educational institutions across the country of their political rivals through violent means. Then, once they had established complete domination over their rivals, they turned against each other.
 
 The infighting continues till date. The internecine clashes, as BCL insiders were quoted as saying in a report front-paged in New Age on Friday, are mostly over control and share of money generated from rent-seeking, extortion, tender manipulation and 'admission business'. The AL leadership, including its president Sheikh Hasina, has time and again warned the BCL troublemakers of organisational and legal actions. More than 200 leaders and activists of lower units of the Chhatra League have been expelled, some of its university and college units have been disbanded; however, these actions have had very little impact on the BCL troublemakers. Worryingly still, of late, the AL leadership has by and large remained mostly silent over the BCL excesses – no expression of concern or condemnation, no warning – although incidents of BCL infighting over extortion, tender manipulation, admission business, etc have marked a surge.
   
The police have, meanwhile, appeared reluctant to take any action against the BCL troublemakers. In fact, in some cases, the law enforcers were accused of abetting the rowdy BCL elements. The inspector general of police was quoted in the March 17 New Age report as saying that the police 'will go heavy-handed against the criminals wherever they breach laws… go tough against any violator of laws and take action… file cases and take other legal steps.' Thus far, there has been very little evidence or indication that the police view the BCL excesses as 'crime' or 'violation of law'.
 
Nor has there been any action against any policemen for failing to maintain law and order although in most cases of campus violence took place very much in the presence of the police. As we have written in these columns before, decisive and demonstrative actions – both organisational and legal – are imperative to rein in the rowdy elements in the Chhatra League. Regrettably, neither the Awami League nor the government has thus far shown the requisite resolve in this regard. Worse still, they increasingly appear to have conceded to, if not given indulgence to, criminal actions by BCL activists.
   
The AL leadership needs to realise that continued BCL excesses and atrocities not only undermine its authority and control over the student organisation but also lends credence to the suspicion that its ultimate design is to make the Chhatra League an outfit of gangsters rather than an organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of students' interests, as the student fronts of the left-leaning political organisations. Hence, it needs to come up with effective steps to revamp the Chhatra League and reorient its exponents, both politically and culturally.
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Mahmudur Rahman on Din Bodol



Mahmudur Rahman on Din Bodol
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Sundarbans lacks expert hands to protect precious wildlife



Sundarbans lacks expert hands to protect precious wildlife
 
Dhaka, Feb 8 (bdnews24.com) --- The Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest situated in southwest Bangladesh—lacks skilled manpower, particularly veterinary surgeons, to manage and take care of its precious wildlife resources including many endangered species such as the iconic Royal Bengal Tiger.

Despite many government initiatives, there has been no headway made to recruit conservation experts and veterinary surgeons ensure protection of the biodiversity of this unique world heritage site, a senior forest official told bdnews24.com.

The forest is already vulnerable to the onslaughts of climate change and rising sea level threatening to decimate its rich wildlife, says Tapan Kumar Dey, conservator of forest directorate.

It bore the burnt of recurring cyclones and tidal surges that wrought havoc on the forest's wildlife that includes the Bengal Tiger, now on the verge of extinction.

Forest officials said the Sundarbans is suffering from shortage of workforce. Some veterinary surgeons should be appointed and hundreds of posts lying vacant for management and monitoring of the forest should be filled to efficiently conserve the forest.

State minister for forest and environment Hasan Mahmud last week said in parliament that at present 1,282 posts are vacant at the department of forest.

Of those vacant posts, some 759 are possible to be filled up through direct appointment and 523 can be filled up through promotion, he said.

For years now, experts have voiced concern at the deteriorating condition of the forest with many of its rare flora and fauna being on the verge of extinction. They have called for initiatives both at government and private levels to protect the forest.

In 1999, UNESCO designated some 32,400 hectres of Sundarbans forest as a world heritage site and an important sanctuary of wildlife.

The Sundarbans is the home to 50 species of mammals, 320 species of native and migrant birds, 50 species of reptiles, eight species of amphibians, 40 species of fishes and 334 species of plants.

Forest and environmental officials said the Sundarbans is divided into four ranges with 16 stations. There are 80-90 camps, each manned by only three forest employees while only 10-15 people work at each station.

Chief executive of Wildlife Trust Bangladesh professor Anwarul Islam lamented the indifference on the part of government in appointing veterinary surgeons to take care of ailing animals.

It is pity that veterinary surgeons have to be called in from Cox's Bazar's Bangabandhu Safari park in case any tiger falls ill.

"Human beings usually look down on animals and wildlife while there is no strict law to punish anybody for killing a wild animal, including tiger," he said.

Prof Islam stressed the need for raising public awareness in wildlife conservation.

Under a project, the forest division/department in association with WTB is working to address the tiger-men rivalry and monitor tiger movement, he said.

Admitting the shortage of manpower, chief conservator of the forest directorate Abdul Motaleb said there had been no veterinary surgeons attached to the forests.

The government has formulated a work plan for 2009-2017 which includes Sundarbans management assistance project worth Tk 19 crore, development of communication network and rehabilitation project costing Tk 6.5 crore and development of infrastructures in Sundarbans project worth Tk10 crore.

Besides, an initiative has been taken to improve Sundarbans enviromental livelihood security under the auspices of USAID at the cost of Tk 108 crore.

The government is keen to implement all these projects to conserve the forest and protect the tiger population, forest and environment secretary Mihir Kanti Majumdar said.

Majumdar told bdnews24.com, "Skilled manpower is being created and a team has already been trained to capture sick wild animals for treatment by using tranquiliser gun."

He said a recommendation has been sent to establishment ministry asking for creating more posts, including that of veterinary surgeons, for sustainable management of the Sundarbans.

Besides, the government has taken steps to amend the existing forest and wildlife conservation laws.

Chief forest conservator Abdul Motaleb said a proposal for amending the wildlife law has been sent to the law ministry with a provision for maximum five years in jail and Tk 50,000 fine for killing wild animals.

"But under the proposed law, no action can be taken against killing of tigers in mass beating in human habitation as thousands of people are involved in it. Creating public awareness can only avert the situation," he said

There were one lakh tigers in the world in 1900 and the figure has now dropped to only 3,200, according to conservation experts.

Forest division and environment ministry officials said over 120 tigers were killed in Bangladesh since independence while 925 tigers were killed across the globe since 1994.

There are some organised groups of poachers in each village surrounding the four ranges of the Sundanbans, informed sources said.

They mix poison with food, gun down tigers and deer and smuggle out the animal hide to foreign countries where they are sold at exorbitant prices.

Bangladesh's elephant trails grow faint
 
Dhaka, Feb 21 (bdnews24.com) – Bangladesh's centuries-old elephant trails, the natural pathways made and used by the Asian pachyderms, are being gradually whittled away as humans encroach across them.

As these unique animals suffer their foraging grounds to shrink too, elephant attacks on humans become more frequent, which in turn further threatens the endangered mammal's dwindling numbers.

At present the number of elephants stands at between 250-350 in 11 forests of the country, forest conservator (wildlife and nature conservation circle) Tapan Kumar Dey says.

Another 80-100 elephants move across the borders from Myanmar's Arakan and India's Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura states.

There are another 90-100 captive elephants in zoos and circuses.

Dey says elephants have suffered serious loss of habitation because of human encroachment inside the forest over the last few decades. Loss of their long-used trails also disorients the animals.

"The elephant trails are being wiped out by human habitation and road construction, leading to a crisis of their food and water," Dey told bdnews24.com.

In Chittagong, Khagrachhari, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Mymensingh and Sylhet the age-old trails have drastically shrunk.

The forests of Mymensingh, Sylhet, Chittagong and the hill tracts were all elephant sanctuaries once upon a time. Now these endangered mammals are found wild only in the forests of Chittagong and the hill districts. Even here, their habitat is fast disappearing.

Three major elephant trails—two extending from Chunti-Naikkhongchhari and Rangunia-Rajstholi in Chittagong's southern forests and another ranging from Teknaf-Cox's Bazar-Naikkhongchhari in the north of Cox's Bazar—were once well-trodden by the animals all year round.

But elephants can no longer roam freely along these once-familiar tracks due spread of local habitations, establishment of Rohingya camps, construction of Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway, and 24-hour vehicular movement in the region.

"The sanctuary of our elephants is shrinking day by day. Attack of wild elephants has increased because they are losing their habitats and natural trails," Ainun Nishat, adviser of International Union for Conservation Nature, told bdnews24.com.

"The tracks that elephants used for foraging, passing through them five times a year on average, are now being taken up by humans. Now, the elephants are seen on these trails just once a year," said Nishat.

CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Environment and forest secretary Mihir Kanti Majumdar has said the government is acting to conserve forests and natural habitats to protect wildlife.

"Initiatives are being taken to amend environmental, conservation and wildlife laws," Majumdar told bdnews24.com.

Plans have also been taken to deal with wild animal attacks, he said.

A father and son were killed most recently in an elephant attack in December last year in Bandarban. Three people were killed in Teknaf just months before that.

A policy will be formed to protect elephants and also to compensate those who have suffered losses, Majumdar said.

Conserving forests, planting trees for elephant food, following the wildlife act and increasing public awareness can help counter elephant attacks, suggested Anwarul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Wildlife Trust.

'ACTION RESEARCH'

A project called 'Action research for conservation of Asian elephants in Bangladesh', started in 2001 with the assistance of US Fish and Wildlife Service. Its first phase was successfully launched up to 2003, which created much awareness of conservation issues.

Nishat said there were plans to launch the second phase.

In the meantime, a monitoring cell should be formed at the forest department especially to tackle elephant attack situations, said the IUCN adviser.

They could form groups to drive away elephants from human settlements. This would include training and equipping officials and locals for taking proper steps during attack, he said.

According to IUCN, there are around 35,000 to 50,000 elephants in 13 countries worldwide. Around half of them live on the Indian subcontinent.
 
 
Experts fear unique gibbons may disappear
 
 
Dhaka, Mar 19 (bdnews24.com) — The number of gibbons, listed as the most endangered species of primate in Bangladesh, has plunged from 3,000 to just 300 over the last two decades, wildlife experts say, while the existing population is at grave risk from continuing loss of their forest habitat.

Experts believe gibbons, a highly social species of small ape that attract people with their exceptional look and behaviour, may disappear from Bangladesh altogether.

The gibbon, recognised as at risk around the world, is the most endangered species in Bangladesh. Experts say eight species of apes and monkeys are at peril from habitat loss and climate change. The gibbon is the most endangered among these eight.

Despite this, no government or non-government surveys have ever been undertaken to determine their exact population in Bangladesh.

However, forest department conservator Tapan Kumar Dey told bdnews24.com that wildlife officials estimate there are just 200 to 300 gibbons remaining at present throughout the country.

According to the forest department and Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, gibbons are found mostly in the forests of greater Sylhet in the northeast and the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast of Bangladesh—and also in India, Myanmar and China.

Professor Md Anwarul Islam, executive chairman of the WTB, told bdnews24.com on Thursday that the number of gibbons had fallen from 3,000 to 300 in 20 years.

He said the main reasons were disappearing habitat and scarcity of food, and expressed concern that the small number of still surviving gibbons might soon be extinct.

"Gibbons are totally depended on trees for their food and shelter. Their way of life is hampered if even parts of the forest in which they live become tree-less as they move around the forest through the treetops."

The small apes with exceptionally long arms are masters of their primary mode of locomotion, brachiation, or swinging from branch to branch, at speeds as high as 56km/h (35 mph). They can also make leaps of up to 8m (26 ft), and walk with their arms raised for balance.

They are the fastest and most agile of all tree-dwelling, non-flying mammals.

Gibbons are active during the daytime. They sleep in the high branches of trees and eat mainly fruit. They also like green leaves, flowers and insects.

Female gibbons give birth to offspring every three years in the winter season. The white male babies gradually turn black as they become older, at 6-7 years, while the females are a lighter colour.

Islam said about 50 gibbons live in the Lauachhara forest in Sylhet and another 80 to 90 live in the Kaptai National Park.

But in other areas, these unique animals are being divided into much smaller groups, through habitat loss, which threatens their ability to survive.

"National programmes must be launched to protect them. The public must be made aware of their plight and killing or hunting down the endangered animals must be stopped," said the conservationist.

Forest conservator Tapan Kumar Dey says, "We are determined to conserve the endangered species of gibbons."

"The government has already taken measures to protect forests and wildlife."

He also said the forest department was launching programmes to create public awareness "to save the animals."

"Forest authorities have taken a stern position to impose the existing laws," he added.

However, many question whether the existing laws are enough to save critically endangered species like the gibbon.

The Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation Amendment) Act of 1974 provides the basic framework or guidelines for the conservation of wild animals.

Some initiatives have also been taken under projects such as the National Conservation Strategy and the National Environment Management Action Plan.

But priority actions focusing primarily on endangered animals are absent. The dearth of knowledge and awareness among officials and poor enforcement of existing laws also undermines conservation efforts, say conservation groups.

"The government must take immediate measures to protect our forests. Deforestation has endangered almost every species of wild animal in bangladesh," Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Paribesh Bachao Andolan (Save the Environment Movement), told bdnews24.com.

 


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