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Introducing BELA |
As a group of lawyers, BELA
was established in 1992 with the broad objective of promoting
environmental justice and contributing to the development of sound
environmental jurisprudence. Environment and natural resources
support the lives and livelihood of majority of the people in
Bangladesh in numerous invaluable ways. Two third of the Gross
Domestic Products (GDP) comes from agriculture whereas sixty percent
of the people have their only protein intake from the rich sweet
water fishery of the country. Bangladesh shares with India the
largest mangrove forest of the world and the largest unbroken
coastline. The country has an extensive network of about 300 rivers
with a flow of 25, 000 kilometres. The hill areas of Bangladesh are
known for their rich biodiversity and cultural diversity.
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Dr. Mohiuddin
Farooque was born on 25 June 1954 at Gopalganj. He did his Masters
in Law from the University of Dhaka and was the University Prize
Man for the year 1979. Dr. Farooque obtained his doctoral degree
from the University of Manchester on International River Law in
1988.
He established BELA in 1992 and devoted his career
to the cause of environment. He unveiled a new field for activism
and chose environmental law as subject for his advocacy. He fought
for establishing the right of the downtrodden people within a very
short period could set exceptional trend of performing public duty
to protect the interest of the common people.
A bright
academia and researcher Dr. Farooque had a long list of
publication on environment and environmental law including 69
articles and 7 books. A teen-age freedom fighter Dr. Farooque
breathed his last on 2 December 1997 at the National University
Hospital in Singapore.
In his
absence, his colleagues in both are still pursuing his mission. |
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While Bangladesh
could have been known in the world for its rivers, coastal areas,
forests, biodiversity and related culture, the country instead has
been portrayed as a land of dense population, disasters and miseries.
This has happened mainly due to faulty policy priorities and
approaches and of course poor governance that also accounts for
non-implementation of environmental laws. A narrow and isolated
law/policy making trend resulted in over exploitation of resources
nullifying the notion of sustainable use and utilization and
undermining peoples’ dependence on the same. The environment in
Bangladesh is also challenged by some regional activities and
vulnerability to global environmental crisis like climate change, sea
level rise, trade in hazardous wastes and so on.
In such a backdrop, BELA started its
mission as a legal advocacy group of young lawyers working out
techniques and strategies in dealing with the legal regime for the
protection of environment. Founded by Dr. Mohiuddin Farooque, the
organization has led the pathway for environmental legal activism in
the country and has been the pioneer of public interest litigation in
Bangladesh. BELA has adopted various means to create awareness amongst
major the actors and the common people about their environmental
rights and duties. BELA has published books and other awareness
materials, all having relevance to the concept of environmental
protection. It is also active in promoting the concept of
participatory law making in the country.
BELA is a
member of IUCN-the World Conservation Union, Environmental Law
Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) and the South Asian Watch on Trade,
Economics and Environment (SAWTEE).
In 2003 BELA
has received the Global 500 Role of Honors of the United Nations.
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