Ensure eco-correct investment

The government should ensure environment friendly investment for sustainable development of the country, said Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) chairman yesterday.
“The government has to take environmental issues seriously so the country can achieve sustainable development. It should also make sure that both the local and foreign investors remain conscious about environment,” said Prof Muzaffer Ahmad.
“Industrialisation is essential for a country, but it has to be in a planned way so it sustains,” he said, adding that industrialisation without taking into consideration environmental issues can pose serious threat to any country.
He was speaking at a seminar on Managing Environmental Sustainability in Business organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) at its auditorium in the capital.
He said many industrial plants are not conscious about environment and cause serious harms to the climate of the country that eventually leads to pollution, flood and other natural disasters.
Referring to the gradual rise of sea level due to global warming, he called upon everybody to get prepared to face the environmental challenges in future.
The TIB chief stressed ensuring a better coordination between different ministries to protect the environment.
Matiur Rahman, editor of the daily Prothom Alo, urged the government to implement the existing policies including installing effluent treatment plants (ETPs) in industrial areas to protect the city's surrounding rivers from further pollution.
He also called upon the government to include economists and environmentalists in the disaster management committee to get better suggestions to protect the environment.
Sabbir Ahmed, a fellow member of ICAB, presented the keynote paper at the seminar, which was also attended, among others, by Nasir Ahmed, president of ICAB.