View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by BRAC University Institutional Repository BRAC University Journal, vol. VIII, no. 1&2, 2011, pp. 13-21 UNPLANNED URBANIZATION AND HILL CUTTING: A STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN SYLHET Md. Habibur Rahman email: [email protected]; [email protected] Most. Jannatul Fardusi, Bishwajit Roy and Farzana Raihan Department of Forestry and Environmental science School of Agriculture and Mineral Sciences Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh ABSTRACT Bangladesh is a developing country having diversified environmental issues especially in the city area. The present study was conducted in Sylhet City Corporation; one of the rapidly developing urban areas in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh to identify the main environmental problems due to rapidly increase population, unplanned urbanization and hill cutting. The major environmental problems in the city are traffic obstruction, inappropriate solid waste disposal system, inadequate water supply, water logging state, hill cutting, chance of seismicity, etc. The nature and life style of Sylhet intimately related with the hills are thus under the threat of a drastic imbalance in its ecosystem. This study also investigates the causes of hill cutting along with its probable impact on environment such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, ecological imbalance and climatic change, chances of earthquake will increase, destroying natural beauty, soil erosion and landslide, etc. Sylhet is located in highly seismic risk zone 3 but most of the buildings and apartments are constructed without considering earthquake risk. The City Corporation authority should take a new approach to tackle urban problems by investing new ways to solve them, taking advantages of unused resources and opportunities. Key words: Population, migration, solid waste, traffic obstruction, earthquake. I. INTRODUCTION Bangladesh has been experiencing a rapid growth During the 19th and early 20th centuries, in urbanization since 1961. The proportion of urban urbanization resulted from and contributed to population increased gradually from 5.2 % in 1961 industrialization. New job opportunities in the to 20% in 1991 with an average growth of about 7 cities motivated the mass movement of surplus % per year. Inability of rural economy and population away from the countryside. At the same agriculture to absorb the growing population, a time, migrants provided cheap, plentiful labor for drastic fall in the availability of arable and cropped the emerging factories. Today, due to movements land, landlessness, fall of real income etc., pushed such as globalization, the circumstances are similar the rural poor to migrate to the cities [3-5]. Though in developing countries [1]. The world is on the still comparatively rural, Bangladesh has an urban verge of a shift from predominantly rural to mainly population of about 35 million, or just over 25 urban. In 2008, more than half the world’s people percent of its total population. Moreover, the urban will live in urban areas. By 2030, urban dwellers population has been growing very rapidly over 3.5 will make up roughly 60 percent of the world’s percent annually. The country will probably have population. The world's regions differ greatly in an urban population approaching 50 million by their levels of urbanization. In North America, 2015 [6]. This rapid growth has been caused Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean, mainly by migration of the rural poor, particularly more than 70 percent of the population is already to large metropolitan areas [7]. Urban populations urban; but in Africa and Asia, less than 40 percent interact with their environment. Urban people of the population is urban [2]. change their environment through their Md. Habibur Rahman, et al consumption of food, energy, water, and land. And identify the environmental problems of SCC: in turn, the polluted urban environment affects the excessive population pressure, migration, health and quality of life of the urban population urbanization, hill cutting, and other economic [8, 9]. activities Shaha [10] and Haque et al. [11] studied with two OBJECTIVES image of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) which was classified and analyzed. From the images analysis . To explore the main environmental problems and field survey it was found that the total water due to rapid unplanned urbanization and hill bodies of Sylhet district was 81535.2 ha at 1988 cutting in the study area and it has become 34,535.7 ha at 1997. It has . To suggest some recommendations for the reduced to 28,435.6ha at 2006. Main causes of loss improvement of the existing situation. of water bodies are unplanned urbanization and capture of lowland areas by real estate limited II. MATERIALS AND METHODS companies. Also, found that the total settlement area of Sylhet city at 1988 was 8856 ha and it has Site Profile become 13,341ha at 1997. At 2006, it was The study was conducted during November 2009 predicted to be around 16,713ha which was to January 2010 at SCC of Sylhet Sadar upazila collected from field survey and local land (sub-district) under the Sylhet district, Bangladesh, department and conclude that improper land use a district in north-eastern region of Bangladesh like removal of vegetal cover brings about marked (Figure 1). Sylhet is located on the banks of the changes in the local climate of the area. According Surma River and is surrounded by the Jaintia, to the population census of 2001 Sylhet city has Khasi and Tripura hills. It is one of the largest been ranked as the sixth urbanized city in cities in Bangladesh. SCC consists of 27 wards. Bangladesh [12]. The population in this city is The present study area was selected purposively going several times faster than other city of because during the last few years this area is being Bangladesh and the growth of slums appears to be highly affected by unplanned urbanization and hill the direct outcome of the growth of city population cutting. Table 1 describes the main features of the because of rural to urban migration pushed by the study area. rural poverty and unemployment. Overall, the relationships between population increase, urbanization and environmental degradation are very complex, involving interactions with the natural and the built environment, as well as various economic, political, and social factors [13]. Indiscriminate cutting of hills in the Sylhet region has become a major environmental issue. It is estimated that every year about 5 to 12% of the total hills and hillocks are cut or destroyed in different forms at different parts of the region [14]. Figure 1: Location map of the study area The probable consequences will be adverse for weather and climate, geomorphology and hydrology, and the indigenous flora and fauna. The Table 1: Profile of the Study area frequency of natural calamities like earthquake, flash flooding etc. may increase considerably. Items Description Deforestation and resulting increased soil erosion, Location The SCC consists of 27 wards and decreased ground water recharge and impaired 210 mahallas. It occupies an area of water quality might also be consequences of such 26.50 Sq. km. hill cutting [14]. Due to unplanned urbanization Population The city is approaching a population and hill cutting in SCC, settlement is rising day by of 663,198 people while male 52% day and it is creating environmental problems like and female 48%; density of landslide, pollution as well as decrease natural population is 250,26 per sq. km. beauty [15]. Therefore, our study was concerned to [13]. 14 A Study on Environmental Change in Sylhet Items Description Programme (UNDP), Sylhet City office. Geography Sylhet is located in the Northeastern Urbanization data was collected from whole city corner of Bangladesh at 24°320" N, corporation wards. Numbers of dustbins available for waste storage, mode of waste collection, 91°520" E, on the northern bank of efficiency of collecting vehicles, traffic congestion, the River Surma. The physiography number of ponds and canals, etc. data were of Sylhet comprises mainly of hill collected from SCC office and verified the data soils, encompassing a few large validity through local people interviewed and focus depressions known locally as group discussions by direct field survey. ‘Haors’ [16]. Climate Sylhet experiences a hot, wet and Moreover, hill cutting data was collected from the humid tropical climate. The city is highly hill cutting affected areas such as 3 city within the monsoon climate zone, wards namely: with annual average highest Ward no. 8, 20 and 21. So, these 3 wards was temperatures of 23°C (Aug-Oct) and selected purposively and field survey was average lowest temperature of 7°C conducted in the such areas Pathantula, (January). Nearly 80% of the annual Panitula, Nayabazar, Goa bari, Tilaghar, average rainfall of 3,334 mm occurs Tillargaon, kalibari, Balochar, Valley City, between May and September [16]. Under Construction of Heart Foundation Important Beautiful panorama of the region Sylhet and Scholarshome School and College attractive with vast natural protected forest area, etc. and photographs were captured to features (Khadimnagar Nagar National Park), visualize the present situation. Total six focus intense tea gardens and growing group discussions were conducted in this rubber gardens in the hills and manner to collect actual data as well as the hillocks, streams, etc. attractive for findings would