Practices of Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development -Nazmunnaher Nipa

Environmental protection is required for long-term development. Industrial pollution, forest degradation, ozone layer depletion, and the release of greenhouse gases all contribute to global warming and climate change, which have a negative impact on the environment and human health. There is a need for biodiversity conservation, wetlands protection, and pollution prevention; promoting ecological balance enables sustainable development. Bangladeshi Constitution contains several provisions for environmental protection. Environment Protection Act, Wildlife Preservation Act, Biodiversity Conservation Act, Water and Air Pollution Prevention Acts, and so on have been enacted. The judiciary plays an important role in environmental protection. The United Nations Organization passed several UN conventions, including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Protection and the UN Convention on Biodiversity. Every year on June 5th, the world celebrates World Environment Day.
The concept of sustainable development has made society conscientious while also recognizing the role and importance of environmental factors as well as the functions and services provided by the environment. Sustainable development must be considered when establishing the line of action at the level of the entire communitarian process, establishing requirements for information about the long and short term goals that are addressed in all five domains that have an impact on the environment.
Major practices of environmental protection for sustainable development

Wetland conservation:
Wetlands are complex ecosystems that include a diverse range of inland, coastal, and marine habitats. They share characteristics of both wet and dry environments and exhibit enormous diversity due to their origin, geographical location, hydrological regimes, and substrate factors.
The practice of protecting endangered plant and animal species and their habitats is known as wildlife conservation. Wildlife conservation aims to ensure that nature is preserved for future generations to enjoy, as well as to recognize the value of wildlife and wilderness lands to humans. Many countries have government agencies dedicated to wildlife conservation, which aid in the implementation of wildlife-protection policies. Various wildlife conservation causes are also promoted by a number of independent nonprofit organizations. Because of the negative effects of human activity on wildlife, wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice. The assessment and economic valuation of ecosystem services should focus on the benefits to the local community and their livelihoods.

Conservation of biodiversity:
This refers to differences in the biological communities in which the species lives, the ecosystem in which the communities exist, and interactions between these levels.Diverse biogeographic zones, such as lakes, deserts, coasts, and estuaries, reflect ecosystem diversity.The primary cause of biodiversity degeneration is habitat destruction and fragmentation, which leads to species movement to other habitats where they struggle to adapt. Another major reason is widespread hunting of wild animals and overexploitation of wild plants and trees.The conservation of biodiversity is the planning and management of biological resources in such a way that their widespread use and continuous supply are ensured while maintaining their quality, value, and diversity.
The following steps for biodiversity conservation have been proposed by the World Conservation Strategy:
1. Conservation of endangered species.
2. Extinction can be avoided through careful planning and management.
3. Preservation of food crop, forage plant, timber tree, livestock, animal, and wild relative varieties.
4. Identification, preservation, and protection of wild relatives habitats where species feed, breed, nurse their young, and rest.
5. International trade in wild plants and animals is regulated.

Forest protection:
Forests support life and livelihood activities by providing a variety of ecological or environmental services.Forest conservation is the practice of planting and maintaining forested areas for future generations benefit and sustainability. Forest conservation also aims for a rapid shift in the composition of tree species and distribution. The removal or destruction of large areas of forest is referred to as deforestation. Deforestation occurs for a variety of reasons, including natural disasters, urbanization, mining, and so on. We need to protect forest for our betterment.
Pollution prevention:
Pollution prevention protects the environment by conserving and protecting natural resources while also boosting economic growth through more efficient manufacturing in industry and less waste disposal in households, businesses, and communities. Many other pollution occurred in our environment like water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution etc.Pollution prevention aims to reduce the risks to public health and the environment posed by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.
Environmental laws and regulations:
Increasing industrialization and a lack of waste treatment are causing a major water pollution problem in many parts of Bangladesh, affecting aquatic ecosystems and the people who rely on them for a living. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has a well-developed set of environmental policies, Acts, and Rules dealing with industrial pollution of water, soil, and air. Some of environmental laws and regulations are:
l Water Pollution Control Ordinance, 1970
l Environmental Pollution Control Ordinance, 1977
l National Environmental Policy, 1992
l National Environmental Management Plan, 1995
l The Environmental Court Act 2000
l The National Water Policy, 1999
Overall, the policies and legislation in place to protect water from industrial and other effluent are well-designed and comprehensive. The Environmental Conservation Act and Rules, as well as the National Water Policy, contain adequate provisions for dealing with industrial pollution. This includes safeguarding water quality, monitoring effluent discharge, zoning regulations for new industries, and strengthening the regulatory system for agrochemical pollution control (UNEP, 2001). The Department of Environment (DoE) is currently working to improve water quality monitoring and estimation of pollution loads in rivers and watercourses through the Bangladesh Environment Management Program (BEMP) and the Sustainable Environmental Management Program (SEMP), as well as to strengthen the institutional arrangements that will allow this to happen. There have also been initiatives such as the creation of EIA Guidelines applicable to a variety of sectors, including flood control and drainage.However, there are few initiatives aimed at addressing Bangladesh’s serious problem of water resource degradation. The Department of the Environment has no guidelines for cleanup and no timetable.
Environmental protection is currently a major area of international cooperation and regulation that has a global or cross-border dimension. The persistence, purpose, and intertemporal nature of environmental problems necessitate global preventive actions. For sustainable development we need to protect our environment precisely.

The author is a Student, Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University.