Utilizing Geo-strategic Natural Resources in Bangladesh

Global geographic and geo-strategic interests are uprising day by day. Political economy for people is under menace now which brings a haphazard's for society, economy and environment. Our thoughts on mass people, resources management, ecological resources, geo-graphical dynamics of natural resources are conflicting due to resource-curse' and rent-seeking model. On the basis of geo-graphical resources in Bangladesh, Researcher Haroun er Rashisd publish a book on "Economic Geography of Bangladesh'' from University Press Limited in 2005.

Author elucidates in this book - economic transition since liberation, Geographical Setting, Population Resources, Agriculture-Crops, Animal Farming, Livestock, Forestry( hill forest, natural mangrove forest, planned forest and Sal forests), Fisheries (rivers, estuaries, sundorban, lake, beels), Mining and Quarrying , Industries (food, Beverage, tobacco, jute textiles, wood products, chemicals, printing and publishing, petroleum and rubber), Construction, Utilities (Electricity, Gas and Water Supply), Transport, Trade, Housing, Public Administration and Service, Banking and Insurance (Financial Intermediation, Professional and Miscellaneous Service, International Transfers and finally Socio-Economic and Environment Issues in Bangladesh.

This book explains various aspects of geography are first explained and then followed by an exposition of the economy through the national accounting system. The manner in which the national product is formed is first explained and then the fifteen major sectors are discussed with the aid of many tables and maps. The essential economic and geographical features of all the twenty statistical regions are analyzed in this volume.

This book implies that the institutional and technical capacity is essential for the exploration and extraction of natural resources. Various research studies have noted that the implementation of the natural resources exploration policy and the Environmental Protection Act have been bogged down due to some technical and institutional limitations. Petrobangla, a fully state owned corporation and its subsidiary companies, such as BAPEX, BGFCL and Titas Gas are responsible for the distribution, development, exploration, production and , transmission of gas, mineral and oil resources of the country. Ministry of Energy, Power and Mineral Resources deals with the overseas gas, petroleum, mineral and power sectors in operational, policy and regulatory matters.

In general, populations are both producers and consumers. Geography illustrates spatial distribution of physical phenomena and human activity. Researcher clarifies and analyses the human activities of economic consequences in a defined spatial context. Writer Haroun er Rashisd critically mentions the - arsenic in Bangladesh, poor sanitation, cyclone, floods, soil degradation and riverbank erosion.

Author discusses the natural and man-made pressure on cultivable land and changes in land utilization in Bangladesh. Apart from that, seasonal migration, emigration to other rural area, emigration to urban centres, and emigration to countries are explained in this research based manuscript.

Oil, gas and mineral exploration are the sources of environmental pollution, drilling accidents, tanker catastrophes, equipment failure and extreme level of natural impacts such as activity of seismic, fields of ice and cyclones. The main threat is associated with the spills and oil blowouts, gas and various other chemical substances and compounds. So, lack of inter-sector coordination is not a positive sign for environmental development and natural resources management in Bangladesh.

It is important to mention that, for effective implementation of the Policy and Act for various operational rules requires detailed and complementary operational rules, many of which have not yet been formulated in Bangladesh. One of the major causes of inefficient and poor use of the present policy outline and rules on environmental protection and natural resources management is lack of inter-agency coordination.

Government of Bangladeshis − development Policy emphasizes on maintaining environmental balance and overall development through environment protection, sustainable use of natural resources and ensuring environmentally sound development.

The author addresses university-level students but provides facts and analyses which will be of interest to development planners, urban planners and environmental economists.

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