Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Saturday urged political parties to provide a clear roadmap and implementation plan to protect the environment in their election manifestos.
“You [youths] should hold your elected government accountable to prevent environmental pollution,” she said while speaking at the fourth and final session of the four-part manifesto dialogue programme titled ‘Road to Green Manifesto: Dialogue with Political Parties’, organised by the Department of Environment in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The adviser highlighted initiatives undertaken by the ministry during the interim government and emphasised that the next elected government must continue these efforts.
She stressed prioritising air pollution, noise pollution, industrial pollution, and river pollution, along with implementing concrete programmes to address them.
She noted that 13 percent of air pollution in Dhaka comes from brick kilns, while road dust, uncovered construction materials, vehicle exhaust, and burning of waste are also major contributors. “A scrap policy has been formulated to curb black smoke from vehicles, and now it needs proper implementation,” she said.
The adviser added that Savar has been declared a ‘degraded airshed’ and that legal obstacles have been overcome to reduce the number of operating brick kilns from 106 to 30. “This year, Dhaka has recorded fewer days at the top of the air pollution index compared to the previous year,” she said.
She also mentioned an ECNEC-approved project worth thousands of crores of taka to expand the capacity of the Eastern Refinery to reduce air pollution.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan further said that the Noise Pollution Rules 2025 have been enacted to curb noise pollution, and separate rules have been introduced for forest and wildlife conservation. Thousands of acres of occupied forest land have been recovered, she added.
Referring to Dhaka’s rivers and canals, she said, “Dhaka has four rivers and twenty canals. Small-scale initiatives have helped reduce waterlogging this year.”
She urged young people not to lose hope and stressed that environmental protection must be carried out systematically.