What are examples of sustainable and unsustainable development in Bangladesh?

The paper focuses on three key tools for sustainability and sustainable life-style: self-
reliance, sustainable technology and appropriate consumption. It shows how simple life-style
can underpin ecologically healthy consumption habits, high moral values, and spirituality for
eco-living. It outlines a sustainable technology policy that can help regain economic self-
reliance, retain cultural tradition and restore the degrading environment of Bangladesh and
other countries with similar sustainability issues. The notion of ‘self-reliance’ is redefined in
terms of sustainability, the spirit of which is underpinned by the Gandhian concept of
material possessions and his technology policy. This “self-reliance” is depicted as the basis
for local and global sustainability. The paper asserts that these three sustainability tools are
embedded in the tradition of the Bauls (singing philosophers) of Bangladesh, who promote
sustainability through their songs, values and spiritual education. The Bangladeshi people’s
positive spiritual dispositions towards floods, droughts and river erosion allow them to
interpret such events as nature’s tools for sustainability management. Thus, the paper aims
to establish that possibilities for achieving global sustainability are already embedded in the
way Bangladeshi rural communities enjoy self-reliant living without destroying the country’s
natural resource base.
It suggests that Baul views of lifestyle, consumption, technology and self-reliance can form
the centre for sustainability. The synergy between these tools reflects Gandhi’s view that the
earth has enough resources to meet all sustainability needs. The paper concludes by
highlighting the challenges for sustainability in Bangladesh amid the country’s present state
of mal-governance, donor-driven development and technology policy.

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