It has the worst air quality in the world, Environmental Performance Index says
Bangladesh is the ninth-most polluted country in the world according to the statistics of the global Environmental Performance Index for 2014.
Bangladesh has also been listed as the country with the most polluted air quality around the globe in the survey that has been conducted using data from 178 countries.
The overall ranking indicating environmental disaster was measured for eight categories: health impacts, air quality, water and sanitation, water resources, agriculture, forests, fisheries and biodiversity and habitat.
It has been said that the poorest performers in 2014 are countries with “significant political or economic strife,” suggesting these factors can sideline environmental policy.
However, Bangladesh was one of the frontrunners in the field of agriculture, ranked 17, with a development of 48% over the last 10 years, the report said.
The air quality dipped by an overwhelming almost 60% over the last 10 years. No change was witnessed in the fisheries sector, where Bangladesh is ranked 98.
Bangladesh still has work to do on the health and water and sanitation issues, what the report indicated, ranked 122 and 131 respectively in the world.
The country has been ranked 145 for its water resources, 88 for forest resources and improved a marginal below 1% in biodiversity and habitat for 123 rank.
In 2010, Bangladesh was ranked 139 in the overall by the EPI. In less than four years, the country has slided down 30 places in the environmental front.
Switzerland emerged the least polluted country in the statistics for 2014. The remainder of the top five in order are Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore and Czech Republic.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
