Dhaka, Jan 17 (UNB) - Former caretaker government adviser Professor Rehman Sobhan has attributed environmental degradation to unchecked profit motives and market dominance, urging the establishment of a dedicated commission to tackle these challenges. “Environmental protection efforts are being hindered for the lack of proper enforcement of laws… I also called for urgent action to establish a commission dedicated to addressing environmental challenges,” he said while inaugurating a special conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) at the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka on Friday. Crony capitalism created an undemocratic attitude: Rehman Sobhan Rehman Sobhan underscored the need for collective action and suggested forming a specialised commission to address the issue effectively. BAPA President Dr Nur Mohammad Talukdar chaired the inaugural session, while Professor Dr Nazrul Islam, BEN founder and BAPA Vice-President, presented the keynote paper. Other notable speakers included Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md Abdul Latif, BEN Global Coordinator Professor Dr Md Khalequzzaman, BAPA Vice-President Dr Mostafizur Rahman, Professor Dr Md Shahidul Islam, Khushi Kabir, BAPA General Secretary Alamgir Kabir, Treasurer Zakir Hossain, and Joint Secretary Dr Ahmed Kamruzzaman Majumder. Global lenders can’t help if reserves reach $10 billion or below, Rehman Sobhan says in ERF talk Prof Rehman Sobhan highlighted how the rising cost of land, driven by market economics, is leading to the encroachment of rivers, wetlands, and forests for housing development. While acknowledging some initiatives already undertaken by the Ministry of Environment, he called for urgent action to establish a commission dedicated to addressing environmental challenges. Praising the involvement of citizens in environmental movements, Professor Sobhan noted that despite existing progressive laws, their implementation remains inadequate. Pointing to the influence of unaccounted-for wealth as a contributing factor, he stressed the importance of unifying disparate environmental platforms to create collective pressure on the government. Marginal communities must increase socio-political capabilities: Rehman Sobhan Drawing attention to past development projects, he said that the Kaptai Hydropower Project, initially envisioned as a solution to the country’s energy crisis, failed to deliver on its promises. “Instead, it displaced a significant population and caused severe environmental damage. We must refrain from pursuing projects that harm the environment,” he asserted. In his keynote speech, Professor Nazrul Islam lauded BAPA and BEN for building a substantial repository of knowledge on environmental issues over the past 25 years. He questioned whether any organisation, including the government, possesses comparable data, analysis, and recommendations. Nazrul Islam, however, acknowledged the challenges of sustaining voluntary efforts and self-funded initiatives, calling for increased collaborative support. BAPA President Dr Nur Mohammad Talukdar reflected on the organisation’s achievements over its 25-year journey while noting gaps in creating a nationwide environmental movement. He stressed the need to connect with grassroots communities affected by local environmental problems, many of whom remain unaware of BAPA’s initiatives. Following the inaugural session, the conference proceeded with working sessions. The first session discussed “BAPA and Environmental Struggles: A Political Perspective,” the second focused on “Rivers and Water Management,” and the third addressed “Air, Noise, Visual Pollution, and Waste Management.” Environmental scientists, researchers and representatives from across the country attended the conference and shared insights and proposed solutions to the pressing environmental issues. END/UNB/Corr/SAM

The recent devastating floods in the southeastern region have caused a loss of property worth Tk 14,421 crore, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD presented the findings at press conference held at the CPD office in Dhanmondi on Sunday. She also spoke on the damages and rehabilitation process in the southeastern region including Comilla, Feni, Noakhali and Laxmipur districts. CPD study on debt portfolio flags fast rising external debt as 'reason for concern' "The recent severe floods in the southeastern region caused a loss of Tk 14421 crore, which is 26 percent of the GDP. Agriculture and forest sectors suffered the most which is equivalent to Tk 5169 crore," said Fahmida. Mentioning that there was a loss of Tk 4,653 crore in the infrastructure sector, and damages to houses caused loss of Tk 2,407 crore, Fahmida also said that Noakhali district suffered the highest losses with 4191 crores, followed by Comilla district with losses of Tk 3390 crore.

Think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Thursday advised the government to prefer loan from global lending agencies that offer long-term and low-interest funding to keep the country’s economy afloat amid a global economic slowdown that has a rippling effect in Bangladesh.  The Dhaka-based think tank said in the wake of a looming food crisis and higher prices of fuel and high inflation Bangladesh needs to be extra cautious in seeking foreign funding. For such funding for the country’s infrastructure development or budgetary support it said that the government should prefer agencies like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).   The suggestions came at a press conference organised by the CPD where the independent thinktank highlighted its observations on ‘Slowdown in Global Economy and Challenges for Bangladesh--How to Tackle’ in the city. Read: No need to hike fuel price if BPC’s corruption and mismanagement end: CPD The CPD says it sees seven obstacles for Bangladesh considering the economic challenges the country has been dealing with amid falling foreign reserves and a serious energy crisis. It says dollar shortage, energy supply crisis, higher inflation, food deficit, supply chain disruption stemmed from the Russia- Ukraine war, adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic and climate change have posed real challenges before the country. It said the government should form a committee with representatives of the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Food, Ministry of Agriculture, the Bangladesh Bank and National Board of Revenue to tackle the growing economic crisis. CPD’s Executive Director Dr. Fahmida Khatun told journalists that the government should focus on energy supply from domestic sources by strengthening production capacity of the gas fields and enhancing renewable energy supply to reduce the burden on foreign reserves. She said the NBR should immediately consider removing the advance income tax (AIT), advance tax (AT) and regulatory duty (RD) on all imported essential food items to give some relief to the people amid higher inflation. She suggested that, at the same time the Bangladesh Competition Commission should take a strong stand against any business cartels by showing zero tolerance toward manipulative practices. The inflationary pressure will hamper a sustainable and inclusive pandemic recovery since the real purchasing power of many people has declined, causing further inequality, she observed. To keep the domestic economy vibrant, the CPD suggested following ‘a new consumption basket. for calculating inflation based on research on consumers’ behavior and purchasing pattern. The minimum wages should be enhanced in all industries so that workers can afford basic food, it said. Private sector companies should also consider at least 5 percent increment this year to help them cope with higher inflation.   Read: Experts at CPD dialogue want long-term measures to avoid macroeconomic crisis The distribution of essential commodities must be managed effectively and without any corruption so that the eligible people have access to these items at low price, it said. Dr. Fahmida also emphasised action against money laundering and following a national strategy for prevention of money laundering and combating financing to terrorism. Import-related recent restrictive measures should be continued to reduce pressure on forex and put focus on implementation of foreign aid projects, she said.

The government could have avoided the unprecedented hike in the fuel price by checking corruption, theft and mismanagement of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and improving the state-run agency’s efficiency, according to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). The think tank made the observations at a press briefing at its Dhanmondi office in the city on Wednesday. According to the CPD, the price of octane per litre in Bangladesh is Tk10 higher compared with price in neighbouring India while the price of diesel is higher by Tk 2. The price of octane is higher by Tk 29 and diesel by Tk 16 compared to Vietnam which is Bangladesh’s biggest competitor in global RMG market. It also urged the government to revert decision for the fuel price hike saying, the impact of the hike will have a multiplier effect on the economy. “The fuel price hike will push up the current 7.5 per cent inflation to a further higher level”, said Dr Fahmida Khairun, executive director of the CPD. Read: Writ petition challenges legality of raising fuel prices She made a presentation tiled: “Could Unprecedented Fuel Price Hike be Avoided Now?”. Former agriculture secretary Anwar Faruque , who was speaking at the event as a specialist, said the cost of rice production will go up by Tk 1000 per bigha due to the latest fuel price hike. Finally the price of coarse rice will go up to Tk 60 per kg in the coming season, he said. Considering this, the cost of rice production per hectare (1 hectare equal 3.95 bigha) will go up by Tk 4000, he warned. Faruque urged the government to immediately announce the price for the procurement of paddy in the next boro season. “Otherwise, the farmer will not be encouraged to produce rice fearing the loss which will jeopardise the food security”, he told the event. Energy expert Dr Ijaz Hossain said that it will be wise to introduce a formula and adjust the fuel price through the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC). The energy regulator is entrusted with the responsibility and the consumers remain prepared to pay higher price when price goes up globally. They will get the benefit of lower price when it comes down, he said. “If India can adjust fuel price tagging with global market, why can’t Bangladesh do it?, he asked. CPD research director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said that there is no transparency and accountability of the BPC which has a deposit of over Tk 25,000 crore with different banks. Despite such a huge deposits, why they need to go to increase the fuel price when everybody is under an economic pressure due to high inflation?, he said. BKMEA Vice President Fazle Shamim Ehsan said that fuel price will have enormous impact on the industries as it will directly hit the workers’ cost of living. If they leave their jobs due to the increased cost and go to village, the industries will suffer the most, he said. Bangladesh Jatri Kalayan Samity’s Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhory said a passenger’s monthly expense in transport will go up by Tk2100-6000 causing a huge social impact at this moment of high inflation.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has urged the government to prepare a realistic budget with a clear implementation pathway for the upcoming fiscal year 2022-23. The CPD, a think tank and research organization, also gave some recommendations for the budget focusing on the country’s graduation to a developing economy by 2026, budget implementation structure strengthening and budget allocation based on risk factors and their recovery plan. Also read:Food prices much higher in Bangladesh than global markets: CPD study The CPD disclosed its budget recommendation at a press conference, held at CPD’s office in Dhanmondi on Tuesday. Dr. Fahmida Khatun, CPD’s Executive Director, read out the budget proposals, while professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguish fellow of CPD, Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director and Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow, replied to queries from reporters about the recommendations. The CPD stressed on reforming the overall tax-revenue sector both in technological advancement and institutional capability and set a unified tax system along with justifying tax exemption facilities. After graduation, Bangladesh will face a challenge on imposing import duty, which is needed to adjust in the revenue earning plan in line with the post-LDC situation. The CPD urged more transparency, institutional accountability in public expenditure along with in general accessibility in the data of public expenditure to ensure good governance. Export incentive sector needs to reform with a unified system so that the real eligible sector can only get the incentives. The CPD urged to increase budget expenditure in education, agriculture sector, children and women health development to build a healthy and developed nation by 2030. The budget recommendations have also focused on increasing allocation for social safety nets in phases for pandemic recovery and global impact of food price hike. The recommendations said that the marginal people are very much suffering due to the pandemic, while food inflation pushing price hike makes their life miserable further. Also read: Budget implementation failure lack of available data: CPD The fixed income group and marginal people would face nutrition problems if the food becomes costlier as their income was affected by the pandemic and it is not resilient so far. The budget needs to set incentives for marginal people in different shapes like subsidies in food prices. The think tank proposed a stable exchange rate of Bangladesh Taka with US dollar as it impacted both the price hike of commodities in the domestic market and increased the price of industrial production cost. Appreciating the government strategy of pandemic recovery, CPD said the government policy is right but implementation is complex and sometimes delay the process of distribution.

Women in Bangladesh should be given greater role in making decisions on their own financial matters as part of their empowerment, a discussion was told on Wednesday. The discussion on a subject called ‘Break the Bias for a gender-equal world’ was organized by think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), to mark the International Women’s Day. Read: Women’s entry into banks and NBFIs declines amid 10% quota withdrawal Speakers at the event said women sometimes lost their control on monthly salary even, as her male family members, including husbands, often operate their bank accounts. Old women can’t always take decision on how to spend the government assistance given to them as they are dominated by male relatives, they said. Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, Chairperson of BRAC and a former advisor to the caretaker government spoke as the special guest. Alexandra BergVon Linde, Ambassador, Embassy of Sweden, Bangladesh; Winnie Estrup Petersen, Ambassador, Embassy of Denmark, Syed Nasim Manzur, Director, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and Managing Director, Apex Footwear Limited; Dr Firdausi Qadri, Emeritus Scientist, ICDDRB, Barrister Rashna Imam, Managing Partner, Akhtar Imam & Associates; Humaira Azam, Managing Director and CEO, Trust Bank; Taslima Akter Lima, President, Bangladesh Garments Sramik Sanghati and Ms Rizvana Hredita, also addressed the event. Read:Google celebrates Int’l Women’s Day with doodle Professor Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow of CPD chaired the function. Dr Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, CPD moderated the discussion. The programme were attended by a number female professionals and entrepreneurs, representatives of women’s organisations and media, heads of missions and embassies in Bangladesh and members of the civil society.

Speaker in a dialogue and launching a programme of ‘securing green transition of the textile and readymade garments sector in Bangladesh’ have emphasized policy support and easy access to green funding opportunity. The event was organized on Sunday in the city by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in collaboration with Sweden Sverige, an initiative of Sweden Embassy in Dhaka. They said the entrepreneurs have built 157 green factories in Bangladesh so far, which is the highest in a single country in the world. Read: Businesses in Bangladesh face challenges of inefficient administration, funding shortage and corruption: CPD study “The textile and readymade garments contribute 84.4 per cent of the export income of Bangladesh and employ around 4.5 million people, mostly women. Now the country achieves top position in the world by setting up the highest number of green factories,” they highlighted. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, chairman of Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, present as the chief guest in the programme. Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA), Md. Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Limited and former president, BEF and BKMEA, Nazma Akter, founder and executive director of Awaj Foundation,  Mohammed Zahidullah, chief sustainability officer, DBL Group spoke at the event. Christine Johansson, deputy head of mission and head of development co-operation, Embassy of Sweden, also spoke in the function while the programme was moderated by Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD. Saber Hossain urged specific proposals from the BGMEA and BKMEA, to include those in the next fiscal budget to support sustainable green transition of factories. He also asked labour leaders and owners to work with cooperation for developing the sector which will bring benefits to workers and owners as well. Faruque Hassan said Bangladesh achieved a significant position in the transition of green factories in the world by the initiative of entrepreneurs with huge investment, so the buyers should consider paying more as they honoured the green production. He emphasized state initiative including policy support with easy conditions for disbarment of green funds for secured and sustainable transition of green factories. Replying to a query he said, “We employed all the workers who had lost their jobs during the pandemic, if anyone left asked them to contract with the BGMEA, we would arrange a job form them.” He urged incentive and tax reduction for green factories as acknowledgement of investment in these factories. Bangladesh has 157 factories in the textile and readymade garment sector which achieved Green Factory Certificate. Of these, 47 received Platinum and 94 Gold Certificates. The objective of the programme is to contribute towards enhancement of environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral growth in Bangladesh with productive employment opportunities for women and youth. Read: CPD starts 4-day international conference on 50 years of Bangladesh Monday As part of this programme, CPD will undertake research, expert consultation, dialogue, and outreach activities. The research will examine the state of ongoing initiatives in the textiles and RMG sector of Bangladesh and make policy recommendations. In a keynote presentation, Fahmida Khatun stated that after Bangladesh's graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category in 2026, the country will have to comply with stringent compliance requirements in many areas including the environment not only to access global markets but also to remain competitive. The government, the textile and RMG sector need to have a clear strategy for accomplishing environmental and sustainability commitments in areas such as clean energy, waste management, robust climate actions, the emerging EU Green Deal, and Circular Economy frameworks, she said. The programme will explore barriers to green transformation, review existing fiscal measures, identify best practices suitable for green transformation, and build up evidence on how green transition in this industry will generate new opportunities to benefit firms workers, economy and society CPD will undertake knowledge gap analysis, data generation and research consultation, dialogue, and dissemination activities as part of this programme.

Distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Tuesday said that “Information Blindness” has been prevailing in the country. Dr Debapriya, also the member for UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP), made the remarks while addressing a discussion meeting on the use of financial information and right to information towards ensuring transparency and accountability. Read: CPD starts 4-day international conference on 50 years of Bangladesh Monday Organized jointly by the Asia Foundation, CPD and the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF), senior research fellow of CPD Towfiqul Islam Khan made the key-note presentation at the meeting held at the ERF’ auditorium at Paltan.   Debapriya said either the government or the concerned authorities could failed to perceive that information could be a supporting force. “There is also a lack of modern mindset on effectiveness of information towards optimum utilization of limited resources which is also not consistent with the moderate world,” He also opined that even such dearth in information and data is also not consistent with the development desire of the country as well as its efforts to ensure recovery from the pandemic, attaining the SDGs by 2030 and thus becoming a prosperous developed country by 2041. Moderated by ERF general secretary SM Rashidul Islam, its executive committee member and former Bureau chief of Reuters Sirajul Islam Qadir also spoke on the occasion.  Debapriya said since Bangladesh is now on the way towards graduation from the LDCs, such country needs to have “trigger indicator” to avail support from the international community if it faces any challenge beyond graduation. “So, the situation of graduation from the LDCs by Bangladesh has increased the demand for financial information by 100 times. Although the matter is acknowledged verbally, but no such action is still evident,” he said. He said after LDC graduation, sufficient support would not be available if there is no timely supply of full-fledged information. It will also tarnish the image of the country. Read: CPD for reinstating previous fuel prices During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the global production and supply chain was halted which led to the decrease in demand. Under the circumstances, the governments had to increase expenditure, especially to the lagging behind communities, through various support measures. He said even the public representatives were not fully aware of the fact as to what was the overall stimulus package amount, who were the recipients and how much amount was disbursed. It was not possible to disburse even 20 per cent of the Taka 2,500 cash support (Eid Gifts) to each beneficiary due to lack of data and information. He observed that the researchers as well as the public representatives are not getting latest information. As a result, it is not being possible to make qualitative evaluation on education, health and in other sectors.

While Bangladesh is graduating from LDC, the first and foremost priority for Bangladesh in the upcoming the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO should be on the extension of the transition period for 12 years, said BGMEA  president Faruque Hassan. “The LDC group has made a submission to the WTO for extending the timeline for 12 years. A consensus on this proposal will not only help us to sustain the growth momentum but also crucial to build internal capacity,” he said. Read:BGMEA for branding 'Made in Bangladesh' He made the remarks while speaking at a webinar on “Upcoming MC 12: Bangladesh’s Expectations and Possible Stance” organized by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Thursday. CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan presided over the session while Syed Manzur Elahi, Treasurer of the CPD Board of Trustees, Md. Hafizur Rahman, Director General, WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce, Dr. Nazneen Ahmed, Country Economist, UNDP, Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, former Member, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, and Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director, CPD attended as panelists. Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow, CPD was the keynote speaker. In his speech Faruque Hassan said trade competitiveness is going to be crucial in the upcoming days, especially for the graduating LDCs like Bangladesh. “We have to make use of support programs like UNCDF, LDCF, UN technology bank for LDCs etc. We need to make most use of these options.” Read: BGMEA, Jetro want to expand Japan-Bangladesh trade Laying emphasis on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) he said, “While we keep engaging through multilateral trade system, given the rise in regional and bilateral FTAs, it will be very difficult for Bangladesh to cope up with competitors if we cannot make our ways through to that direction.” Along with exploring potential and emerging markets, in the upcoming days, Bangladesh will have to focus on intra-regional trade block, he added. The BGMEA President also stressed the need for capacity building for trade negotiation. “We have to work on our internal capacity building as far as trade negotiation and economic diplomacy is concerned.”

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has suggested the government to reinstate the earlier prices of fuel considering it ‘a strategic commodity’.  “We recommend the government to reinstate the previous rates of fuel as an immediate step to maintain stability,” said Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.  Read:Fuel price hike a fresh blow to Covid-hit economy: Experts The social think-tank body arranged the press briefing on the impacts of petroleum fuel price hike.  Fahmida said that the hike in fuel prices has pushed the masses towards an unbearable situation and created a pressure on overall stability as many things are linked to fuel prices. CPD distinguished fellow Prof Mustafizur Rahman, director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem and other directors spoke on the occasion.  Prof Mustafizur Rahman said the decision to raise fuel prices is unethical from all points of views-economic, social and political.  “People have been struggling to survive the Covid-19 impacts as their incomes have come down. At this stage, such a step is not a positive move for the economy,” he told reporters.           He also said the 26.5 percent increase in bus fares against the 23 percent rise in fuel price is totally  unjustified  when fuel covers only 40 percent of the total cost of a bus.  In that calculation, maximum 10 percent bus fare could have been increased, he added.  Dr Golam Moazzem said the government could easily cover its possible losses of Tk 7,200 crore without increasing the prices by withdrawing 34 percent taxes on petroleum import.  Read:Fuel price hike: transporters to go on indefinite strike from Friday He noted that the government has a plan to earn Tk 7808 revenue from the taxes on import of petroleum fuel.  “If the taxes are withdrawn, the income will not come. Otherwise, there will be no loss on the part of the government, but people will get a big relief,” he added.