Play store
Environment experts, policymakers and civil society representatives on Monday called for a fundamental shift in Bangladesh’s national budget, urging the government to place environmental sustainability at the heart of development planning to ensure long-term economic resilience and climate security.
The call came at a roundtable discussion titled “Towards a Sustainable, Development-Oriented and Environment-Friendly Budget”, organised by GreenWatch news magazine and GreenWatch online portal at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.
Speakers said the proposed Tk 9.38 trillion national budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year reflects efforts to formulate a democratic and people-oriented budget and has received positive responses from business groups. However, they argued that it remains largely focused on conventional economic growth while giving insufficient attention to environmental sustainability.
They stressed that increasing production and expanding the economy alone cannot guarantee inclusive and sustainable development unless equal priority is given to conserving natural resources and strengthening climate resilience.
Presenting the keynote paper, environmental, energy and climate expert M Zakir Hossain Khan, Managing Director of Change Initiative, said environmental sustainability must be integrated into every stage of national planning and budget formulation.
He warned that inadequate investment in environmental protection today would result in far greater economic, social and ecological costs in the future.
“Environmental protection should be treated as a long-term investment rather than an expenditure,” he said, urging policymakers to incorporate climate resilience and ecosystem conservation into all major development initiatives.
The discussion was chaired by GreenWatch Dhaka Editor Mostafa Kamal Majumder and moderated by GreenWatch Dhaka Executive Editor Rafiqul Islam Azad.
Among the speakers were Jatiya Press Club General Secretary Ayub Bhuiyan, Ministry of Agriculture Special Officer Dr Mohammad Masud and Dhaka Shekhar Trust Chairman Motaleb Mashraki.
Participants called for a substantial increase in budgetary allocations for the environment sector, arguing that greater public investment is essential to support sustainable economic growth, strengthen climate resilience and safeguard Bangladesh’s natural ecosystems.
They noted that despite being one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Bangladesh continues to allocate far less funding to environmental protection than to sectors such as transport and communication, power and energy, public administration, education, agriculture and health.
The speakers said correcting this imbalance is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring a resilient future for the country.
They also highlighted growing environmental threats, including climate-induced disasters, river erosion, sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, deforestation and unplanned urbanisation, warning that these challenges are placing increasing pressure on the economy, public health and livelihoods.
The participants concluded that stronger investment in environmental protection is no longer a policy option but a national necessity, calling on the government to redesign future budgets so that economic development and environmental sustainability advance hand in hand.