An assessment of the new wetland law of Bangladesh

Our latest law on the protection of wetlands, ie, Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Conservation Act 2026 aims to change the regulatory landscape for tourism practices in the haors. A look into the environmental harms of our prevalent tourism practices and the law’s provisions can paint for us a picture of how it can shape the haor tourism industry in the coming days.

Bangladesh is home to around 373 haors, mostly concentrated in the north-eastern zone of the country. Due to their temperate weather and serene beauty, they have attracted a continued hike in tourism. The increased traffic, compounded by poor management and governance blind spots, has created a double-edged sword that threatens irreparable damage to the wetland ecology as well as the eventual wane in tourism revenues.

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The implications of the novel penalties and rules are manifold, and if implemented well, they have the prospect of effectively controlling the degradation of the wetlands. The classification of the new offences, such as encroachment, land filling, and unauthorised mining, directly carries immense weight for tourism behaviour in the wetlands.

To begin with, Houseboat tourism has become common, and the sheer number of them poses a significant threat to water quality, flora, and fauna. Reports of uncontrolled plastic littering, engine oil discharge and chemical leakage have crowded popular media, along with the use of shampoo and detergents directly in the haor water. On top of that, noise pollution from the houseboat generators and motorised engines disrupts the natural habitat of fish and wildlife, driving them away. According to recent trends, the haors are suffering from overfishing, use of electric shocks and poison baits, and illegal hunting of birds, which is causing sharp declines in local fauna. Cutting down wetland trees is disrupting the ecological balance, while unregulated construction is leading to the obstruction of natural water flow and increased sedimentation that can potentially result in the permanent modification of the landscape.

Since 1992, Bangladesh has been a party to the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, yet it took us around 34 years to enact legislation specifically designated for the preservation of wetlands and their flora and fauna. While there was a portfolio of laws regulating various components of wetlands, such as water and forest land, there was no one law that governed wetlands as its subject matter. The Act establishes the Haor and Wetland Development Department of Bangladesh (HWDDB) under section 4 as a permanent department under the Ministry of Water Resources, although it needs to be noted that the Department existed since 2016 by operation of government notifications. Amongst other powers, it has the legal power to provide opinions on developmental projects planned by any government, private, or autonomous body. Any such projects within the haor and wetland boundaries must be accompanied by the formal opinion from the DBHWD to obtain a regulatory permit, based on the evaluation of its potential effects on biodiversity, water flow, and local livelihoods per section 14. The Act also authorises the government to take  a number of protection measures such as declaring certain areas as ‘protected zones’ (section 12), issuing ad-hoc ‘protection orders’ (section 11) and removing environmentally harmful infrastructure (section 12) as emergency interventions.

The most notable change, perhaps, is the new offences and penalties prescribed under the law. Under section 13(1), the Act prohibits certain acts such as the extraction of water dangerously, illegal land use, the disruptive construction of infrastructure, polluting activities, the extraction of natural resources, hunting of protected animals, destruction of swamp forest, fishing by dangerous methods, and resource extraction that hinders animal and fish reproduction. The penalties for the acts have been formulated in the schedule of the Act, with maximum imprisonment of 2 years, and a maximum fine of 10 lakh Taka. Moreover, as a means for deterrence as well as relocating the cost of mitigation, the authority can now impose direct liability for damage caused to the haor ecosystem on individuals under section 15.

The implications of the novel penalties and rules are manifold, and if implemented well, they have the prospect of effectively controlling the degradation of the wetlands. The classification of the new offences, such as encroachment, land filling, and unauthorised mining, directly carries immense weight for tourism behaviour in the wetlands. As many of the offences are cognisable and non-bailable, they can have a serious deterrent effect on the potential offenders. Direct ban on water and soil pollution ensures that the tourists cannot escape the repercussions for littering the haor water, and boats need to have internal management of waste to prevent any discharge in the water. Additionally, the new law puts a blanket prohibition on acts that violate a protection order issued by the government, failure to comply, or aiding any offences. Apart from government actions, private citizens can report environmental offences, but complaints must be forwarded by the Director General of the HWDDB for formal legal proceedings per section 22.

However, the new law comes with certain ambiguities and missed opportunities. The ‘opinion’ to be obtained under section 14 does not seem to have a binding effect as no sanction is prescribed for its non-compliance. Moreover, like many other environmental laws in Bangladesh, the executive holds the ultimate power to give a go ahead to any criminal proceeding to proceed.

Despite these concerns, the new legislation is clear in its goal to strengthen environmental compliance through executive and prosecutorial pathways. It needs to be paired with proper environmental monitoring and awareness to reach its goal. Only through national goodwill and citizen awareness can the new law make a difference in the precious environment of our wetlands.

The writer is lecturer in law, East West University.