On Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh (Part 7)

On Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh (Part 7)

Md. Amzad Hossain

Perth, Western Australia

Email:  A.Hossain@curtin.edu.au

Prelude

Goal 7 asks to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. This Goal appears to have multiple selections with diverse meanings and implications. We need to analyze the goal in the context of holistic sustainable development as well as energy sustainability issues in Bangladesh.

In order to enhance achievability of the goal the UN has comprehensively articulated the target areas. Two target areas of the goal are considered in this discourse.  Target area 7.a states that “by 2030 enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technologies, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technologies. Target area 7.b follows with “by 2030 expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, particularly LDCs and SIDS”.

This discourse seeks to interpret the target areas with in-depth discussions focusing on sustainable achievability of Goal 7 in the context of Bangladesh’s cultural and geo-environmental realities. The following questions and remarks aim to help elucidate some aspects of achievability of the goal to Bangladeshi people in general.

Why energy issue is included in SDGs?

Because energy is considered as one of the basic needs for the countries with weak sustainability in respect of natural endowments such as surface water availability, soil fertility, biodiversity, seasonality, and sustainable procreativity. Energy i.e. artificial energy such as electricity is essentially seen to be the agent for socio-economic goodness. Poverty alleviation including improved quality of life in the Third Word Countries; and worldwide advancement of industries, agriculture, transport system, and the Internet services etc. are most prominent contribution of artificial energy.

Are the above aspects of artificial energy sustainable in Bangladesh?

            No - because Bangladesh lacks finite resources for energy generation such as coal, oil, gas and uranium. Energy governance in Bangladesh is also not up to the mark to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”  

Secondly, consumption of energy alone cannot alleviate poverty in Bangladesh as poverty has its roots in the cultural and geo-environmental characteristics of the country. This is the reason why poverty elimination is neither possible nor desirable in Bangladesh, especially from sustainability point of view (Hossain, 2001).

Thirdly, Bangladesh has enough population, biodiversity and waterways to meet people’s basic industrial and transportation needs without  artificial energy (Hossain and Marinova, 2007).

Finally, electronic media including the Internet is increasingly becoming a strong agent for moral degradation resulting in social, financial and ecological crimes. Examples are numerous. The morality of the present generation is now far more anti-sustainability than the past.  The lack of core values such as patriotism, truthfulness, modesty, sociality, good political behaviors, respectfulness to nature and sustainable productivity are on the increase.  On the other hand, materialism, consumerism including meat eating, corruption in terms of digital crimes, bribes, money laundering and deceitful marketing of goods and services are rampant. This is why Malaysian former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad remarked in 1994 about Indian and American TV channels: “Today they broadcast slanted news. Tomorrow they will broadcast raw pornography to corrupt our children and destroy our culture.” Such forecast seem to have become true today because the harm has already been done to our young generation and the whole society.  And it is now up to us to undo it” (http://www.daily-sun.com/arcprint/details/129025/Satellite-TV-channels-and-our-moral-degradation/2016-04-17/).

What is the most negative implication of artificial energy for natural world that is hardly known to the general public?

The most negative implication of artificial energy for natural world is light pollution. Imperceptibly light pollution has resulted in global warming, and severe water, soil and air pollution.

The procurement of energy resources from the oil rich countries in the Middle East by America also generates irreversible negative sustainability impacts. Iraq is one example.

What are the impacts of light pollution on ecosystems?

            Artificial lighting at night is characteristically responsible for ecosystem degradation in terms of extinction of nocturnal species, marine ecology and biodiversity including plants and trees, and insects etc. Literature has it that plants and animals depend on Earth’s daily cycle of light and dark rhythm to govern life-sustaining behaviors such as reproduction, nourishment, sleep and protection from predators. Nocturnal animals sleep during the day and are active at night. Light pollution radically alters their night time environment (http://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/wildlife/).

Glare from artificial lights can also impact wetland habitats that are home to amphibians such as frogs and toads, whose night time croaking is part of the breeding ritual. Artificial lights disrupt this nocturnal activity, interfering with reproduction and reducing populations. Birds that migrate or hunt at night navigate by moonlight and starlight. Artificial light can cause them to collide with illuminated buildings and towers. Migratory birds depend on cues from properly timed seasonal schedules. Artificial lights can cause them to migrate too early or too late and miss ideal climate conditions for nesting, foraging and other behaviors (http://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/wildlife/).

 Perhaps the most well-known impact of using non-renewable energy sources is the emission of greenhouse gases, in particular CO2 and methane which contribute to climate change. They also emit a variety of pollutants that affect people’s health and the environment. Environmental impacts also come about as a result of the extraction of non-renewable resources or the disposal of the waste they generate. When it comes to the land that is being mined, in the long term these sites are left with poor quality soil and sometimes due to the chemicals used the lands and nearby water reserves end up being polluted.

The case of nuclear energy is of particular relevance here as both the extraction of uranium and waste disposal create some critical issues for which no long-term solution has not yet been found due to the radioactive nature of the ore being mined. Lastly, accidental oil spills are extremely damaging to nearby shores and ecosystems (http://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/wildlife/).

What about Renewable energy option for Bangladesh?

            Renewable energy is an energy which can be harnessed from (renewable) resources of nature - biomass, sunlight, wind, tides and currents, water falls, ocean waves and geo-thermal up-welling.

Renewable energy has its unsustainable limitations. It is generated from solar radiation, wind, tides and waves. Solar energy is only for sunny days. It is not yet economically viable in Bangladesh. It’s sustainability in terms of longevity has not yet been demonstrated. Solar PV cells also require lots of nasty chemical to make them. Westera, and Lemons. (1995).

On the other hand, the rural setting of Bangladesh is verdant. Bangladeshi villages, except those on char land (shoals), look like forest from afar. Houses are surrounded by big trees like jack-fruit, mango, black-berry, coconut, betel nut, local date, teak, tamarind, shell fruit, neem, seedy banana and bamboos. They provide households with fruits, fodder, fences, fertiliser, fuel, mats and building materials. They are also used for making boats and other household and agricultural and fishing equipment. Shade protects the households from heat in the summer and from cold in the winter, and the plants protect huts from the rage of storms and cyclones. There is rarely any household on the mainland that gets day-long sun light and un-interrupted wind flow.  It would be impractical for villagers to clear trees from their homesteads to facilitate the installation of solar PV to get day-long sun shine or to catch wind to harnessing energy (Hossain, 2001). Thus, it is clear that solar energy is only feasible in the new Char land habitats where radiation is not obstructed by big trees of the households (Hossain and Marinova, 2005, 2007).

Wind energy technology developed so far is not compatible to Bangladesh wind performances. Wave energy technology, which is yet to be developed, has enormous potential for meeting the global electricity needs. Because of this potentiality it is highly likely that the current giants, who have huge investment in the artificial energy sector, would be apathetic.

Is goal 7 then unachievable for Bangladesh?

            The goal 7 will remain unachievable unless Bangladesh can develop sustainable technologies for energy generation on one hand; and Bangladesh government can strictly regulate energy use in terms of light pollution, especially in the rural areas at night time, on the other.

            Clearly, home system solar PV and wind turbines that require uninterrupted sunshine and wind-flow are unsustainable in villages on the mainland. Community-scale energy supply projects can be installed in suitable locations in the vicinity of village households. The majority of main-land villages are located by the bank of a stream or pool of water. Village elders suggest that the water bodies would be the proper sites for the community-scale renewable energy supply. In this context, they also suggest that local NGOs can help communities implement and manage such projects (Hossain, 2001).

Can Bangladesh sustain alternative energy system’s sustainability without considerable emissions?

            Yes -  Traditional education for sustainable development (UNESCO; 2002, 2004) reveals that  the more people are educated with values education for sustainable development for attaining the state of self-reliance and sustainability,  higher is the chance for achieving sustainability by way of understanding nature or naturalism.  Naturalism can transform people to understand that natural resource base is the gift of Mother Nature. It also can transform people to be modest, simple, responsible and happy with less.

How should Bangladesh go about achieving Goal 7?

            Bangladesh can look back to traditional home illuminating system at night, especially the use of ‘Hurricane lamp’ in the rural areas. Research should be conducted for the innovation of sustainable alternatives including the use of hurricane lamp from sustainability point of view – affordability, efficiency, eye health, emissions etc. Research should also be undertaken to enabling the existing wind energy technology to generate energy with Bangladesh wind conditions. Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP) is conducting such an action research project through a PhD student with Mechanical Engineering degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka.

Concluding Remarks

            Pro-sustainability regulations on lighting in rural areas at night are urgently required. NGOs can be educated and trained to be mentors and monitoring for rural households in order to protect the nocturnal species who are sensitive to artificial light at night and are becoming extinct from the villages as the village households connected to national electricity grid keep the surrounding of their houses illuminated at night. In the absence of adequate fossil fuel, Bangladesh government can invest in research and development of energy generation from resources that are plenty in Bangladesh. Generating energy from the sea waves in the Bay of Bengal is an option with huge potential.

Standing on the brink of emerging of the technology intensive  fourth industrial revolution (Klaus Schwab, 2016), Bangladesh can see the revolution in terms of achieving SDGs in Bangladesh. The country can re-create its rich human and ecosystem-based resources to pursue sustainable development with carbon-neutral self-reliant lifestyle in harmony with its resource-base and environment. While the West has to urgently deal with energy related decarbonization, the countries such as Bangladesh can stick to their cultural heritage of carbon-neutral living to ensure future sustainability. If people everywhere lived simply as Bangladesh culture depicts, decarbonization for addressing climate change would be a reality. In conjunction with government innovation unit (GIU) at Prime Minister’s Office,  Curtin University’s action research approaches to the capacity building for the government and NGO officials and implementation of replicable SDGs model projects in various topography or landscape specific sites in Bangladesh such as that of Atgharia Upzilla in Pabna district deserve international inspection, partnership and cooperation in order to understand the pre-requisites for achieving landscape friendly sustainable development goals in regional and global context.

(to be continued with Goal 8)

References

1. Hossain, A 2001, ‘Renewing self-reliance for rural Bangladesh through renewable energy technology system’, PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.
2. Hossain, A., Marinova, D. (2007) Renewable energy: addressing environmental issues in Bangladesh, in Jennings, P., Ho, G., Mathew, K., Nayar, C. (eds) Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development in the Asia Pacific Region, American Institute of Physics, New York, pp. 9-13
3. Hossain, A., Marinova, D. (2005) Potential for Renewable Energy Technology Systems in Bangladesh Culture, Poster Presentation at the International Conference on Engaging Communities, Brisbane, Queensland

1. Klaus, Schwab (2016) The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond. World Economic Forum, Geneva.

1. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2004. Education for All – The Quality Imperative, Paris, France.
2. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (2002) Learning to Be: A Holistic and Integrated Approach to Values Education for Human Development. Core values and the Valuing Process for Developing Innovative Practices for Values Education toward International Understanding and a Culture of Peace, UNESCO-APNIEVE Source Book No. 2, UNESCO, Bangkok
3. Westera, Laura and Lemons, John (1995) (eds)  Persectives on Ecological Integrity. London,  Kluwer Academic Publishers.