International Day For Biological Diversity: From the distant coastline

The concepts of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), blue economy or global biodiversity targets have gained traction in Bangladesh, so much so that it would not be unfair to say that the terms and phrases are often overly used. However, what is lacking is a coherent understanding of achieving these goals or creating a process pathway at the local level. Existing conservation mechanisms are devoid of meaningful consultation with affected communities, leading to inequality, a vicious cycle of poverty, expensive and ineffective policies and inevitable non-compliance.