Abstract There is a growing acknowledgement that micro-credit programs have potential for equitable and sustainable development. However, my anthropological research on the micro-credit program of the Grameen Bank shows that bank workers are expected to increase disbursement of loans among their members and press for high recovery rates to earn profit necessary for economic viability of the institution. To ensure timely repayment in the loan centers bank workers and borrowing peers inflict an intense pressure on women clients. In the study community many borrowers maintain their regular payment schedules through a process of loan recycling that considerably increases the debt-liability on the individual households, increases tension and frustration among household members, produces new forms of dominance over women and increases violence in society.

Micro-credit initiatives for equitable and sustainable development : who pays?; a case study of the Grameen Bank Program in rural Bangladesh

Through the comparison and analysis of the English,Japanese and Chinese version of 《Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage》,the article points out that there are some translation errors in the official Chinese version,and offers a rectifying proposal.

Some Reflections on the Explanation of "Cultural Heritage" in the Chinese Version of 《Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage》

:Coastal wetlands, such as saltmarshes and mangroves, that fringe transitional waters deliver important ecosystem services that support human development. Coastal wetlands are complex social-ecological systems that occur at all latitudes, from polar regions to the tropics. This overview covers wetlands in five continents. The wetlands are of varying size, catchment size, human population and human development. Economic sectors and activities in and around the coastal wetlands and their catchments exert multiple pressures that affect the state of the wetlands and the delivery of valuable ecosystem services. All the coastal wetlands were found to be affected in some ways, irrespective of the conservation status. The main economic sectors were identified as agriculture, animal rearing including aquaculture, fisheries, tourism, urbanisation, shipping, industrial development and mining. Specific human activities include land reclamation, damming, draining and water extraction, construction of ponds for aquaculture and salt extraction, construction of ports and marinas, dredging, discharge of effluents from urban and industrial areas and logging, in the case of mangroves. The main pressures were loss of wetland habitat, changes in connectivity affecting hydrology and sedimentology, as well as contamination and pollution. These pressures lead to changes in environmental state, such as erosion, subsidence and hypoxia that threaten the sustainabilty of the wetlands. There are also changes in the state of the ecology, such as loss of saltmarsh plants and seagrasses, and mangrove trees, in tropical wetlands. These changes in the structure and function of the wetland ecosystems affect the delivery of important ecosystem services that are often underestimated. The loss of ecosystem services impacts human welfare as well as the regulation of climate change by coastal wetlands. These impacts are likely to be further aggravated by climate change..

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Anthropogenic, Direct Pressures on Coastal Wetlands

The Politics of Sustainability

The Growth trends in area, production and yield of a crop express its contribution to the economy. The present study seeks to examine the growth rates of area, production, and yield of tea in Bangladesh before independence (1947–1970) and after independence (1972–2018). To carry out the objectives the secondary data were collected from the various issues of the Annual Report of Bangladesh Tea Association and International Tea Committee. The exponential growth model was run to estimate the growth of the area, production, and yield of tea. The study showed that on average area, production and productivity increased significantly @ 1.05, 1.89, and 0.98% respectively per annum during the period of 1972–2018 than the period of 1947–1970. Area expansion and yield were the main vehicles for increased tea production. Therefore, the thrust should be given to increase the area by utilizing the suitable area and to increase the yield through technological advancement, varietal research, and strengthening advisory services in Bangladesh.

Analysis of growth trends in area, production and yield of tea in Bangladesh

This article aims to investigate the causes of poverty and vulnerability, and the survival strategies, of the tea garden workers in Bangladesh. The study was conducted drawing insights from Sen’s a...

Life behind leaves: capability, poverty and social vulnerability of tea garden workers in Bangladesh

This paper examines the conflict between state and society which surrounds the potential social and environmental impacts of the coal-based Rampal Power Plant in Bangladesh. The project, if impleme...

The Rampal Power Plant, Ecological Disasters and Environmental Resistance in Bangladesh

This article aims to explore the loan recovery mechanisms of two internationally-reputed microcredit and development organisations in Bangladesh. The organisations are Grameen Bank and Bangladesh R...

The application of Foucault's disciplinary power to microcredit programmes in two villages of Sylhet, Bangladesh

This article aims to investigate the true situation of rights and agency of the Bangladeshi teagarden workers, drawing insights from James Scott’s theory of ‘public’ and ‘hidden’ transcripts and em...

Al-Amin

Papers

Life behind leaves: capability, poverty and social vulnerability of tea garden workers in Bangladesh

The Rampal Power Plant, Ecological Disasters and Environmental Resistance in Bangladesh

The application of Foucault's disciplinary power to microcredit programmes in two villages of Sylhet, Bangladesh

Voices of the poor: demystifying the nexus between rights and agency of Bangladesh’s tea workers