The environment and forest minister, Hasan Mahmud, attends a seminar on the outcome of Rio+20 summit at Institution of Engineers in Dhaka on Tuesday. — New Age photo

The government would go for sustainable development without hampering the flow of development, said environment and forest minister Hasan Mahmud on Tuesday.
He said, ‘We still depend on groundwater sources and as a result of this the groundwater level is going down day by day, posing serious threat to sustainable development.’
At a seminar on ‘achievement of world people and the status of Bangladesh in Rio+20 summit’, the minister said sustainable development was not to use resources today but to store them for use in future.
Regarding climate change negotiation, he said the developed countries were urging developing countries to reduce carbon emission while they themselves should stop carbon emission at first.
The Bangladesh Climate Change Journalist Forum, Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh and Rahim Afrooz jointly organised the seminar at the Institution of Diploma Engineers in the capital.
Addressing the programme, Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman said, ‘We are promoting banks for environment-friendly banking.’
He said new agriculture policy would make loan payment timing flexible for the people of disaster-prone areas.
Boishakhi Television deputy chief reporter Dip Azad said that Rio+20 summit was ‘world leaders picnic’ and achievement from the summit was very poor.
Ministry of environment and forest secretary Mesbah ul Alam, department of environment director general Monowar Islam, deputy director climate change Ahsanul Aziz and Bangladesh Climate Change Journalist Forum president Kawsar Rahman also spoken at the seminar.
They said updating sustainable development issues and activities, proper implementation of measures with effective monitoring would facilitate sustainable development in Bangladesh.
Te speakers also said based on Rio outcome document, the government should formulate a work plan for post Rio+20 actions.
The Rio+20 summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to mark twenty years since the first Earth Summit, also held in the same city in June 1992.