Abstract:
Environmental protection becomes a matter of urgency rather than a matter of acceptability. Therefore, environmental legislations all over the world are enacted to protect the environment and maintain the natural balance for the benefit of present and future generations. Bangladesh is in no exception to this trend. Bangladesh adopted special environmental Act, the Environment Conservation Act, 1995 which establishes a liability regime for environmental damage. This article reviews the liability provisions incorporated in the environmental laws in Bangladesh. This study finds that despite covering different types of liability, the implementation condition of these provisions is not promising. Among many other reasons, the inherent limitations in implementing civil liability for environmental damage, conflicting and vague provisions prevalent in the penal provisions in environmental laws, lack of political commitment of the government, absence of public education and awareness are viewed as the main causes of failure. This write-up suggests an integrated and comprehensive strategy to be adopted at policy and action level to overcome this situation.
