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Shrimp aquaculture is now establishing itself as an important aquaculture industry in coastal Bangladesh. However, the benefit of this industry is concentrated to only the interests of a specific group of people who contribute a significant amount of foreign earnings to the nation, while the present development process is posing a challenge to the coastal sustainability, as well as the industry itself. This paper analyses the contexts of sustainability in relation to the coastal shrimp aquaculture industry and identifies the relevant sustainable factors or indicators for coastal Bangladesh. In addition, this paper examines these sustainability indicators quantitatively in regard to how they can be used through a unifying index that allows the present shrimp aquaculture to be assessed considering all sustainability components, such as environmental, economic and socio-cultural factors separately and in interaction with each other. Finally, this paper presents a conceptual framework for a sustainability assessment methodology of coastal shrimp aquaculture in Bangladesh.

Tidal power is a clean renewable energy. Furthermore, electricity is acknowledged as a key need for development. However, until recently, due to high capital costs and extensive environmental concerns, few tidal power plants are operative around the world. These problems are now being mitigated by the application of appropriate, modern practices and technologies. In particular the use of small scale technologies, innovative financing and the involvement of local communities creates the potential for tidal power to be a tool in coastal development. This thesis examines the appropriateness of tidal power in the rural coastal community of Bangladesh, where electricity demand is a major development problem. Coastal Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially from cyclones, tidal surges and the effects of global warming on sea-level rise. Consequently, most of this coastal area has been protected by embankments and sluice gates, which can accommodate the normal tidal head rise and fall. The potential of tidal power to use this infrastructure, together with its associated problems and mitigation measures, have been analysed by comparing existing and potential tidal power technologies around the world, including a proposed Kimberley tidal power project in Western Australia. The research has identified that a significant amount of power could be produced from the tidal range of coastal Bangladesh by using the simple low-cost technology of tidal wheels in the tidal embankment sluice gates. The electricity produced could be utilised by various coastal interests, such as agriculture, shrimp aquaculture and other resource producing activities. However, the real benefits of this technology are that it can be applied in a way that simultaneously enables the development of local infrastructure and the improvement in living conditions of the local people by creating income generation and employment opportunities in these coastal communities. The thesis puts for

Environmental education is in its early development in Bangladesh. Some traditions of environmental wisdom are quite ancient, but most of these are not recognised by the scientific community. The high level of illiteracy and school dropout create barriers to mass environmental education. Some universities offer courses in environment studies, but these are limited and the universities are under-resourced. Within the community Non Government and mass organisations have begun to change policy and perceptions relating to the environment. One successful example being a ban on public use of polythene bags. The paper describes some of these programs and makes recommendations for strengthening environmental education in Bangladesh. It highlights the need to deploy environmental expertise in public and private sector management systems as the focus of government policy in Bangladesh matures from a short-term focus on self sufficiency to the pressing issues of sustainability within the environmental opportunities and constraints offered by the environment.

Global warming consequences and impacts of sea level rise characterise the recent evolution of the coastal environment. All of these resulted from ‘greenhouse gases’ caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels. It is important therefore to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable energy. Bangladesh is not a significant ‘greenhouse gas’ contributor, but is the victim of potential threats of sea level rise from global warming because of its natural physical setting in a coastal environment. It is projected that by 2050 the mean sea level may rise as much as 1.8 metres. This may result in the loss of up to 16% of the land that supports 13% of the country’s GDP. This impact will change the present coastal water current and movement, precipitation and run-off, and also the tidal range of coastal Bangladesh. Some recent studies suggest that the tidal range in some parts of coastal Bangladesh has a good potential for producing tidal energy (an important source of renewable energy) by utilising the existent costly infrastructure of coastal embankment and sluice gates. Once this tidal energy is adapted in coastal Bangladesh, the future global warming will increase its further potentiality. Coastal Bangladesh is extremely resourceful and very important for the economic, environmental and cultural activities of the local as well as national and international community. Until now, most of the potential resources of this area have not been used properly, mainly due to lack of electricity and integrated coastal management practices. Thus the discusses the global warming threats to coastal Bangladesh and how utilising the potentiality of tidal energy could mitigate these threats. The paper also presents a framework how tidal energy could be integrated with various potential coastal resources for the sustainable development of coastal Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has the highest density of population among all countries of the world and is the worst victim of environmental degradation. Poor people are dying of arsenic contamination in Bangladesh’s villages and poor urban dwellers are most exposed to the poisonous air. Protection of the environment is therefore necessary even from the view of social justice. In particular, as Bangladesh proceeds towards industrialization it needs to be careful about environmental impacts. There are several reasons why Bangladesh needs to be extra careful and gain more knowledge of the environment. The country now relies greatly on foreign capital, which is more likely to be guided by immediate profit concerns and lead to many environmentally risky and damaging decisions. Environmental education (EE) can help people become aware of the consequences of their actions, provide information to help solve environmental problems, and build the human capacity necessary to solve and prevent environmental problems. In this sense, Bangladesh can save itself from environmental disasters by having a strong, broad‐based, and united environment movement through educating its population environmentally and developing career paths in fields related to sustainable development. A balance between environmental stewardship and economic development can guarantee this sustainable future, which in turn needs sound environmental knowledge among both experts and the population at large. The paper discusses the present environmental situation in Bangladesh; EE needs, practices and future potentialities for sustainable development; and a job market of EE graduates in Bangladesh and around the world. Finally, the paper recommends a sustainable policy framework of EE and its future in Bangladesh to the national policy makers for sustainability of this country.