Improving Environmental Governance: Role of Active Citizenry

1. Improving Environmental Governance:Role of Active Citizenry S. RizwanaHasan Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh & Chief Executive, BELA

2. Context • Bangladesh inherited a colonial legal structure that promoted feudal ownership concept and allocation with absolute rent fixing and receiving authority (forestry, fisheries) • The feudal system was abolished in 1950 and the ‘estates’ were acquired by the State • The concept of ‘ownership’ remained unfettered; resources that are not privately owned are vested and managed by the government agencies • Public agencies became feudal over the management of public resources devoid of public • Management system continues to be “use-oriented” to harness maximum economic benefit • Colonial laws and institutions yet form the central components in the management of environmental resources • Pollution control laws are more recent enactments

3. Laws and Policies Laws: • At present, there are about 210 laws relating to environment  • This however, does not suggest a long tradition of environmental law making NOR were the objectives “conservation oriented” or “environment oriented”  • There are areas where substantive laws are yet to be promulgated • Environmental justice principles (precautionary principle, Polluter Pays Principle, Sustainable Development, have no express recognition in domestic laws) • Nevertheless, the conceptual and functional interpretation of the existing laws can provide a readily available statutory system to promote an equitable environmental order • Special Courts to deal with environmental offences Policies: • There are about 60 policies, strategies and action plans pertinent to environmental administration • Policies being recent documents contain more progressive notions   • Policies, however, are mere administrative documents, ad hoc and are not enforceable

4. Major Activities • Legal Assistance • Raising Awareness • Community Mobilization • Research & Publications • Networking-National, Regional, International Level

5. Country of Rivers… The only river flowing through the capital has been declared biologically dead

6. City has seven rivers flowing in and around • Yet depends on groundwater for potable water supply (%) • Ground depletion alarming (in some places 53.75 metres between 1991 and 2008) • planning to switch to surface water • Not feasible as pollution level is too high • Moving to rivers 23 kilometers away from the City • Yet, tanneries continue operation despite legal fight for the last 21 years • Hazaribagh area- 5th most polluted place affecting 160,000 people (The Top Ten Toxic Threats: Cleanup, Progress, & Ongoing Challenges, Green Cross Switzerland, Blacksmith, 2013) • Dhaka worst liveable City (Economist Intelligent Unit)

7. Promises to protect urban wetlands have not been kept

8. Culture of Impunity: Money Talks

9. Salinity has intruded into 100 rivers and affecting over 6,200 hectares of farmland (equivalent to 7,140 football fields) on an average annually Source: Soil Resource and Development Institute 17% of agricultural land is used for shrimp cultivation for export

10. Largest Mangrove faces threats from Coal Plant No public hearing, concerns brushed aside

11. Ship Breaking: Dumping of Waste

12. The Toxic Industry on the Beach Hazardous material Unit Bangladesh Asbestos t 79,000 PCBs (mainly cables) t 240,000 ODS (mainly polyurethane foam) t 210,000 Paints (metals, tributyltin (TBT) and PCBs) t 69,200 Heavy metals t 678 Waste liquid organic m3 1,978,000 Miscellaneous (mainly sewage) m3 107,000 Waste liquids inorganic (acids) t 775 Reusable liquids organics t 675,000 Source: The World Bank, 2010 Ship Breaking and Recycling Industry in Bangladesh and Pakistan

13. Poverty – the Selling Point

14. After the pronouncement of judgment on 5 and 17 March 2009, 99deaths and 70grievous injuries have been officially recorded

16. Challenges (Contd…)

17. Challenges (Contd…)

18. Challenges (Contd…) Good genie vs evil genie

19. “The industry is never going to change if we don’t push it. The pressure only comes when the government begins to show some commitment in this. So far the rules aren’t very tight, and we want to change that. The problem already has the court’s word, now we have to keep pushing. And we’ll keep pushing until we get what we want.” Quoted in: SHIPPINGWATCH November 2013

20. Where there is a will, there is a way… • Lack of political commitment • Institutional weaknesses (capacity-commitment-merging of identity) • Lack of mechanism for impartial assessment • Limited scope for people’s involvement in decision-making • Culture of Impunity • Non-accountability/mala fide of the implementing agencies • Absence of bylaws • Non-recognition of traditional rights and practices

21. Eroding Confidence in the system • Judiciary has kept the hopes alive… • Upheld environmental rights of the common people (led to formation of environment courts) • Wetlands have been declared to be restored (money can’t do it all) • National River Protection Commission (rivers are to be freed) • Government directed to regulate powerful industries as that of ship breaking, shrimp farming • Persistent polluters have been directed to close down units • Tanneries to relocate (repeated extension of time) • Impunity … under consideration

22. Thank you