In pursuit of this goal of prosperity of the people through planned development, the individual and the society come to interact with the environment and have to take care of it, lest not to speak of global warming, excessive use of natural resources like land, water and forest turn this land into a dust bowl with individuals scratching a living like a scrawny hen . With the awareness of the above potential threat, Bangladesh has so far signed, ratified and acceded to 22 international conventions, treaties and protocols related to environment. The Agenda 21 is a basis to attain sustainable development through policies initiated and co-ordinated at the national level. 10.2 Major Environmental Issues in Bangladesh 10 . The environment is thus the sum total of all social, physical, biological and ecological factors.
Social environment is centred round human beings.
It is their institutions, group behaviour, habitation and interaction in production and consumption of their wealth. The human activities entail using natural resources and interfering with natural environment, increasingly with the increase in growth. Environmental concerns have, therefore, assumed vital importance. It is now widely accepted that there must be an integrated approach between environment and development. As such, there is a need for integration of environment into development planning and activities.