The world's best analyst, rather than only Bangladeshi and Indian experts, should be invited to assess the impacts of the much talked-about Tipaimukh dam, a top climatologist said yesterday.
The analysis should be all-inclusive and data-based and must detail the upsides and downsides that the dam may involve if constructed, said Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies.
"Then we will be able to know if there will be any adverse impacts".
India has said there would be no negative impacts of Tipaimukh dam, and if there is any it will not construct the dam, he said, asking, "How will we know if there will be any adverse impact or not?"
The climate expert was speaking at a discussion styled "Climate Change and Renewable Energy: Preparing for the Challenges ahead" on the sidelines of the "Youth Leadership Summit 2012" at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
Bangladesh and India are now at loggerheads over the latter's proposed dam, caused mainly because of the lack of openness about the whole project. On several occasions, India however has assured Bangladesh that it will not take any steps on the Tipaimukh project, which may adversely impact Bangladesh.
Green activists, civil society members and a section of politicians say the controversial dam on the Barak River in India's north-eastern Manipur state will badly affect the haors of different districts of Bangladesh.
Atiq Rahman described environment and development as the two sides of the same coin. Sustainable development calls for a maximum economic development with environmental integrity and social justice, he said. These two will go on at the same time, and one cannot be prioritised over the other, he added.
Rahman also said about 30 crore people would be displaced in the next 50 years due to the vagaries of climate. "It is the responsibility of the people who have emitted green house gases to accept these prospective migrants".
The expert further said every citizen of the country had the right to access to electricity. "Given the existing situation, I do not see the possibility that all women in the rural areas will get electricity from the grid in the next 20 years".
"We have potential in solar home system. We have to tap into the possibility". The government will have to create a decentralised electricity system to give the utility to the rural people, and it can be done through solar system, he said.
Munawar M Moin, managing director of Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd, said there was no alternative to renewable energy for the country's energy security in the future. "So we need to invest in renewable energy. It will also lead to green job opportunities for youths".
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), described Bangladesh's performance on climate change governance as very poor, saying that the government was showing its inefficiency in fund disbursement; there was also question over transparency.
Sarwat Chowdhury, climate change specialist of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the country should focus more on how it could make the best use of the money that was flowing into the country as green development fund.
Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre organised the event with the theme “Leading Bangladesh into the future: A journey of exploration”.
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