Author: Noshin Naila

While Bangladesh aspires for economic growth and greater engagement on a global stage, a hidden problem threatens the very foundations of the country. The expansion of the black market for illegal wildlife trade (IWT) has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, operating both within and across our borders. One of the most destructive forces contributing towards the depletion of biodiversity, illegal wildlife trade strikes at the Sundarbans and spreads into the markets of Dhaka. Often regarded as a country’s priceless treasure, illegal wildlife trade is causing immense damage to Bangladesh, disrupting the balance of nature, threatening public health, and pushing towards…

Bangladesh’s rivers are the country’s lifeblood. They irrigate paddy fields, feed fisheries, and carry goods and people across the delta. But today, many of those same rivers have become conveyor belts for plastic, a relentless stream of sachets, bottles, torn shopping bags, and microfragments that flow from upstream cities and even across national boundaries into the Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The result is a transboundary pollution crisis that threatens biodiversity, livelihoods, and the very resilience of coastal communities. Scientists estimate that the great river systems feeding the Bay of Bengal, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna, collectively discharge…