Governance for Sustainable Development to Combat the Impact of Climate Change in a Medium-Sized City in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is struggling with an increasing trend of environmental degradation due to the adverse shocks of climate change. Rajshahi, a northwestern city of Bangladesh, is mostly vulnerable to drought, heat waves, air and water pollution, etc. Although various earlier studies regarding environmental governance are mostly focused on mega cities such as Dhaka, studies on medium-sized cities are less frequently highlighted. Thus, achieving sustainable government through environmental governance in the medium-sized city is an urgent issue for academia and policy makers alike. Local environmental governance plays a significant role in attaining local sustainable development. In Bangladesh, the local government authorities perform a wide range of development activities in the cities. To understand local sustainable development, the environmental impact of these development activities must be explored. The main purpose of this chapter is to investigate the overall status of environmental governance for promoting sustainable development considering environmental issues in development programs. This investigation is empirical research mainly based on primary data as collected from the government officials and field staff of the Rajshahi City Cooperation, and various stakeholders of the city, e.g., residents and civil society, through questionnaire surveys and key informant interviews, including a case study. The central finding indicates that the state of environmental governance for sustainable development at the Rajshahi City Cooperation is functionally poor. Despite having a policy framework for prioritizing environmental issues in the development activities of the city, a huge gap still remains between policies and practices. The findings of the study may assist the policy makers and concerned authorities in formulating policies and taking initiatives to ensure environmental governance to strengthen sustainable development in the urban areas of Bangladesh.