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Session #2360

International Development Partnership with Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology in Pollution Prevention

Keith A. Schimmel, Shamsuddin Ilias, Franklin G. King/A.K.M. Abdul Quader North Carolina A&T State University/Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Abstract The Chemical Engineering Departments at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&TSU) and Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) have collaborated in a USAID linkage program to enhance the pollution prevention activities in Bangladesh through joint curriculum development and research project programs. Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest and most densely populated countries. Environmental pollution, especially surface water pollution, is a significant problem with increased industrial activities in the textile and fertilizer sectors. Thus, sustainable planning and management of water resources has become a priority consideration for the future welfare of Bangladesh.

BUET is benefiting from the linkage program in the following areas: faculty development in pollution prevention, curriculum development in pollution prevention, facility and equipment plan development, and development of collaborative research in pollution prevention wit h emphasis on surface and groundwater contamination and water purification. Cost savings and sustainability of the linkage are being encouraged through an emphasis on the use of electronic conferencing technology. It is hoped that through these activities, BUET would become a national resource for educating engineering students at the undergraduate and graduate levels in pollution prevention, and that as these students enter positions of leadership in industry and government, they will use their training to make wise decisions for the future of the environment in Bangladesh.

I. Introduction Bangladesh is a Southeast Asian nation that is known as one of world’s poorest and most densely populated countries. As a nation with a population of over 130 million on a landmass of 55,813 square miles (about the size of Wisconsin), Bangladesh is known to the West for natural calamity, famine, and poverty. In recent years, Bangladesh has made major strides to produce sufficient food domestically to meet its rapidly increasing population and has made significant gains in export earnings through the ready-made garments industry. However, these gains are being overshadowed by environmental disasters.

The nation is facing arsenic contamination of its water supply. Excessive withdrawal of groundwater for irrigation and massive diversion of natural water flows of the major rivers by building dams has aggravated this problem. In fact, one of the biggest mass-poisoning cases the world has ever known has taken place in Bangladesh. According to UNICEF, the “Bangladesh arsenic problem represents a collective failure on the part of the International Agencies, the Government and other donor agencies which could have acted faster than what we did in getting

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Quader, A. A., & Ilias, S., & King, F., & Schimmel, K. (2002, June), International Development Partnership With Bangladesh University Of Engineering And Technology In Pollution Prevention Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--11264