About Us


BWGED (Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development) is a flexible forum of progressive activists and organizations from all over Bangladesh. The BWGED was primarily formed by NGO Forum on ADB in 2013 to ensure safeguarding for affected communities and human rights defenders from adverse impacts of IFI-financed projects, but it is not limited to the Forum members. Later, BWGED has been expanded to the broader community of civil society by including External Debt Issues in 2016. The principle document, Bangladesh Peoples Safeguard Position Paper, is endorsed by the members in early 2016 through a workshop organized by the Forum and BWGED.

Workshop on the Bangladesh Peoples Safeguard Position Paper | February 2016

VISION
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To establish a prosperous and environment-friendly society by stopping unjust and dirty loans which affect the environment, human rights, and livelihoods of the common people of Bangladesh.


MISSION
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To sensitize and mobilize the communities, civil society, and policymakers against illegal, illegitimate, odious, and unsustainable debts from Multilateral Development Banks and other Financial Institutes through research & study, advocacy & campaign, dialogue & lobby, conference & protests, and media mobilization.


AGENDA
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1. Immunity of IFIs in Bangladesh;
2. Right to Information
3. Energy Access & Just Transition
4. Alternative Development; and
5. History of Movements


THEMATIC AREAS
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1. Environment & Climate
2. Energy & Power
3. Large Infrastructure
4. Water & Agriculture

MEMBERS
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STEERING COMMITTEE
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  1. Convener: Dr. Kazi Maruful Islam, Professor, Dhaka University
  2. Member: Sheikh Rokon, Secretary General, Riverine People
  3. Member: Sazia Sharmin, Research Coordinator, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
  4. Member: Advocate Abdullah Al Noman, Lawyer, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
  5. Member Secretary: Hasan Mehedi, Chief Executive, CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network)


MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS 
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  1. An Organization for Socio-Economic Development (AOSED), Khulna
  2. Bandhan, Noakhali 
  3. Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Dhaka
  4. Bindu Nari Unnayan Sangathan, Satkhira
  5. Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL), Dhaka 
  6. Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD), Dhaka
  7. Center for Rural Child Development (CRCD), Chittagong
  8. Change Initiative, Dhaka
  9. CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), Khulna
  10. Development Synergy Institute (DSI), Dhaka 
  11. Equity and Justice Working Group - Bangladesh (EquityBD), Dhaka
  12. ISDE Bangladesh, Chittagong
  13. Mongla Nagorik Samaj, Bagerhat
  14. Nagorik Uddyog, Dhaka
  15. Noakhali Rural Development Society (NRDS), Noakhali
  16. Online Knowledge Society (OKS)
  17. Paribartan-Rajshahi, Rajshahi
  18. Participatory Research and Action Network (PRAN), Noakhali, Chittagong 
  19. Prantojon Trust, Barisal
  20. Riverine People, Dhaka
  21. Safety and Rights Society (SRS), Dhaka
  22. Society for Participatory Empowerment for Development (SPED), Dhaka
  23. Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), Dhaka
  24. Society for People's Education, Empowerment and Development Trust (SPEED Trust), Barisal
  25. Songshoptaque, Chittagong
  26. Voices for Interactive Choice & Empowerment (VOICE), Dhaka
  27. YouthNet for Climate Justice, Barisal

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
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  1. Abul Kalam Azad, Development Activist
  2. Advocate Abdullah Al Noman, Lawyer, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
  3. Barkatullah Maruf, Development Activist
  4. Basanti Saha, Lawyer, Judges Court, Dhaka 
  5. F.M. Anwar Hossain, Independent Consultant
  6. Gouranga Nandy, Journalist
  7. Kamrun Nahar Shova, Journalist
  8. Dr. Kazi Maruful Islam, Professor, Dhaka University
  9. KN Shahid Ullah, Independent Activist
  10. Dr. Qazi Zahed Iqbal, Lawyer, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
  11. M. Aamanur Rahman Aaman, Development Activist
  12. Rahela Rabbani, Development Activist
  13. Sazia Sharmin, Research Coordinator, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
  14. Sikandar Abu Zafar, Journalist

BWGED is an open forum for all activists who are interested to play a role against destructive projects under external debts like bilateral and multilateral institutions, the private sector, and International Financial Institutes (IFIs), especially Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and World Bank (WB).

DISCLAIMER
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The information and documents of BWGED are fully free for everybody to use for noncommercial purposes, especially in awareness building, campaigns,s and advocacy. Citation and mentioning the source are requested humbly.

ALLIES
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- NGO Forum on ADB
- Recourse