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Paper ID: 36 Author: Shaila Joarder Title:

Sustainable Development and the Urban Environment in Developing

Countries: the experience of Dhaka Abstract

Dhaka, the Capital of Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated

cities of the world - a megacity with its population passing the 12 million mark

and growing at the rate of 2000 people a day towards a projected total of 21

million by 2015 (UNCHS 2001, p.300). Mass poverty and population growth

pose major challenges to achieving sustainability in this complex city. The

Government of Bangladesh has developed comprehensive environmental

policies since the Rio Summit in 1992, however these policies have not been

integrated with the urban planning framework, in theory or practice. The

Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP), prepared in 1995 should

have played a significant role in improving urban living conditions. However, it

is a flawed document in concept and reality, failing to bring global and local

concerns together and to acknowledge sustainability protocols generated by

the Rio declarations, though initiated after return of the parliamentary

democracy in 1990. Such plan for the developing countries need an

environmental planning and management concepts that shifts from

technocratic approaches to performance based sustainability approach

while ensuring good governance. Achieving sustainability in the urban

development of Dhaka resides in reconciling the so-called Green and Brown

Agendas while conserving its environmental resources and maintaining

economic development. The key difficulties in moving towards such development lies in the lack of inter-relationship amongst government

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agencies, NGOs and aid agencies and a drastic change in the political culture

of this city as well as the nation (Transparency International 2002).

Key words: Dhaka, megacity, environmental policies, DMDP, Rio declarations, sustainable urban development, technocratic approaches,

participatory approach, political culture, good governance.

Population growth and mass poverty in the cities of the developing

world pose major challenges for achieving environmental sustainability. These

cities are faced with fundamental problems in sustaining urban life, providing

food and shelter, generating employment, reducing risks to health, controlling

air and water pollution, building basic infrastructure, reducing waste and

conserving remnants of the natural environment.

The concept of sustainable development in the developed and the

developing countries varies widely. Concern in the developed countries tends

to focus on protecting the urban environment. Concern in the developing

countries tends to focus on meeting human needs and sustaining life itself.

Cities of the developing world are places of risk and physical degradation to

the human population. Citizens face a daily struggle for existence, and the

pressure to seek short-term economic benefits at the expense of the

environment is intense (McGranahan et al 2001).

The declarations of the Earth Summit - the United Nations Conference

on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 - together

with Agenda 21, Local Agenda 21 and the Habitat II Agenda, have set the

framework for a new form of world development (Hall & Pfeiffer 2002). The

Habitat II Conference in Istanbul, 1996 and the World Summit on Sustainable

Development in Johannesburg, 2002 specifically focused on the pressing

needs of the developing countries (UNED Forum 2002; WSSD 2002). As

cities are significant sources of resource depletion, pollution, waste generation

and biodiversity loss, the need for sustainable cities is ever increasing to

maintain ecological as well as human health. However, achieving

sustainability in developing countries is blocked by a range of concrete factors

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in the everyday lives of people that are more immediate and daunting than

abstract concerns such as social objectives, ecological objectives, economic

objectives and improving systems of governance. Most developing cities are

struggling to survive. They need effective policies, programs - and action. As

the geography, economy and culture of these cities vary widely, so must the

policies and programs for achieving sustainability.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and a sprawling megacity of over 12

million people, has for decades, attracted landless rural people who see it as

a place of refuge, a potential place to secure a job and to gain access to

services that are not available in their home villages. The result is an

enormous population with inadequate access to the basic amenities of urban

life. Bangladesh has formulated policies and programs for sustainable

development in the decade following the Rio Summit. However most of the

attention has been paid to conserving and developing the ecological

environment, the urban environment has not been identified as a clear priority.

The current state of the environment of the city - pollution, poor waste

management, and lack of health in the slums - over shadow any economic

development achieved so far. A clear definition of the problems and a solution

for them could be sought through sustainable development.

Bangladesh achieved independence from Pakistan in 1971 after

decades of political struggle and a terrible War of Liberation. As (Jahan 2000,

p.3) observes The birth of Bangladesh in 1971 was the first instance of an

ethnic-linguistic nationalist movement succeeding in creating a new state in

the post-colonial period. With a land area of 144,000 sq. km. and a population

of 133.4 million in 2001, Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in

the world (World Bank 2003, pp.234-235, 242). Bangladesh is also one of the

least urbanized countries with a few town centres and the capital Dhaka are

amongst the urbanized areas. According to the World Economic Forum

Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Bangladesh is ranked 86th out of

142 countries, with an ESI score of 46.9. This assessment is based on

measures of environmental systems, reducing environmental stresses,

reducing human vulnerability, social and institutional capacity, global

stewardship (World Economic Forum 2002).

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Demographically Dhaka was the 31st largest city of the world in 1985

and was predicted to be the 15th largest city by the year 2000 with a

population of 11.16 million (United Nations 1987). In fact, the official

population reached 12.147 million in 2000 (UNCHS 2001, p.300). Dhaka has

since decisively entered the ranks of the worlds Megacities. The historical

pattern of population growth and population density of Dhaka are shown in

Table 1.

Table 1. Historical Pattern of Urban Growth and Densification of Dhaka.

Year Period Approximate area

(km2)

Population Density

(per km2)

1600 Pre- Mughal 2.6 - -

1700 Mughal Capital 12.6 900,000 7,149

1800 British town 20.7 200,000 9,653

1867 British town 20.7 51,600 2,491

1911 British town 15.7 125,700 8,012

1947 Provincial Capital 31.1 250,000 8,044

1961 Provincial Capital 72.5 550,100 7,586

1971 National Capital 103.6 1,500,000 14,479

1981 National Capital - 2,200,000 -

1991 National Capital 256 3,500,000 13,672

1998 National Capital 300 7,000,000 23,333

Source: Zaman & Lau 2000, p.143

Dhaka as the capital city of Bangladesh enjoys primacy in the national

urban hierarchy (Islam 1996) in terms of function and in terms of population. It

has the highest urban population concentration - 39% of the total urban

population of Bangladesh (UNCHS 2001, p.300). Administrative headquarters

and civil employment, financial and banking services, international commerce

and business, educational, cultural and research facilities are all concentrated

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in Dhaka. Despite the Governments policy to decentralize, most of the

industries are located in and around Dhaka. Moreover a free trade industrial

park - the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) - has been established close to the

city that provides jobs for the urban poor. Informal sector, however contributes

to 60% of all employment of the city.

Dhaka accordingly attracts a huge number of migrants from rural areas.

Due to its central location, the city is well linked to its hinterlands and other

parts of the country. Hence in addition to being a permanent attraction to

migrants it attracts hundreds and thousands of daily commuters. Nearly one

fifth of the total population of the country is within the daily zone of influence of

the capital (Islam 1996). Frequent permanent and circular migration (rural-

urban-rural) has made the socio-cultural environment of Dhaka resistant to

conventional notions of progress, as the rural poor adopt urban culture very

slowly. Islam (1996, p.196) called Dhaka a premature megacity to describe

this socio cultural state of Dhaka.

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Figure 1. Detail Area Map and Regional Maps of Dhaka.

High rates of migration and subsequent unemployment have led to endemic

poverty - 50% of the urban population lives below the poverty level (Leautier &

Subrmananian 2000, p.300). the definition of poverty being the inability to

attain minimally adequate standard of living, that includes necessities such as

food, water and clothing for physical survival and participation in everyday

social life (United Nations 2002, p.40). The proportion of the population in

poverty, and the disparity in income between Dhaka and Bangladesh, are

shown in Figure 2 and Table 2.

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Figure 2. Incidence of Poverty in Bangladesh and Dhaka

Source: ADB study on urban poverty of Bangladesh, adapted from Leautier & Subramanium

2000, p.19

Table 2. Income Disparity in Dhaka Metropolitan Area.

Source: Leautier and Subramaniam 2000, p. 20

This huge migrant population has an important bearing on the physical

growth of the city. The present area of Dhaka city is 360km2. The Metropolitan

Area, also defined as the RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakha) area

occupies 1,528 km2. The RAJUK area consists of the city, four municipal

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areas, one cantonment board plus few urban centres and rural suburbs

(Zaman & Lau 2000, p.142). Urban centres are usually located on strips of

elevated land of 6.0-8.0m height (Khan 1993, cited in Islam 2000, p.155). The

increased pressure on land in the city centre has pushed the low income

workers and the poor to poorly serviced areas on the periphery of the city.

DMDP (1995, vol.-1, p.43) predicts that the fringe of the urban core could

accommodate an additional 1.29 million people provided its capacity is

increased three fold and 52% or 4.26 million people would be directed to

these new developments.

The spatial structure of the city is a function of many factors such as -

natural topographical features; the historical pattern of settlement; the

morphological pattern of infrastructure, roads, blocks and lots; the

spontaneous growth of informal settlements; the formal urban land market;

housing and resettlement policies; the transportation system; and industrial

location policies. Dhaka was established on the north bank of the river

Buriganga and confined by the rivers Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakhya and Balu

(Islam 1996, p.191). Physiographically there is a very small amount of flood-

free land and virtually all flood-free land close to Dhaka has already been

developed. Keeping the existing and future expanded areas free of flood and

water logging is a challenge for RAJUK. The 2004 flood has posed the

challenge even more acutely. The old city centre Old Dhaka, runs along the

northern bank of the river Buriganga. This area is highly congested with mixed

land use patterns. The roads are narrow and congested, the physical

infrastructures are overloaded and inadequately maintained (United Nations

1987, p.11). The 1995 Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan has proposed

the development of satellite cities - designated as new towns- 20 km beyond

the existing built-up area. However, as Zaman and Lau (2000, p.141) have

remarked, these towns are like ghost towns, driven by the false hope of

attracting real-estate developers and buyers who may need to wait for several

decades to recoup their investment on these barren land.

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Figure 3. Dhaka Metropolitan Structure Plan, 1995-2015

Source: DMDP 1995, http://www.rajuk.org

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Like other parts of Bangladesh, Dhaka is suffering from a number of

environmental problems. In its strive to reduce poverty, it often carries out

activities at the expense of the environment and without knowing the impact of

their actions. Promoting development at the cost of environment, and

considering environmental conservation a luxury, have been convincingly

challenged by the sustainable development movement over the past decade

(Lee 1994; Islam 2000, p.35). It is increasingly being recognized in

Bangladesh, as in other parts of the world, that for development to be

meaningful and sustainable over a longer period, environmental concerns

must be integrated with all development activities. Specific environmental

actions are required for a radically improved development path (SoE 2001,

p.2.1). As Islam (2000 p.36) argues, economic growth may actually suffer as

a result of environmental degradation. An example could be Dhaka city where

Poisonous air, uncollected garbage, lack of open space, dying and polluted

water bodies, congestion, noise, traffic jam are all making life in Bangladeshs

capital increasingly difficult. This situation threatens to seriously discourage

foreign investments as well as the continuing support of donor agencies. The

World Bank has already insisted that Dhaka has to improve its environmental

performance for continued support from the Bank (World Bank 1999).

The environmental problems of Dhaka are mostly the outcome of high

in-migration and unplanned urbanization. Sultana (2000, p.1) has commented

that, with its growth, Dhaka has become a showcase for almost every urban

problem imaginable, most of which are due to over density of population. Un-

planned growth has involved (i) land use alterations, (ii) inadequate shelter,

water/sanitation, and other facilities in slums and other urban poor areas, (iii)

degradation of community ambient environment, and (iv) little control of

industrial waste emissions, which often greatly compounds the problem of

environmental pollution due to inadequate management of human and

domestic wastes (SoE 2001, p.2.21). Selected urban environmental indicators

for Dhaka compared to the other urban areas of Bangladesh are shown in

Table 3.

Table 3. Selected Urban Environmental Indicators for Dhaka, 1996.

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Source: ADB Urban Poverty Study, adapted from Leautier & Subramaniam 2000

The environmental aspects that dominate the urban environment of

Dhaka, as identified by Islam (2000, pp.156-63), are the physical destruction

of nature, water supply, sanitation and drainage, waste disposal, air pollution

and health. Dhaka has lost extensive natural resources in the process of

urbanization. Political decisions further contribute to this destruction. The early

victims of this process were the khals, the canals of Dhaka, most of which

have disappeared and the few remaining are continuing to disappear under

built structures and illegal encroachments. The low-lying areas, lagoons and

wetlands on the fringe of the city are constantly being occupied for future

development by land filling. This has led to water-logging which is

exacerbated by the poor drainage capacity of the sewerage system especially

in the rainy season. There are allegations that the greater Dhaka flood

protection dam, completed after the disastrous flood of 1988, is also causing

water-logging as the embankment retards the natural drainage process (Islam

2000, p.158). The devastating flood of 2004 has again proved this statement.

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Like the canals, wetlands and water bodies of the delta landscape, the park

systems and gardens are disappearing gradually.

Equally competing with this is the ever shortage of Water Supply and

Sewerage system of this city. The water supply system; an extensive

production system of collecting water from groundwater reserve (90%), meets

only 50% of the total demand (Islam 2000, p.158). In the dry season,

November to March, water shortages become so acute that the Government

has had to deploy the army to prevent water theft in Dhaka (Lawson 2002).

Deep well water extraction leads to lowering of the ground water table from

6m. to 12 m. at places over the past seven years; sometimes even at a rate of

1m. to 2.5m. on average per year (Shahadat & Hai, 2004).

The sewerage system is equally inadequate. Most slum dwellers use

latrines located near their settlements, or the nearest surface water source, or

defecate in the open-air. These human waste disposal methods are the

fundamental cause of poor hygiene in the slums and informal settlements.

Garbage is openly dumped in the streets and water bodies and 50% of the

solid waste produced everyday are never collected (Islam 2000, p.159). The

City Corporation now encourages private initiatives for waste management.

Such private level Initiatives have proven that people are in fact ready to pay

more for better services (Changemakers 2002). Community-based collection

of solid waste in the capital city provides waste collection service from house-

to-house and transports the waste to nearest municipal bins or demountable

containers. In the absence of bins or containers, the waste is taken to nearby

open collection points. These community based initiatives have led to a clean

neighborhood but at the same time given a dirty look to the city, due to non-

removal of waste from secondary waste collection points like bins and

containers. The collected garbage is left open, often as landfill, untreated

contributing to health risk, air pollution and pollution through leaching.

However due to subsistence nature of the economy, a certain amount of the

waste are recycled at very informal level. The representatives of Bangladesh

at the Johannesburg summit in 2002 urged that, instead of dumping bins, a

small plot in every ward should be used as a transfer station. It is not that the

citizens need to be compelled to dump their garbage properly at designated

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places or bins; it is the weak enforcement of law that encourages them to act

illegally. For example, the Government has banned the use of polythene bags

in Dhaka since 1 January 2002, an initiative which was welcomed as well as

strictly implemented by the citizens (The Daily Star, 26 December 2000).

The surface water quality of the rivers running through Dhaka is

another major environmental problem for the city. The three rivers flowing

through the metropolitan area receive a large quantity of waste from the city

directly or indirectly. The untreated chemical waste from the tanneries and

nearby industries, as well as municipal drains carrying untreated sewage and

sullage, are the prime pollutants of surface water. However, a substantial

amount of drinking water for the city comes from the Buriganga River. In the

Buriganga, the Dissolved Oxygen level becomes very low or non-existent in

the dry season and the river becomes toxic (SoE 2001). In the Buriganga river

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) often exceeds

the tolerable limit in the months of January, February, March and December,

The Sitalakhya River flowing east of Dhaka is not as affected as the

Buriganga. The Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan has mapped Water

Quality Protection Zones along the Sitalakhya system as constraints to future

urban development (DMDP 1995 vol.I).

Figure 4. Water Quality of the Buriganga River at Dhaka, 1998

Second Draft 3.24

Source: SoE 2001, p. 3.24

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Dhaka has the worst air pollution due to vehicular and industrial

emissions. Industrial areas are located in and around Dhaka city contributing

to the low air quality. The lead concentration in Dhaka has exceeded the

tolerable limit for human population & almost ten times above the government

safety standard set by the DoE.. About 50 tons of lead is emitted annually with

seasonal variation and emission reaches its highest level in the dry season.

The lead in air of Dhaka city is 463 nanogram per cubic meters, the highest in

the world. In contrast, lead concentrations are 383 nanogram in Mexico City,

360 nanogram in Bombay and only 70 nanogram per cubic meter in Los

Angles. (SoE 2001, pp.3.34-3.36).

Fig. 8, presents measured ambient concentrations of SPM, NOx, and

SO2 in Dhaka collected at Farmgate area, which is located in a higher traffic

zone in the north central portion of the city and classified as commercial/mixed

use area. Table 10 compares air pollution levels in Dhaka with WHO and US

standards.

Figure 5. Ambient Concentration of Selected Pollutants in Dhaka, 2001

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Note.

CO Carbon monoxide HC Hydrocarbons

O3 Ozone NOx Nitrogen oxides

SPM Suspended Particulate Matter S02 Sulfur dioxide and

Pb lead

Source: Karim 2001

Table 4. Air Pollution in Dhaka compared to WHO and US Standards.

Source: Karim 2001, p.3

The effect of air quality on human health generally occurs as a result of

exposure to the different components of air pollution. Studies show that the

mean level of pollutants in the blood of people actively working in the

transportation sector are much higher than the accepted level (Islam 2000).

Child Development Centre of Dhaka Children Hospital measured it to be 7 to

16 times higher than the limit determined by the US Center for Disease

Control and Prevention (SoE 2001, pp.3.38). The SoE also documents the

fact that Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Dhaka city are beyond

tolerable limits. Some of the compounds are known carcinogens. The overall

scenario, however, has improved a lot since two stroke low combustible

engines are banned on the streets of Dhaka since January 2002.

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Achieving sustainability at the urban level depends upon the theory and

practice of planning as a technical procedure and as reform initiative. The

Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP), prepared in 1995 and the first

attempt at planning the city since 1959, should have played a significant role

in improving urban living conditions. However, the DMDP is a flawed

document in concept and reality - flawed in concept, because it was prepared

without reference to the Rio declarations, Agenda 21 and sustainability

concerns; flawed in reality, because it has proved to be incapable of

implementation. Although initiated in a hopeful period in the recent history of

Bangladesh, following the return to parliamentary democracy in 1990 after 15

years of military rule (Jahan 2000, pp.7-26), the DMDP is conspicuous in its

failure to acknowledge the sustainability protocols generated by the Rio

Summit, to which the newly elected government were signatories.

The problems of achieving a significant measure of sustainability in the

urban development of Dhaka are formidable. The principal policy challenge

resides in reconciling the so-called Green and Brown Agendas to improve the

health and well-being of the vast population of the megacity, while conserving

its environmental resources and maintaining economic development. Without

the latter, the greatest problem facing Dhaka - mass poverty - cannot be

addressed; without the former, life in the city will be life-threatening for all.

Significantly, for all the official acceptance of sustainability, few

problems of urban sustainability have been addressed to date. The DMDP could have played a decisive role in this regard. Although formulated without

reference to Agenda 21, the DMDP does identify a number of major issues

concerning sustainable urban living conditions in Dhaka, such as poverty

alleviation, shelter for the poor, health and sanitation, controlling water and air

pollution. But, in the nine years since release of the metropolitan plan, these

issues have not been addressed in any effective way. Although the Structure

Plan and the Urban Area Plan have been adopted by RAJUK, the Detailed

Area program has only seen one plan prepared to date, for the Dhaka-

Narayanganj Demra triangle. The DMDP is an abstract framework that

suggests a possible future for Dhaka, not a clear, measurable program of

action. It outlines future requirements and spatial patterns but does not set in

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place prescriptions, programs or priorities. In the meantime, the population of

Dhaka has increased by more than 2.5 million people (DMDP 1995 vol I,

pp.34,72; UNCHS 2001, p.300).

Many of the suggestions set out in the plan appear unrealistic or

impractical. For example, the shift from a monocentric city to a polycentric city

will depend upon a totally new metropolitan road pattern and mass transit

system. Apart from the first section of the eastern artery, the Progati Sarani,

which provides a new link from the CBD to the Airport, none of these

infrastructure projects has been implemented. The proposal to build a light rail

network is based on a plan to relocate sections of the existing heavy rail line-

but this will involve large-scale land resumption and removal of informal

settlements, adding considerably to the cost and feasibility of this proposition.

Similarly, the subway scheme for central Dhaka- modeled on the Calcutta

metro of the 1980s- poses formidable technical challenges as a sub-surface

system in a flood-prone city. The plan recognizes that there is a lack of

coordination among the public implementing agencies, but does not attempt

any suggestions or policies that would lead to coordination, and other

imperatives of good governance. A large amount of the funds that have been

proposed for implementation of the DMDP yet needs fund allocation.

However, budget allocations to different sectors of the urban improvement

programs are listed in Table 5.

Table 5. Variations in Capital Expenditure by Development Sectors Development sector Allocated

resources/

funds (%)

Flood protection and drainage 29%

Transport proposals (mainly roads but including some rail, water & airport

proposals)

16%

A similar amount is planned for housing largely for better off including

estates, new townships and staff quarters.

16%

Water & sewage 11%

Energy (electricity) 6%

Institutional development, mainly new Govt. offices 6%

Communications 4%

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Health & welfare facilities 4%

Housing and infrastructure development for lower income groups including

slum, sanitary and environmental upgrading

3%

Education including training institutes 3%

Investment in commercial and industrial development, recreation forms a

minute part of the total budget.

< 1%

Source: DMDP 1995 vol. II, p.22

The DMDP follows the planning model as classified by McGranahan et. al.

(2001, pp.84-85) Its analyses and policies have been made by higher

authorities in a top-down approach. Though the plan anticipates the

introduction of community participation in the Detailed Area Plan phase of the

planning process, this phase has not been implemented in any meaningful

way. The lack of community involvement is a complex political and

administrative issue, deeply embedded in the political history of Bangladesh

and the culture of corruption which has flourished since independence (Blair

2000; Transparency International 2002). Deicisons are largely influenced by

foreign consultants, the World Bank, ADB and NGOs. Despite significant help

from the developed countries, Dhakas aid development programs have failed

to alleviate poverty and environmental deterioration which is common to many

Third World situations. Hence it is likely that planning model would be flawed

in such circumstances and not contradicting with this, the DMDP has fallen at

the first hurdle of implementation.

According to Choguill (1994, pp.26-28) successful implementation of

urban development projects such as the DMDP need to overcome the

following constraints: organizational issues (i.e. an effective institutional

setting to ensure coordination among different planning and implementing

agencies); resource scarcity (i.e. adequate supply and capable delivery of

resources, both monetary and technical); lack of cultural understanding

(development projects tend to employ foreign consultants who often fail to

grasp the cultural settings and inherent problems of the host country); over-

reliance on technology and advanced infrastructure (i.e. use of too advanced

technology, making the development program a means to westernize and

modernize regardless of real needs and maintenance capabilities); exclusion

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of the target population from the planning and implementation process (i.e.

exclusion of local knowledge and reluctance to test the technocratic

assumptions of the planners); and the political environment (i.e. decisions

influenced by political figures and administrative heads though they may have

little knowledge of the subject, and little willingness to share power with

people). In any case the first priority should be to formulate and implement the

detailed area plans to its effect and ensuring good governance and co-

ordination amongst the implementing agencies. Other huge impediments to

orderly urban development and plan implementation are embedded in the

political culture of the city and the nation (Transparency International 2002).

For Dhaka, the environmental planning and management structure of

the future must embrace the fundamental recommendation of the Habitat II

Agenda to integrate top down and bottom up planning processes. NGOs and

related organizations that are currently working at the grass roots, in initiatives

such as slum improvement and waste management, need to be empowered

so that their activities are not piece-meal, short-lived interventions but truly to

build a living city.

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