Abstract

Water pollution problem caused by rapid economic, urban and population growth has become a growing concern since the past three decades all over the world. A number of management instruments from regulatory to incentive-based approaches are being practised around the world to address the problem. Moreover, in recent days the growing consciousness at the global level has produced new multidisciplinary concepts of pollution management where the importance of state, community and market has been recognised. Since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit further emphasis has been given to shift from end-of-pipe and reactive-based strategies to participatory and proactive-based strategies. Researches have shown that the technological solutions to the treatment of pollutants always incur a huge investment for the manufacturers and in many cases are not economically sound, particularly when the treatment costs exceed residual damage costs. This paradigm shift from reactive to market and participatory based proactive approaches have been successful in some developed countries. However, the effective application of the pollution management measures in many parts of the world is still remiss and pollution continues. So far the response to the new concept in developing countries, including Bangladesh is mixed and at the same time confusions and disagreements exist regarding the formulation of strategies for water pollution control. The Buriganga River is of great economic importance to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, which is threatened by excessive pollution. This study looks at an integrated approach which might be suitable to manage the pollution problem of this river. The issue of water pollution management with particular reference to the Buriganga River is analyzed in this paper through an interdisciplinary approach which integrates social, economic and environmental dimensions holistically. The methodology of this study includes collection of basic background information pertaining to water pollution control practices through content analysis and direct observation.