Bangladesh signed the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer in 1987. Accordingly, it is phasing out the production and use of ozone depleting substances (ODS).Small and medium size enterprises (e.g., refrigeration units), are being converted to use ammonia-based plants (or other appropriate CFC-substitute refrigerants). The 16th of September each year is International Ozone Day. In this context, Bangladesh is working in collaboration with the S & T Centre for Non-Aligned Movement and other developing countries (NAMS & T).

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans

A National Environmental Action Plan has been formulated with a view to promoting national environmental management system standard such as ISO 49000 series and others.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement

No information is available.

Programmes and Projects

Two projects have been undertaken by the Government on clean production processes:

Industrial Pollution Control Management with financial support from the ADB was completed in 1995.
Development and application of sectoral industrial guidelines and standards and the monitoring of compliance was completed in 1996.

Status

No information is available.

Challenges

Support for programmes of cooperation and assistance for the establishment of a collaborative network of research centres and for building up capacity to develop and manage environmentally sound technology is necessary.

Capacity-Building, Education, Training and Awareness-Raising

No information is available.

Information

No information is available.

Research and Technologies

No information is available

Financing

Government of Bangladesh funds are used though there are budgetary constraints.

Cooperation

BANSDOC has a cooperative programme of activities with many national, regional and international information networks like INSDOC (India), PASTIC (Pakistan), NACSIS (Japan), ISTIC (China), FID (the Netherlands), UNESCO, the Commission of the European Communities, among others.

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This informatin is based on Bangladesh's submission to the 5th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, April 1997. Last update: 1 April 1997

Biotechnology

Decision-Making: Coordinating Bodies

Decisions are taken through inter-ministerial consultations involving the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Decision-Making: Legislation and Regulations

The protocols of plant regeneration are available for five fruit species, 15 forest species, three vegetables and spices, nine species of ornamental and medicinal plants and 15 field crops. The species include Aegle mermelos, Anona reticulata, Artocarpus lacucha, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Averrhoa carambola, Carica papaya, Citrus grandis, Fawonia limonia, Musa spp. Litchi chinensis, Psidium guajava, Syzygium cumuni, Zizyphus mauritiana, Albizia procera, Anthocephallus chinensis, Azadirachta indica, Bambusa arundinacea, Bambusa longispiculata, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamaus bandisii, Daemonorops jenkinsianus, Dalbergia sissoo, Deloniz regia, Dendrocalamus giganteus, Dendrocalamus longispathus, Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Elaeocarpus robustus, Eucalyptus spp, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Leucaena leucoeephala, Melocanna baccifera, Morus spp., Samanea saman, Tectona grandis, Abelmoschus esculentus, Allium cepa, A. satiza, Citrallus lanatus, Cucumis sativus, Solanum spp., Solanum melongens, Solanum nigra, S. sisymbrifolium, Datura spp, etc.

Decision-Making: Strategies, Policies and Plans

Research on plant biotechnology has focused on increasing yield and nutritional status and reducing crop loss due to diseases and natural hazards. The development of submergence tolerance in rice, salt tolerant coastal rice varieties, yellow mosaic virus resistant mungbean, and nutrition-improved varieties of jute and lentil are some examples.
Other aspects of biotechnology include: (i) biofertilizers where most effective rhizobial strains are screened from local sources that are capable of increasing pulse production; (ii) mushroom culture; (iii) propagation of bamboo and hydrid tree species such as Acacia and Eucalyptus; (iv) biopesticides such as neem extract (neem oil), datura (Datura metal sims) mixture of powdered jute, neem cake and neem oil for controlling hopper populations, ladybird beetle and spiders.

Decision-Making: Major Groups Involvement

National Agricultural Research System (NARS) institutes carry out research in four subsectors of agriculture such as crops, forestry, fisheries and livestocks. The biotechnology activities are therefore grouped into the above mentioned four groups.

Programmes and Projects

Livestock biotechnology produced 11 types of veterinary biologics for the treatment of major infectious diseases of livestock and poultry. Biotechnology has been successfully applied in the production of vaccines for foot and mouth disease and rinderpest. Biotechnology in fisheries induces spawning in carps, padba (Ompak pabda), gulsha (Mystus vittatus), Catfish, Mahaseer Koi (Ananus testudineus) and others. With this technology, 46,000 kg of different fish species can now be produced annually against only 5,000 kg through natural spawning.

Status

Research on biotechnology was initiated in Bangladesh in 1977 as tissue culture. However, at a later stage, other parameters necessary for increasing agricultural production were considered under biotechnology. Most of the institutes under the National Agricultural Research System have tissue culture facilities now. These include the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; Bangladesh Rice Research Institute; Bangladesh Institute for Nuclear Agriculture; Bangladesh Forest Research Institute; Bangladesh Jute Research Institute; and Bangladesh Tea Research Institute. Balda Gardens has also been doing research on tissue culture on orchids. In addition to NARS, tissue culture facilities have been developed in many educational institutes such as Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Rajshahi University, Khulna University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, and the Institute of Post Graduate Studies in Agriculture.

Challenges

No information is available

Capacity-building, Education, Training and Awareness-raising

There is a programme in ARMP for capacity-building in the field of biotechnology by the NARS institutes. ARMP provides necessary funds for biotechnological research in all the four sectors.

Information

No information is available

Research and Technologies

No information is available

Financing

No information is available

Cooperation

Regional and international cooperation in any research and development activities is essential for exchanging ideas and upgrading knowledge in the relevant subjects.

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This informatin is based on Bangladesh's submission to the 5th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, April 1997. Last update: 1 April 1997

Click here to link to the Biosafety Information Network and Advisory Service (BINAS), a service of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which monitors global developments in regulatory issues in biotechnology.
Click here to go to the Web Site of UNEP's International Register on Biosafety.
Click here for the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Biosafety WebPages

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INDUSTRY

No information is available.

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TRANSPORT

No information is available.

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SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

No information is available.

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