Mostafa Yousuf

The question posed by the bureaucrat reflects not only the depth of his ignorance but also reveals the general mindset of our policymakers.

Just over a year ago, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) adopted a new Detailed Area Plan (DAP), introducing height restrictions for buildings in a bid to enhance Dhaka’s liveability.

The Bangladesh Climate Change Trust was supposed to get back in 2016 the Tk 538 crore, plus the accumulated interest, it deposited with the then Farmers Bank. However, it has so far received just Tk 74 crore after around seven years.

A recent study has found a surge in harmful microplastics in sea salt produced over the last couple of years in the country.

The Ecnec yesterday approved a project to construct a medical college, hospital and nursing college partially on a wetland in Chandpur despite Planning Commission’s observation that the project cost may rise because of the nature of the chosen site.

Workers under supervision of the Public Works Department (PWD) officials yesterday cut down trees to make space for a housing block for parliament officials and staff near Shahid Shahabuddin Road in the capital’s Agargaon without authorisation from relevant authorities.

The new Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar railway line, which cuts through three forested areas, is likely to obstruct the free movement of the critically endangered Asian elephants that use these forests as corridors.

When rapid unplanned urbanisation has been engulfing the green coverage of Dhaka, a praiseworthy initiative has been taken to create the country’s first ever urban forest in Purbachal Residential Area of the capital.

Bangladesh’s two-decade-long quest to put in place a system that can process 100 per cent of rawhides generated during Eid-ul-Azha continues owing to the lower-than-required capacity of the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate (STIE).

A consumer was allegedly forced to pay Tk 1.7 lakh to a team of Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) in Chattogram city.

Plastics are silently piling on the environmental miseries of Bangladesh, one of the most climate change-vulnerable countries in the world.

Though the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has been allocated Tk 1,639 crore in the national budget 2023-24 -- a Tk 282 crore increase from the previous year’s budget -- the government did not allocate any fiscal resources to deal with the environmental threats, including the rising temperature and natural catastrophes.

Four Great Hornbills that were rescued from traffickers in Chattogram’s Baskhali upazila have been taken to captivity in Chattogram Zoo in violation of Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act-2012

Kamal Hossen is a recently retired professor at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science of Chattogram University. In a conversation with The Daily Star, he emphasised the importance of the conservation of mangrove forests.

Coastal residents at great risk of cyclones as mangrove forests cut down, leased and grabbed for ‘development’

The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) has taken up a project to enhance local salt production so that the country becomes self-reliant in meeting its demand for the seasoning.

The lush greenery of Dhaka is slowly disappearing, and in some instances the perpetrator behind this devastation is none other than the Dhaka South City Corporation.

Forest department officials have shown dead exotic birds of an aviary in Chattogram as alive in documents allegedly for six years embezzling the money meant for bird feed.

Nur Alam, 60, a seasoned trader of Bangabazar, is still traumatised by the fire that took place there 28 years ago, in the same way as the recent one. During that time, it took him only a year to bounce back. However, this time he is doubtful whether that can happen.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the capital’s building-regulation authority, has found that 683 buildings in eight zones of the capital are using their basements to store flammable items, violating building-construction rules.