Jamilur Reza Choudhury: An ardent defender of the environment

As we mourn the death of professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury—widely known as JRC—we also celebrate his multidimensional life. JRC is mostly known for his contributions in the fields of engineering, computing, building educational institutions and a host of other areas. What is less known is that he was also an ardent defender of the environment.

JRC was one of the few citizens who formed the group called POROSH—an abbreviation of Poribesh Rokkha Shopoth—in late 1990s. At that time, pro-environmental activities in Bangladesh mostly took the form of government and foreign donor-sponsored projects, NGO activities and research and consulting work. Clearly JRC and his colleagues in POROSH felt that citizens' involvement and movement were also necessary for protection of the environment.

Meanwhile, in July 1998, non-resident Bangladeshis formed Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN), with the goal of working together with pro-environment forces within Bangladesh. In 1999, BEN put forward the idea of holding a broad-based conference to bring together all pro-environment forces of the country, so that they could reach a critical mass necessary to be effective. A detailed conference proposal was drafted, and I came to Bangladesh in the summer of 1999 to garner support and find possible co-organisers. One of the first persons that I met was JRC. We went to his Elephant Road house, where JRC met us cordially, and I handed him a copy of the conference proposal. Two things struck me. First, I did not have to explain to him anything (because I realised later that this was like preaching to the choir!). Second, the only change he suggested was to correct the spelling of professor Feroze Ahmed's first name, because the "e" at the end of his first name was missing. I was impressed with his attention to details!

To our pleasant surprise, JRC also accepted the responsibility to be the chair of the conference organising committee. This conference, which was later named as "International Conference on Bangladesh Environment (ICBEN)," ultimately had four co-organisers—POROSH, BEN, BUET, and CEN (Coalition of Environmental NGO) —and more than 50 associate organisers. Held in January 2000, it proved to be one of most successful conferences and led to the formation of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA). The first president of BAPA was Mr AMA Muhith, former chairman of POROSH. Following Mr Muhith, JRC became the president of BAPA and served for two terms. 

During JRC's tenure, BAPA grew significantly as an organisation. Its activities were no longer limited to Dhaka and instead spread to the districts. Although BAPA constitution, adopted in 2000, stipulated formation of BAPA branches, the modalities were not specified. A separate resolution was therefore adopted to provide necessary guidelines. Similarly, from the very beginning, BAPA adopted the policy of financial self-reliance, which meant not seeking and receiving money from either the government or foreign donor agencies and instead relying on contributions of its members and sympathisers. This principle allowed BAPA to be independent. However, given the overall situation, this principle was not very clear to all. Another resolution was therefore adopted to explain the merit of this policy. Through these initiatives, BAPA, as an organisation, achieved more consolidation. 

Apart from the above internal organisational matters, JRC provided inspiring leadership to all BAPA campaigns organised during his tenure. Despite his other engagements, JRC was particular to attend all executive committee meetings, be informed of all that is happening, and provide necessary advice. Also, he was not an arm-chair environmentalist. Frequently, he used to participate in various street level events—human chains, rallies, processions, etc. His presence obviously inspired BAPA activists, attracted the media, and helped to draw attention of the authorities to issues.

One regular BAPA-BEN activity is to hold annual conferences on various environmental issues, together with other pro-environmental institutions and organisations of the country. JRC provided excellent leadership to all such conferences during his tenure. Of particular note is the International Conference on Regional Cooperation on Transboundary Rivers (ICRCTR), held in Dhaka in 2004, organised to examine the impact of the Indian River Linking Project (IRLP), particularly on Bangladesh. For the success of the conference, we wanted to ensure participation of important water policy figures from India. We proved quite successful in doing this. Most of the top Indian water experts, including Ramaswamy Iyer, BG Verghese, and others joined the conference. On the movement side, Medha Patkar, the legendary leader of Narmada Bachao Andolon (NBA) also participated and made a fiery speech. Altogether, there were about 50 participants from India alone. There were also participants from Nepal and other countries. Recalling this conference, it will be proper to remember the significant contribution that Quamrul Islam Siddiqui made in mobilising so many participants from India. ICRCTR remains the most significant conference on IRLP, and the conference volume remains the most extensive source of information on this subject.

JRC's leadership ability came in full display during this conference. The topic was contentious, and there were tensions between participants from India and Bangladesh. In addition, there were some tensions among various Bangladeshi co-organisers too. JRC, however, successfully navigated through these differences to reach a common resolution. 

During this conference, I also noted another important trait of JRC, namely his humility. He did not let personal ego hamper the work. At one point, several important persons, including JRC, were to have a meeting, but it was not clear where it would be held. Given the composition, I thought it would be appropriate to meet in JRC's office at Brac university. However, not to let personal ego become a factor, JRC, of his own, quickly came to the office of another person and let the discussion focus on the work. I was quite impressed. 

As noted above, JRC was not an arm-chair environmentalist. Neither was he afraid to take position on sensitive issues. A couple of years ago, BAPA conducted a movement to protect the public character of the Dhanmondi playground. It was a sensitive issue, because a group of people, in the name of Sheikh Jamal Club, tried to make the playground exclusive for the club. BAPA's position was to name it as Sheikh Jamal playground but preserve its public character. The possibility of misunderstanding with the authorities was quite rife. Yet JRC, who was by that time no longer BAPA president, came forward and even participated in one of the street rallies of this campaign. 

In fact, I noticed that inside this otherwise "very close to the establishment" figure, there was an activist too. On several occasions, I found him wondering whether BAPA was too timid in its response to many environmental issues. I found that quite striking. 

In a recent reception in New York, JRC recounted his life, including how, following his Ph.D. in England, he was offered a position in the USA by Fazlur Rahman; how he declined it to return to Buet in Bangladesh; and how that decision allowed him to be useful for the country in many ways. He drew a distinction between "success" and "worthwhile", and noted that achieving success may not always mean that the life has been worthwhile. He said he was happy that he considered his life to have been worthwhile. There is hardly anybody who would disagree with that evaluation.

So farewell, JRC! Like the rest of the nation, we, in the environmental movement, will miss you a lot. However, you have left so much that we will do well just trying to make the best use of it. We have to carry forward the cause of the environment that you so ardently wanted to protect! 

Dr Nazrul Islam is founder, Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) and vice president, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA).