February, 2012

Sustainable development and architecture is a co ordinated term, and describes the techniques that are environmentally conscious. Architecture is an area where one can find constructions that are environmentally viable. So Sustainable architecture is decided by the areas of sustainability and by pressing the factors for the political issues of the world. Sustainable architecture thus helps to reduce the negative effect of buildings on the environment by improving the efficiency and by moderating the utilization of energy, development space and materials. The whole concept of sustainability rests on the aim to ensure that the decisions taken today do not impediment the efforts of the future constructions. The actions that we take towards environment today are the results of tomorrow. So sustainable architecture is a  [...]

When we talk of sustainable development, then the first idea that conjures up in our mind is how it would affect the countries in the world. Amongst the many countries where sustainable development has come into focus, Bangladesh comes as a place where this has been extensively discussed. The eighth most populated country of the world, Bangladesh has the highest population density and has around 65% of its demand for energy being met from biomass fuels that are available traditionally. The country has formed its first National Energy Policy where the rules helped to pave the way for the private sector involvement in the development of energy and also management. This gave the stimulation to achieve higher levels of efficiencies in energy and also helped in reducing the GHG emissions. The entire structure promised a sustainable energy future for the remaining energy lacking people of the country. Today Bangladesh is the country which lacks electricity. Though there is a potential for a lot of renewable energy sources in the country, the amount they have contributed to the supply of electricity is very insignificant. Sustainable energy systems have renewable energy as a very important part as they are seen to emit very little greenhouse gas when we compare them to the fossil fuel related energy systems. But to improve these kinds of sustainable energy systems, it is required that we have proper settings and strategies for the entire world. There have been efforts wherein the steps taken by Bangladesh to fulfill strategies for renewable development are observed. It is seen that the country could do better in sustainable energy strategies, by having a national sustainable energy strategy. In this matter, the Clean Development Mechanism falling under the Kyoto Protocol is very important as this could help in energy sustainability in the country. The sustainable development process in Bangladesh is becoming difficult due to the mismanagement of natural resources and also the lack of a correct understanding of environmental issues. Thus the sustainable growth is not much in the country. So if the country focuses more on water issues, land degradation, climate change and the loss of biodiversity then the problems of actual sustainable development would be dealt with. The poor are very badly affected by the way environment is getting degraded and there is absolutely no proper access to natural resources and environment. The Environment and Sustainable Development Cluster is actually playing an important part in facilitating main line sustainable development in the country. Thus it is integrating the concept of maintaining a balance in the environment as a major feature of policies and development planning. This aspect is maintained by focusing on the natural resource management, conservation of biodiversity, managing land and water, improving urban management and also governing the areas of sustainable development. Sustainable development in Bangladesh is going to newer scales of late and it will not be long before Bangladesh is able to make a difference in this sector.