Protests in Bangladesh
Land procurement is proving to be a main problem for Bangladesh to realize its inexperienced capability objectives, in response to analysis from the Institute for Power Economics and Monetary Evaluation (IEEFA), a non-profit organisation.
“In Bangladesh, land plot possession is extremely fragmented, and thus pooling enough appropriate house collectively for a photo voltaic mission is troublesome,” stated Ijaz Hossain, professor at Bangladesh College of Engineering and Know-how.
The federal government is cautious about agricultural land getting used for renewable tasks in a rustic the place international vitamin monitor Built-in Meals Safety Part Classification (IPC) estimates one in 4 face “acute meals insecurity” within the final quarter of 2024.
Earlier this yr, an area protest towards the development of a 200 MW photo voltaic plant within the southwestern district of Barguna led to the mission being scrapped, in response to residents and native media stories.
Individuals from the native area, together with farmers and activists, shaped a human chain within the village of Agathakur Para, saying they have been attempting to guard their land the place three staple crops develop every year.
Shahin Alom, an area businessman, stated energy era mustn’t compromise “even an inch of multi-cropping land”.
Bangladesh, which makes use of about 70 per cent of its land for agriculture, issued a authorities round in 2023 making it unlawful to construct photo voltaic parks in land that’s used for rising a number of crops a yr. The agriculture sector employs some 40 per cent of Bangladesh’s inhabitants, in response to the Asian Growth Financial institution.
Plans for the development of photo voltaic parks in Barapukuria, a coal mine space within the northwest of Bangladesh, have additionally been held up attributable to protests, stated native resident Asad Sarkar, confirming native media stories.
Rohini Kamal, a analysis fellow at Bangladesh’s Brac College, burdened the significance of together with native communities in discussions about renewables tasks.
“And not using a truthful take care of the farmers, herders, fishermen and different land customers, you can not guarantee photo voltaic progress that provides jobs,” she stated.
Land banks
Whereas protests have put some photo voltaic tasks in Bangladesh on maintain, India is shifting forward with its clear power plans.
India is utilizing a few of its wasteland — which makes up 17 per cent of the nation’s general land space — for renewable tasks, however some ecologists warn this might damage India’s biodiversity and livestock fodder.
Towards this backdrop, India’s renewable power capability grew over 200 per cent within the final decade, largely led by solar energy, in response to authorities information.
However as India makes use of increasingly of its land for renewable power, land shortage might ultimately grow to be a bottleneck for the nation’s photo voltaic growth, the Council on Power, Atmosphere and Water (CEEW) stated in a latest report.
India has to provide about 7,000 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power to satisfy its nationwide goal of web zero emissions by 2070 and producing something past 1,500 GW might include important land conflicts attributable to inhabitants density and local weather dangers like floods and cyclones, assume tank CEEW stated within the report.
CEEW fellow Hemant Mallya stated a potential answer might be for state and union territories to make “land banks” out there to renewables builders. In India, authorities companies create “land banks” by pooling collectively personal and public land for use for companies and infrastructure.
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