SYEDA Rizwana Hasan sometimes jokingly attributes her decision to become an environmental activist, instead of a mainstream lawyer, to her failure to master 'the art of taking money from the clients.' People who have either worked with her or watched her closely, over the years, know it is just that - a joke.
After receiving her bachelor's and master's degrees with distinction from Dhaka University, she could have easily joined any of the reputed law firms in the country and also learned 'the art of taking money from the clients.'
Being a lawyer, like many, may have been a means to an end for Rizwana; however, the end was not making money. She has always been a believer of people's right to live in a health natural environment. So, she joined the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association in 1993. The reputed non-governmental organisation provided her with the platform to do what has always wanted to do - fight against commodification and exploitation of the environment.
'I did not join the traditional legal profession or the civil service,' she says. 'I have always wanted to pursue a combination of legal practice, teaching and social service for protection of the nature. In BELA I found the platform to give expression to my ideas.'
'I have also tried to make use of the court and the law, which are traditionally fearful to the people, to protect the interests of the people and the nature, as I believe the government structures are not service-oriented,' she adds.
Now, as the chief executive of the organisation, she is responsible for the overall coordination of its activities that include research, awareness raising, public interest litigation and advocacy for promoting the notion of environmental justice.
She conducted public interest litigation on various environmental issues most of which have received favourable orders from the court. She has fought against vehicular pollution, river pollution, industrial pollution, ship breaking, grabbing of wetlands, cutting of hills, unregulated mining, unplanned urbanization, commercial shrimp cultivation, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and so on.
Her cases have redefined the current notion of development that is devoid of environmental consideration. Since she is an anthropocentric environmentalist, her efforts are adding value to conventional human rights movement by bringing in the elements of environmental justice. She places people's legitimate rights at the centre of her activism.
Rizwana is an elected vice-chairperson of the Federation of NGOs in Bangladesh, the chairperson of RDRS, a leading Bangladeshi NGO, and member of other NGOs such as Nijera Kori and the Association of Land Reforms and Development. She is also member of various committees formed by the government.
Rizwana does not only work at the national level but also voices her concerns at international forums. She is a member of the executive committee of Friends of the Earth International. She is a member of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide, and also of the Environmental Law Commission of the IUCN. She is also coordinating the activities of the recently formed South Asian network of environmental activists called 'SAANS - the South Asian Solidarity'.
Rizwana's enduring fight to save the environment has also drawn the attention of the international bodies and won her quite a few accolades. She received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009 for her outstanding contribution to the protection and conservation of the environment. Recently, her name has appeared in the list of environmental heroes, 2009 of the Time magazine. She is also amongst the first five South Asian women to receive the 'Celebrating Womenhood' award (2008) given by the Creative Statement and South Asia Partnership based in Nepal.
Even BELA, the organisation that Rizwana runs, has received the Global 500 Roll of Honours of the United Nations Environment Programme in 2003 and the Environmental Award in 2007 (given for the first time that year) by the Ministry of Environment and Forest for popularising environmental law.
Rizwana also has a number of publications on environment and law to her credit, and notable amongst these are 'Laws Regulating Environment in Bangladesh' and 'Judicial Decisions on Environment in South Asia'. In addition, she is the editor of the BELA newsletter (a quarterly publication of the organisation) and also contributes to numerous national and international publications.
The colonial laws and practices of the government institutions disturb Rizwana very much. 'Asking government offices for service is treated as an offence as these offices usually use "colonial laws" as an excuse for not providing service to the people,' she says. 'Moreover, the politicians and the officials who run these offices never question why the colonial laws are not amended or changed.'
Rizwana endorses the people's movement in eliminating such colonial practices. 'People's movements are very powerful and active in India and Nepal, and we too need to create such movements here to protect people's interests.'
It is the people's movement that prevented Asia Energy from carrying out open-pit mining at Phulbari coalmine in Dinajpur, although it had the government's endorsement, she says.
'Regrettably, there was no movement in Bhabadaha [in Jessore] although about 300,000 people had been stranded in water for several years. It hardly made it to the front pages of the newspapers. But it would have been an issue of people's movement, had it been in Nepal and India.'
Rizwana primarily blames the apathy of the government officials to protecting the nature and wildlife and their attitude towards the nature for unabated anti-environment activities of certain vested quarters, like encroachment of water bodies including rivers and canals, plundering of forests, poaching and cutting hills.
Asked about mushrooming growth of ship-breaking yard, Rizwana paid deep respect to West Bengal leader Joyti Basu. 'He could say no to anti-people steps. Unfortunately, (political) leaders (and the government) in our country cannot say no to anti-people steps...They remained silent when industries and powerful quarters were polluting and encroaching water bodies...Now they are taking projects to stop pollution and reclaim the rivers.'
Bangladesh has been providing service to European countries, which need to dump about 2,172 single chamber oil takers by the year 2012, by allowing them to dump their cast-off ships that contain poisonous substances.
'They [the government] may consider it [ship-breaking] as an industry that provides raw materials for re-rolling mills and creates employment but I see it as a means of exploitation (of labour) and a source of pollution,' Rizwana says.
'How can one consider sea beaches as yard when there is no infrastructure? For ship-breaking you need dry dock with waste management facilities,' she adds.
Urging the politicians and the government here to take decisions to stop ship-breaking, she says, 'The Europeans do not go for dismantling abandoned ships, which is very expensive there, as they have to abide by the laws.'
The outcome of the environment summit in Copenhagen has disappointed Rizwana, and she is critical of the government for its stances at the just-concluded global climate summit, where, according to her, 'Bangladesh has tried to bring some funds.'
Rizwana is also critical of the previous governments for their attitude towards development. According to her, the government, which holds a notion that nothing will happen without taking expert-driven projects, always considers population as a burden and hardly takes them into confidence during planning and implementation of projects. 'The government does not seem to believe that community involvement can be helpful and all development plans require impartial cost-benefit analysis. They even do not provide information to the people,' she says.
She stressed the need for revitalising the entire system, without demoralising it and holding neutral national consultation ensuring participation of experts and community people for making the system transparent and free from corruption. 'You cannot solve the problems by organisations such as Rajuk and the Department of Environment, which have actually created the problems in the first place. Corruption has reached its peak in many of these offices. Of course, there are honest officials in these organisations but they are marginalised,' she says.
Rizwana does not believe, however, that corruption is the only problem; she also feels the existing laws need to be amended and made time-befitting. 'In many cases the laws also inspire corruption. The forest law was enacted during the British rule as a tool to collect revenue. In fact, you need to infuse wisdom. It is important how you do it.'
Mother of three children, Rizwana understands the importance of involving children in environmental movements and in the decision making process. 'They would need to make tough decisions. So, we need to prepare them.'
Asked how recognitions, local or international, have changed things around, she says, 'Recognition adds to credibility and helps to make friends as well as antagonise many persons…It makes going to many places easier, especially at the policy level and also in the international arena. It also inspires many others to work for the people.'
Rizwana is planning to work on forest and its inhabitants (people, flora and fauna).
'We need to change the attitude towards forests, wherever they are. Many consider forest as a commodity. Now it (forest) has become a tool for carbon trading depending on how much money it would be able to earn. In fact, the trees are our soul. They provide all living things with shelter, food, safety, security. They give us a sense of beauty,' she says.
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/feb/18/heroes09/05.html
