Crises of waste, biodiversity loss in Dhaka – New Age BD

Report on Dhaka’s Urban Waste Management Crisis and its Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Urbanization and Environmental Strain

Dhaka, one of the world’s most densely populated and rapidly expanding megacities, is confronting a severe environmental, social, and public health crisis rooted in inadequate waste management. This crisis directly threatens the city’s progress towards several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The city’s population has reached approximately 24.6 million, with a density of nearly 23,234 people per square kilometre. This demographic pressure, fueled by rural-urban migration and climate displacement, has overwhelmed municipal infrastructure, particularly in waste disposal, thereby undermining efforts to build a sustainable urban environment as outlined in SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

The Scale of the Solid Waste Challenge

Waste Generation and Composition

Dhaka’s waste generation is a critical challenge to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The city produces over 6,500 tonnes of solid waste daily, a figure projected to increase to 8,500 tonnes by 2032. This waste comprises a complex mixture of materials:

• Hazardous Waste: Includes industrial solvents, pesticides, hospital waste, and discarded batteries, which release toxic contaminants into the environment.
• Non-Hazardous Waste: Consists of biodegradable materials (food scraps) and non-biodegradable items (plastics, glass, paper) from households and commercial entities.

Waste generation rates vary significantly by socioeconomic status, from 50-250 grams per person per day in low-income households to 560 grams in high-income households. Despite a doubling of waste generation over three decades, collection efficiency remains at approximately 45%, with the remainder being dumped indiscriminately, severely impacting SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Systemic Failures in Waste Management Infrastructure

Inefficiencies in Collection, Transportation, and Disposal

The formal waste management system in Dhaka is plagued by inefficiencies at every stage, hindering progress towards a sustainable urban model.

1. Primary Collection: Heavily reliant on informal workers who lack protective gear and safety training, creating significant occupational health risks and contravening principles of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).
2. Secondary Transfer: Transfer stations are often poorly located near residential areas, schools, and hospitals, causing odour, pest infestations, and public health concerns.
3. Transportation: The use of open trucks leads to spillage of liquid waste (leachate), spreading contamination across the city.
4. Final Disposal: The city’s two primary landfills, Aminbazar and Matuail, are nearing capacity and lack essential infrastructure such as protective lining, leachate collection systems, and gas recovery units. This leads to the contamination of groundwater and soil, a direct threat to SDG 6.

The co-disposal of untreated medical and industrial waste, including heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and chromium, further exacerbates the risk to public health and ecosystems.

Policy, Governance, and Socio-Behavioral Factors

Implementation Gaps and Public Awareness

Despite significant financial investment (over Tk 3,323 crore between 2016 and 2023) and the launch of a 15-year Integrated Waste Management Master Plan, progress remains limited. This points to governance challenges related to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

• Divergent Strategies: Dhaka North City Corporation’s focus on a waste-to-energy project faces challenges due to the high moisture content of local waste, while Dhaka South City Corporation’s landfill modernization efforts have yet to yield comprehensive results.
• Public Behavior: A lack of public awareness regarding waste segregation, recycling, and proper disposal undermines policy efforts. The continued use of banned polythene bags highlights weak enforcement and a need for greater public engagement to achieve SDG 12.

Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

Health, Climate, and Biodiversity Crises

The failure of waste management in Dhaka has cascading negative impacts across multiple SDGs.

• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The World Bank estimates that pollution contributes to approximately 18,000 deaths annually in Dhaka. Airborne pollutants from waste burning cause respiratory diseases, while contaminated water and soil lead to kidney, neurological, and gastrointestinal disorders. Informal waste workers face the highest risk.
• SDG 13 (Climate Action): The crisis is intertwined with climate change. Climate-induced migration from coastal areas strains Dhaka’s infrastructure, while poor waste management contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (methane) from landfills.
• SDG 15 (Life on Land): Uncontrolled urbanization and pollution have caused significant biodiversity loss. A study noted a decline in butterfly species in Dhaka’s green spaces from 73 to 29 over two years, signaling a broader collapse of urban ecosystems. This process of biotic homogenization erodes the ecological resilience necessary for a sustainable city.

Recommendations for a Sustainable and Resilient Future

An Integrated Approach to Urban Sustainability

Addressing Dhaka’s waste crisis requires a holistic strategy aligned with global best practices and the SDGs. Drawing inspiration from cities like Tokyo and Stockholm, Dhaka must transition towards a circular economy.

1. Policy and Governance: Implement mandatory household-level waste segregation, supported by incentives. Strengthen regulatory enforcement and improve coordination between municipal agencies to build effective institutions (SDG 16).
2. Infrastructure and Technology: Replace open dumps with modern sanitary landfills equipped with leachate treatment and methane capture systems, which can contribute to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). Promote decentralized composting and biogas plants.
3. Social and Behavioral Change: Launch sustained public awareness campaigns and educational programs to foster a culture of environmental stewardship and responsible consumption (SDG 12).
4. Protecting Workers and Ecosystems: Formalize the role of waste workers by providing training, protective equipment, and health insurance (SDG 8). Integrate the restoration of green spaces and wetlands into urban planning to revive biodiversity and enhance climate resilience (SDG 11, 13, 15).

Ultimately, transforming Dhaka’s waste crisis into an opportunity for sustainable development depends on a collective shift towards valuing waste as a resource, nature as essential infrastructure, and environmental stewardship as the foundation of a liveable urban future.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The article directly connects poor waste management in Dhaka to severe public health crises. It highlights that “pollution-related illnesses kill more than 100,000 people annually in Bangladesh, with around 18,000 deaths occurring in Dhaka alone.” It also discusses specific health risks like respiratory diseases from air pollutants and kidney, neurological, and gastrointestinal disorders from contaminated water and soil. The vulnerability of children and informal waste workers is also emphasized, linking environmental degradation to human health and well-being.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• The article details how Dhaka’s water resources are being contaminated. It describes how leachate from landfills, “a toxic liquid containing dissolved heavy metals, organic pollutants, and pathogens,” seeps into the ground and pollutes nearby water bodies. The practice of dumping uncollected waste “into open drains, canals, riverbanks” further degrades water quality, directly relating to the goal of ensuring clean water.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• This is a central theme of the article. The entire piece is an analysis of Dhaka’s struggle with rapid urbanization and its consequences. It discusses the city’s high population density, inadequate urban management, and the failure of its waste disposal systems. The article explicitly states that the crisis “threatens its sustainability and liveability,” which is the core focus of SDG 11. It covers issues like municipal waste management, air quality, and the need for sustainable urban planning.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• The article addresses unsustainable patterns of consumption and production through its focus on waste generation. It notes the rising per capita waste generation rates and the dramatic increase in plastic consumption. The failure to implement the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ principle, the lack of waste segregation, and the loss of opportunities for a circular economy are key issues discussed, aligning directly with the goals of responsible resource management.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• The article links Dhaka’s urban crisis to the broader context of climate change. It identifies Bangladesh as a “climate-vulnerable” nation and explains how climate-driven migration from rural areas exacerbates pressure on Dhaka’s infrastructure. It also mentions the interaction between climatic stresses like heatwaves and pollution, which “intensifying health risks and reducing urban resilience,” connecting local environmental management to global climate action.

SDG 15: Life on Land

• The article explicitly discusses the loss of urban biodiversity as a consequence of uncontrolled urbanization and pollution. It provides a specific example of “a striking decline in butterfly diversity — from 73 species previously recorded to only 29 species within two years.” This loss of species, destruction of habitats like wetlands and green spaces, and the process of “biotic homogenisation” are direct concerns of SDG 15, which aims to protect terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination. The article’s mention of 18,000 deaths in Dhaka from pollution-related illnesses and diseases caused by heavy metals and pathogens directly relates to this target.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials. The article describes how industrial effluents, leachate from landfills, and indiscriminate dumping of waste into canals and rivers severely degrade water quality, making this target highly relevant.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. The article’s entire focus on Dhaka’s waste management crisis, from collection inefficiency to landfill problems and air pollution from waste burning, directly addresses this target.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle… and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil. The article highlights the improper handling of hazardous materials like “discarded batteries, industrial solvents, pesticides, hospital waste,” which release contaminants.
• Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. The article discusses the failure to implement the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ principle and notes that “opportunities for recycling or composting are lost” due to a lack of waste segregation.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. The article discusses how climate displacement strains Dhaka’s infrastructure and how the city’s resilience is reduced by the combined effects of pollution and climate stresses like heatwaves.

SDG 15: Life on Land

• Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. The article’s detailed account of the decline in butterfly species and the replacement of wetlands and green spaces with concrete directly points to the urgency of this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• Indicator for Target 3.9: Mortality rate attributed to air, water, and soil pollution. The article provides a specific figure: “around 18,000 deaths occurring in Dhaka alone” from pollution-related illnesses.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

• Indicator for Target 6.3: Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality. While not providing a direct measurement, the article implies poor quality by mentioning the release of “heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and chromium into the surrounding ecosystem, severely degrading the quality of river water.”

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Indicator for Target 11.6: Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities. The article states, “Only about 45 per cent of generated waste is properly collected.” It also provides data on the total waste generated daily (“more than 6,500 tonnes”) and per capita waste generation rates (“high-income households generate around 560 grams per person per day”).

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• Indicator for Target 12.5: National recycling rate. The article implies a very low rate by stating that due to a lack of segregation, “opportunities for recycling or composting are lost, and recyclable materials that could contribute to a circular economy end up polluting land and water.”

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Indicator for Target 13.1: Number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. The article mentions the “Integrated Waste Management Master Plan” as a strategy, although its implementation is flawed. It also quantifies economic losses from climate shocks: “costing Bangladesh approximately three billion US dollars annually.”

SDG 15: Life on Land

• Indicator for Target 15.5: Red List Index. The article provides a direct, localized measure of biodiversity loss that functions like a specific case for this index: “a striking decline in butterfly diversity — from 73 species previously recorded to only 29 species within two years.”

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article. In this table, list the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their corresponding targets, and the specific indicators
identified in the article.

Source: newagebd.net