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Collaborative efforts between forest agencies and Indigenous communities are improving wildfire management by combining oral histories with long-term archaeological datasets, demonstrating the value of integrating an understanding of the past into solutions for a better future.
After a sharp increase in uncontrollable wildfires;across the northern U.S. and Canada;in recent;decades, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Forest Service have been open to new approaches and ways to address the inherent weaknesses of their bureaucracies. Due to their lack of historical understanding of past fire management methods, they turned to archaeologists, who have collected information on more than 10,000 years of human activity. For their approach, these government agencies studied the perspectives and wisdom of Indigenous peoples offered through shared oral histories.
Outreach and deliberations by federal officials led to the creation of the;People, Fire, and Pines working group;in 2018. The working group was formed with support from the;Coalition of Archaeological Synthesis;(CfAS).
Thanks to the advances in technology and the accumulation of an increasingly detailed global data set of human history, modern archaeology has more usable information for government and society than in decades past. CfAS, one of the leading early drivers of this approach, helped the working group conduct two workshops in 2018 and 2019. These workshops attempted to bridge a gap between Western and Indigenous perspectives to create a more holistic understanding of human fire use in North America since the most recent ice age. The participants of the workshops studied the Indigenous knowledge of the Border Lakes region, developed across the millennia of living on and with the land, along with archaeological and tree-ring data gathered by researchers from red pine forests in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) and the Great Lakes region.
The first workshop reached out to members of the;Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa;and the;Bois Forte Band of Lake Chippewa, focusing on “Indigenous fire stewardship” and the “Western concepts of wilderness.” The second workshop was held at the Lac La Croix First Nation Reserve and delved further into the discussion on ways to propel collaborative efforts. The workshops, along with;other outputs from the group, including museum exhibits, documentaries, and peer-reviewed papers, have helped reshape the perspectives surrounding Indigenous fire stewardship and the damaging effects of settler groups, who actively disrupted the long-standing relationships between people and their environment.
In a;2020 paper, People, Fire, and Pines project organizer Evan Larson, a dendrochronologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, along with two University of Minnesota researchers, analyzed tree-ring data from 500 years of red pine forest growth in the BWCAW of northern Minnesota. This research began with a focus on the scars left behind by forest fires and co-occurring cultural modification of bark removal for medicinal and utilitarian purposes, and it later broadened to include the historical relationship between people and fire. Though the Indigenous peoples fundamentally changed and shaped these landscapes with fire for centuries, the Western population, who later moved into these lands, designated culturally relevant landscapes as “wilderness” and inaccurately defined these areas as “untrammeled by man,” under the;Wilderness Act of 1964. In fact, humans have shaped the region of northern Minnesota for thousands of years through fire and forest management practices.
The research conducted in the BWCAW and facilitated through CfAS support continues to expand the understanding of Indigenous fire stewardship through the;Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded project;Nimaawanji’idimin giiwitaashkodeng. The “Fire, blueberries and treaty rights” episode of the podcast, “The Water We Swim In,” offers a glimpse into the story that emerged from this work. In the episode, members of Nimaawanji’idimin giiwitaashkodeng, which translates to, “We are gathering around the fire,” share their experiences with cultural fire use and gathering blueberries among the pine trees. In the context of paleoecological and archaeological data, the ecological evidence of past surface fire activity obtained from the study confirms that the BWCAW was periodically burned to achieve forest conditions that were more desirable to the Border Lakes Anishinaabeg community and are linked to the resilience and ecological health of pine forests throughout the region.
Many other North American ecosystems burned periodically as well—sometimes through forest fires started by lightning strikes, but more often through intentional fires set by Native American communities. More than a mere tool for survival and achieving agricultural goals, fire became integral to and deeply rooted within the culture of Indigenous groups. For example, the Ojibwe of the Great Lakes region regarded fire as a sacred force, identifying more than 700 uses for it. The Ojibwe spirit of fire,;Oshkigin, was a symbol of renewal and transformation.
Fire is one of our most ancient and important tools for human modification of local environments. Prescribed burning or controlled burning, when used responsibly, is particularly;valuable in forest management. For instance, one of the ways in which managed fire benefits the ecology and ecosystem health of forests is that burning unwanted vegetation from the forest floor allows for new seeds to germinate, which increases variability in the type and height of plants growing.
Red pine forests, like those found in the Border Lakes area, especially benefit from this use of fire as their seeds require exposed soil to grow. Moreover, a greater balance between woody and grassy/herbaceous plants improves food availability for livestock, wildlife, and pollinators. Clearing dead or dry vegetation in this manner also allows for fire-dependent species and important food sources to grow, such as the blueberry in the Great Lakes region. Blueberries used to proliferate in the region due to fire-based interventions from the Ojibwe community, who cleared patches of the forest floor and made them conducive to berry bush growth. In addition, reducing the amount of dry vegetation on forest floors also limits the potential severity of future wildfires by minimizing the available fuels.
The arrival of European settlers to the North American continent, however, brought about a turning point in the relationship between people and fire. While North American Indigenous groups viewed fire as a great assistance to landscape management, the Europeans only saw it as a destructive force that needed to be avoided at all costs, and this led them to implement policies that suppressed all fire. The shift in attitude within the continent and suppression of Indigenous culture caused a significant loss in traditional fire knowledge and practices, leading to ecological consequences and large wildfires. As a member of the;Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Melonee Montano,;mentioned;in the podcast episode “Fire, blueberries and treaty rights,” the land has “literally been waiting” for fire and fire-based intervention.
By studying material cultural resources, such as evidence of bark collection and forest fires left behind in the form of;scars;on trees, archaeological researchers gain insight into past societies and the environments people lived in during those times. In the case of wildfires, a better understanding of past human involvement in shaping local landscapes can help prevent catastrophic fires in the future.
Collaboration between researchers, forest management agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, and descendant communities creates an opportunity to reassess current practices and policies surrounding wilderness management. Since the formation of the People, Fire, and Pines group, fire management plans have been revised in partnership with the Lac La Croix First Nation to include prescribed fire in the Quetico Provincial Park of Ontario, Canada, where “[t]hese fires are important in allowing the regeneration of red and white pine and maintaining their presence on the landscape.” Burn plans for the;Cloquet Forestry Center;in Minnesota were also changed to include cultural fire use through a collaboration between the University of Minnesota and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. This initiative was funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Since the change in burn plans, multiple successful prescribed fires have been;conducted by Ojibwe firefighters;in the Cloquet Forestry Center.
The resurgence of cultural fire practices, stemming from the initiatives started by the People, Fire, and Pines project, underlines the value of combining Indigenous and archaeological knowledge. By reclaiming controlled burns and implementing centuries-old fire practices to support effective forest management today, the relationship between people and their surrounding environments can be reestablished. This restoration will not only benefit all parties in the Border Lakes region and beyond but will also increase forest ecosystem diversity and resilience to fires, offering a hopeful future for forest management in a changing climate.
The success of these initiatives sets a precedent for other institutions, which may benefit from a similar collaborative approach by the sharing of temporal data among researchers, archaeologists, and descendent communities. Organizations, such as;CfAS, have begun to change the context of archaeological research by fostering collaboration across multiple institutions and disciplines.
Analyzing prehistoric data to better understand the root causes of modern issues that originated in the greater global past, like human contributions to climate change, conflict, and disease, can be used to facilitate solutions to current issues and avoid greater ones in the future.
- About the author: Irina Matuzava is a contributor to the Human Bridges project.
- Source: This article was produced by Human Bridges.
The Kyrgyzstan prosecutors’ request for 20-year sentences for a group of government critics in the so-called Kempir-Abad case compounds an already shocking miscarriage of justice, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, International Partnership for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, People in Need, Civil Rights Defenders, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Freedom Now and International Federation for Human Rights said today. Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should drop the politically motivated charges and immediately release the group, who were arrested arbitrarily and some of whom already have spent up to 19 months in pretrial detention.
On June 10, 2024, prosecutors;asked;the Pervomaysky District Court in Bishkek to convict the defendants, who are charged with fomenting mass unrest and attempting to seize power by force, sentence them to 20 years in prison, ;and; confiscate their property.;The more than 20 ;defendants include human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and other civil society activists, who were arrested in October 2022 after peacefully campaigning against the now completed transfer of jurisdiction over the Kempir-Abad dam to Uzbekistan as part of a border demarcation deal. It is expected that the trial will end, and the verdict be issued on June 13.
Criminal proceedings against the group have been underway since June 2023. Authorities classified the case as secret and the trial has taken place behind closed doors. This violates the defendants’ right to a fair and public hearing, guaranteed by article 14.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Kyrgyzstan is a party. While independent trial monitors have not had access to the trial, information from the defendants and their lawyers indicates that the proceedings have been marred by serious violations of due process and fair trial guarantees, set out in national law as well as in the ICCPR and other international human rights instruments, which Kyrgyzstan is obliged to respect.
For example, in violation of requirements under Kyrgyz law, the indictment was not read out loud to all the defendants, with the prosecution contending that reading it aloud only to some of them was enough because the charges against others were ‘’identical.’’ ;Contrary to international norms, hearings have in some cases been held in the absence of defense lawyers, defense motions such as to commission expert studies of court materials have repeatedly been rejected, defense witnesses have not been allowed to testify in court, and defense lawyers have not been granted adequate time to prepare their cases.
The prosecution appears to have presented no credible evidence to support the charges, with the primary evidence being doctored recordings of discussions between the defendants about planned peaceful protests.
Judicial and law enforcement authorities have also allegedly intimidated and harassed lawyers for representing their clients in this case.;;
Following their arrest in October 2022, the courts extended the defendants’ pre-trial detention several times in violation of international standards, which require only using pretrial detention in exceptional cases;and for as short a time as possible. As a result, the defendants spent many months in unsanitary conditions, with limited access to medical treatment and family visits. ;
Primarily due to health concerns, several defendants were eventually transferred to house arrest, or released with a travel ban pending the outcome of the trial. However, eight remain in custody going on 20 months.
On June 7, 2024, one of the defendants who had been transferred to house arrest, Nurlan Asanbekov, fell ill during the proceedings and was taken to a hospital, human rights defenders reported. According to them, Asanbekov had recently undergone a serious operation and is still recovering. However, police officers allegedly ordered the hospital doctors to discharge him later the same day. As a result, the rights defenders said, he tried to put himself on fire but they convinced him not to. ;Nevertheless, his case illustrates the desperation felt by Kempir-Abad defendants because of their treatment, the rights defenders said.;
The defendants in the Kempir-Abad case were arbitrarily arrested, their extended detention was unjustified, and they should never have been charged or prosecuted for any crime, far less the serious ones the authorities pursued, the eight human rights groups said. The authorities are blatantly retaliating for the activists’ peaceful and legitimate criticism and civic engagement against the transfer of the Kempir-Abad dam. Their criminal prosecution in a trial that violates international standards, not only deals a severe blow to freedoms of expression, association, and assembly in Kyrgyzstan but also to guarantees for access to justice and the rule of law in the country.
The authorities should prevent any further damage, drop the case and secure the unconditional release of the defendants, the rights groups said. Kyrgyzstan’s international partners should support this call and demand justice for the defendants and accountability for those responsible for violations of their rights.
The case ;takes place against; the backdrop of a dramatic deterioration in civic space in Kyrgyzstan, with civil liberties coming under unprecedented;pressure.; In recent months, authorities have increasingly cracked down on;independent media, including by seeking the;forced shutdown;of a leading independent outlet, raiding others, and arbitrarily detaining; and;prosecuting independent journalists and media workers. There has been a growing number of;criminal cases;against outspoken activists-bloggers. Parliament also recently adopted a Russian-style;law on “foreign representatives”, incompatible with Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights commitments and subjecting civil society organizations to undue ;government control and interference.
Kyrgyzstan’s authorities should end their crackdown on free speech and other fundamental freedoms in the country and put in place meaningful measures to safeguard human rights in line with Kyrgyzstan’s international obligations.
There is a need for greed in this post-colonial British country;called Malaysia.;It is the need for greed at a high speed that is killing the rakyat/masses fast.;
From the need to monopolize plantations, public works companies, investment brokerages, private hospitals, television stations, media conglomerates ,satellites beaming 100 channel televisions that turn kampong folks into soap-opera and Bollywood junkies, right up to airlines that need newer landing grounds that will also turn surrounding areas into Disneylands — Malaysians are now addicted the fascination of monopolizing.;
The game MONOPOLY by Parker Brothers must have been a good socializer to;the idea;that monopolizing and being greedy is good. For decades, the ideology of monopolizing has shaped the consciousness of Malaysians and;monopolizers;are considered heroes of the Malaysian-styled laissez faire world of corporate-crony-crypto capitalism.;;
There is even a Malaysian version of the game MONOPOLY that is based on the cities of Cyberjaya and Putrajaya. We love to teach ourselves how to make the other guy bankrupt and how to monopolize everything. We love to even make;bankers;bankrupt. The best part of this game of simulation is when we land in jail and cannot collect “$200.00”.;;
It seems like a perfect foreshadowing of the jailing of American Ponzi-scheme guru Madoff and in Malaysia of those;politically well-connected robber-barons who will be hunted down and jailed when total change sweeps the nation. They cannot collect their $200.00.;
MONOPOLY killed America and many other nations. The capitalist world is collapsing under its own weight and it is a perpetual revolution of collapses, across time and space. Marx predicted that America would collapse but the prediction did not come true; Roosevelt’s New Deal saved America from drowning in its dust bowl. The “ten days that shook the world” of Russia – of the October Revolution” did not shake America but gave a chance for the IWW;or the;International Workers of the World (“The Wobblies”) to scare American capitalism off.;The cycle continues as we observe the bipolarity of history and its “butterfly effects”
In Malaysia, the game of corporate-crony capitalism is that of “rent-seeking” monopoly and of “interlocking;directorateships” especially in the GLCs (government-linked companies.);
The rakyat/masses are merely spectator happy to read about first Malaysian billionaires, world-class Malaysian companies, and;who’s;who in the Malaysian corporate world.;
The rakyat are happy that they now can fly cheap, that they are reading;about how;famous Malaysia is as a great “medical tourism” destination, and which Bollywood star will get a Datuk Seri-ship. I wonder if there are ways we can curb the capitalist urge in us; an urge that is often couched cleverly in the language of “progress, innovation, and trickle down”. This cannot pass the test;of “deconstructionism”, “ideologiekritik”, nor answer the question “cui bono” or “who benefits”?;
Since the beginning of the privatization of healthcare for example, there have been enthusiastic talks on “medical tourism” in which private hospitals are making their services attractive to foreigners;seeking;highly affordable and at;greatly discounted;treatment at Malaysian’s leading medical centers. I think the rakyat must insist on these hospitals too;offer;medical tourism opportunities to Malaysia’s poor – those who we hear seek public donations for surgeries that will;save;their lives. But Malaysia is moving in high gear;in;privatization and medical centers are only interested in serving efficiently those who can pay.;
Let the kampong/vilage folks and the poor of all races seek traditional cure for their terminal illnesses; the medical centers are profit-centers run by Malaysia’s multinational corporations that are run by the rich and the powerful.;This is the image of progress we are seeing.;As in;a short;story;“Senja di;Jakarta” or “Twilight;in Jakarta,” by;the Indonesian writer Muchtar Lubis, the life of the politician is more important than that of a;padi;planter.;
We are a nation, like Sisyphus as Albert Camus says — imagining ourselves happy. In a country where;few;monopolizes;and the need for greed is growing at a great speed.;
It is as if the few wants to plunder the nation as fast as they can before the entire country, like the story of;Firaun/Pharaoh and Qarun in the ancient scriptures, is swallowed by the weight of power, arrogance, and wealth accumulated.;
In thinking of the events that are shaping the world is general and Malaysia in particular, I wrote the following idea of a manifesto, inspired by Compexity Theory as analytical lens:;
PREAMBLE;
A specter is haunting the worldview of revolutionary movements globally. Synthesized with the advancing power of cybernetic technologies, namely the Internet and other;“personacratic” tools of liberation from the dread of Post-Modern Industrialized society, global revolutionary movements are finding inspiration instantaneously in the events that alter culture and consciousness.;;
The wired world has offered;rapidized, globalized, and co-constructivized;platform of revolution that begins with the mind, shaping consciousness and ended with the shaping of policies brought about;because of;changes in regimes.;
The specter of the spirit of revolutionary ideals is making its presence in multitudinous ways; this specter, archived in the consciousness of nations, buried by the political economic wave of advanced capitalism sped up by the revolution in;nanotechnology;and;imperialized by those who owns them means of controlling the international production-houses of labor.;
As the post-modern world moves into the realm of a changing nature of;Pax Americanism, as the world continue to see conflicts multiplying in many countries, overarchingly networked into the advanced capitalist matrix of both Eastern and Western powerhouses of Capitalism, the global masses of peoples alienated, enslaved, marginalized, and victimized by the forces of Techno-Elitism began to rise and educated of their condition, their awareness aided by cybernetic technologies and mass application of activist-cybernetic journalism.;
The collapse of the American Empire and the rise of Obama-ism, Trumpism. and next Biden-ism and both as an ideology of hope and despair and a transparent mask of postmodern Imperialism is a meeting ground between the forces of historical-materialism, one brought about by the specter and the dying force of 21st. century global imperialism that is having its tentacles amputated one by one.;
The specter that is haunting the globalized world of networked economies is;a specter;that is Fractal in nature; borne out of the manifestation of Chaos and Complexity,;recognized,;and discerned through the application of a hybrid of Complexity and Critical Theory.;
Post-modern;technopoles called the “modern nation-state “or;“countries” or “hamlets of democracies” are fast and furiously breaking down. Culture, politics, economics, religion, and society are no longer meaningful constructs to describe the inner workings of these “post-Nationalistic era entities” called “independent and sovereign” nations. A new paradigm of describing these post-modern tribalistic enclaves hegemonized and shrouded by the politico-linguistic terminologies of nationhood and;statescraftism;is needed.;
Let us explore further the fundamental character of the cybernetic republic and the possibility of a world totally transformed by Digital Technologies ruled;by Techno-Mystics whose job is to provide stewardship to deconstruct Capitalism, gradually install a technological paradigm of social change based on the yet-to-be-constructed principles of Cultural Egalitarianism, and consequently bring forth radical changes characterized by the establishment of a postmodern form of;Agro-based socialism that harnesses the power of Nature and bring Humanity closer to its Natural Self.
More than a third of Harvard’s graduating seniors are heading into finance and management consulting — two professions notable for how quickly their practitioners make bags (slang for sacks of money),;reports;The;New York Times.
Similar percentages show up in other prestigious universities.
Frankly, I’m surprised that only a third of graduating seniors at Harvard and similar places are heading into finance and consulting.
In this era of raging income inequality and billionaire robber barons, the bags are gigantic. At Goldman Sachs they;start;at $105,000 to $164,000 and are soon in the stratosphere. At McKinsey, they’re;$100,000 to $140,000 and also rise steeply.;
Think of it: Make a bag and then do whatever you really want to do without ever again worrying about money. Make a bag and support whatever good causes you believe in without having to work at social change. Make a bag and you’ll never have to grovel to those with wealth and power.
When I graduated Dartmouth College in 1968, almost no one I knew went into finance or consulting. In those days, inequalities were minuscule compared to now. The bags at that time could have fit into a glove compartment.
One of the least discussed but most profound consequences of America’s surging inequality is the number of talented young people now devoting themselves to making bags.
Remarkably, though,;most;talented young people are not yet in the bag.
For most of the last 43 years, I’ve taught at several of America’s most prestigious universities.;The biggest change I’ve seen over the years isn’t how starry-eyed students have become about finance and consulting.;It’s how passionate they’ve become about making the world better.
Sure, I’ve noticed the mini stampede into finance and consulting. But graduates out to make a bag are still the minority.
Most graduates are joining nonprofits, entering politics, or becoming community organizers, public defenders, teachers, health care workers, diplomats, scientists, staffers on congressional committees, union organizers, or environmental activists.
Conservative columnist David Brooks bemoans this trend. In a;recent column;he laments that at elite universities “the share of progressive students and professors has steadily risen, and the share of conservatives has approached zero.” ;
He cites a May 2023;survey;of Harvard’s graduating class showing 65 percent identifying as progressive or very progressive.
Why is this happening? Brooks thinks the Gen-Z cohort at prestigious universities is so tormented by the cognitive dissonance between their positions of privilege and their commitments to social justice that they must “prove to themselves and others” that they’re “on the side of the oppressed.”
It doesn’t seem to have dawned on Brooks that, at least since the start of Donald Trump’s presidency in January 2017, the meaning of “progressive” has shifted from someone who wants a more just society to someone who simply wants to preserve democracy.
To be a “progressive” at a prestigious university these days — indeed, to be a progressive anywhere in America — is no longer to be on the political left as the left used to be defined. It’s to be on the side of the Constitution, the rule of law, and a modicum of decency.;
This;is why so many more undergraduates and professors now deem themselves progressive.
I agree with Brooks that elite universities should dismantle arrangements that let the privileged members of society pass down their educational privileges to their children while locking out most everyone else — for example, by ending affirmative action for legacies and calling on the private sector to remove college prerequisites for decent-paying jobs. ;
But Brooks and other conservatives are dead wrong about which elite is holding back the rest of America.;
It’s not the educated class. It’s the moneyed class.
America’s corporate and financial elites have flooded American politics with money in order to receive government subsidies, bailouts, tax cuts, and regulatory rollbacks — all of which ratchet up their wealth, entrench their power, and make it harder for average working people to advance.
Trump and much of his Republican Party are criticizing the educated class in order to pose as populists on the side of average working people.
Consider Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference (and Harvard class of ’06) who doesn’t miss an opportunity to attack elite universities and their presidents. Or Senator Josh Hawley (Stanford ’02 and Yale Law ‘06) who;calls;the recent student demonstrations signs of “moral rot.”
It’s all a thinly veiled cover for their efforts to help the wealthy make even bigger bags while keeping everyone else — especially average working people — down.
At this moment, they’re promising the moneyed class that in return for financial backing in the upcoming election, they’ll get an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts — which disproportionately boosted the wealth of big corporations and the rich — plus additional tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks.
This could expand the national debt by roughly $1 trillion over the next decade, rendering it impossible for the government to invest in things average Americans desperately need — such as child care, elder care, affordable housing, and, yes, affordable higher education. ;
Brooks warns that if present trends continue, we could face a populist uprising — “a multiracial, multiprong, right/left alliance against the educated class.”;
For Brooks, the lesson is that the educated class must “seriously reform the system or be prepared to be run over.”
He’s wrong. The real lesson is we must reform the system created by the moneyed class — or be prepared to run the moneyed class over.
- This article was published at Robert Reich’s Substack
Energy cooperation between ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and Bangladesh is becoming increasingly crucial for ensuring regional energy security, promoting sustainable energy development, and fostering economic growth.
To understand the context of ASEAN-Bangladesh energy cooperation, it is important to review ASEAN’s progress in the energy sector. The following indicators demonstrate significant advancements: Energy Intensity (EI) reduction based on 2005 levels has reached 24.5%. Renewable energy’s share in ASEAN’s total primary energy supply (TPES) or energy mix is 14.4%, while its share in installed power capacity is 33.6%.
Out of 18 planned bilateral interconnections under the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), nine are operational. There are 11 regasification terminals in five ASEAN countries, with a total regasification capacity of 48.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Six countries are connected by 13 cross-border pipelines, which have a total length of 3,631 km. Clean coal technology (supercritical and ultra-supercritical) contributes 18.9 GW to the installed power capacity, and there are 13 coal-biomass co-firing power plants with a total capacity of 7.3 GW. Additionally, 11 carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities are under development.
The overall scorecard of the APAEC Phase II: 2021-2025 implementation is 4.3 out of 5. Furthermore, 350 policymakers have been trained through regional nuclear capacity-building initiatives. These indicators reflect ASEAN’s commitment to reducing energy intensity, increasing renewable energy usage, and enhancing energy infrastructure, which provide a strong foundation for cooperation with Bangladesh.
This article dives into the current state of energy cooperation, highlights key agreements and projects, and explores future opportunities for collaboration.
Bangladesh, a rapidly developing nation, showcases significant diplomatic efforts in terms of energy security, reliability of supply, and sustainable development. The country relies heavily on natural gas for electricity generation and is seeking to diversify its energy mix by integrating more renewable energy sources and importing LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
On November 24, 2022, Bangladesh proposed importing 1.5 million tonnes of LNG from Brunei, aiming to secure a 10-15 year agreement. This long-term agreement highlights the strategic partnership between the two nations in ensuring energy security. On June 15, 2022, Indonesia shared joint venture (JV) investment proposals worth approximately $1.3 billion in Bangladesh’s energy sector. This collaboration is set to bolster Bangladesh’s energy infrastructure and supply. Additionally, on September 5, 2023, the foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Indonesia signed an MoU on energy sector cooperation, further solidifying their partnership.
Malaysia has been a key partner in Bangladesh’s energy sector. On September 22, 2014, Bangladesh and Malaysia signed an agreement to set up a 1320 MW thermal power plant at Maheshkhali. More recently, on July 19, 2023, Bangladesh engaged in talks with a Malaysian firm to secure an annual supply of 1 million tonnes of LNG under a 15-year contract. This agreement is part of Bangladesh’s broader strategy to meet its growing energy demand through diversified sources. Besides the existing deals, Bangladesh signed a new deal on June 1, 2023, with Qatar to get an additional 1.5 MTPA of LNG for the next 15 years from 2026. Another agreement was signed with Oman on June 20, 2023, to import more LNG from the Middle Eastern country. As per the new agreement, the Omani state-owned company, OQT, will supply LNG ranging from 0.25 to 1.5 MTPA to Bangladesh over 10 years from 2026. On July 13, 2021, Bangladesh and Malaysia signed another deal to cooperate on the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas.
Efforts to revive the Myanmar-Bangladesh-India (MBI) gas pipeline project have been ongoing. Initially conceived in 1997, this 900 km pipeline was designed to supply 5 billion cubic meters of gas from Myanmar to India via Bangladesh. Despite initial setbacks due to policy differences and financial constraints, recent discussions have revived hopes for this project. The MBI pipeline could significantly enhance energy security and economic development in the region. Recent reports suggest that the stalled talks on the MBI project will resume soon. The proposed project was re-examined during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Dhaka in June 2015.
Earlier, in June 2013, India’s then-Commerce Minister Anand Sharma restarted discussions on the MBI pipeline during his visit to Naypyitaw to attend the East Asian Forum and explored the possibility of the two blocks awarded to ESSAR. Bangladesh’s current PM Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government has also expressed its intent to re-negotiate the MBI project. An alternative 1575 km long pipeline route bypassing Bangladesh did not take off mainly due to a lack of funding. According to an estimate made in 2005, the second option would cost around $2.3-3 billion, while the MBI pipeline project was estimated at $1 billion. The import of gas is essential for the economic development of India’s isolated North Eastern region. The MBI project could meet India’s long-term energy requirements.
On February 7, 2024, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase in Bangladesh approved three separate proposals for LNG imports from Singapore. Petrobangla, the state-run agency, will import LNG cargoes from Golbar Singapore Limited and Vitol Asia (Pvt) Limited, demonstrating the growing trade relationships and reliance on Singapore for LNG supplies. Each cargo will contain 33.60 lakh MMBtu, costing Tk425.81 crore from Golbar and Tk422.48 crore from Vitol, with each unit priced at $9.847 and $9.770, respectively. Energy Division officials mentioned that Bangladesh plans to import a total of 13 LNG cargoes in the first six months of the year.
ASEAN’s progress in renewable energy presents numerous opportunities for Bangladesh to collaborate on sustainable energy projects. Bangladesh can benefit from ASEAN’s expertise in increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix, particularly in solar and wind energy. Joint ventures and knowledge-sharing initiatives can help Bangladesh achieve its renewable energy targets and reduce its carbon footprint. ASEAN’s advancements in energy infrastructure, such as regasification terminals, cross-border pipelines, and clean coal technology, offer valuable insights for Bangladesh. Collaborative projects in these areas can enhance Bangladesh’s energy infrastructure, improve energy efficiency, and ensure reliable energy supplies. Additionally, partnerships in developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Bangladesh can benefit from ASEAN’s experience in policy development and capacity building in the energy sector. Training programs, workshops, and policy exchange initiatives can help Bangladeshi policymakers and energy professionals develop the necessary skills and knowledge to implement effective energy policies and strategies. This collaboration can lead to better regulatory frameworks, improved energy governance, and enhanced institutional capacity. ASEAN countries, with their growing economies and investment capabilities, can play a crucial role in financing energy projects in Bangladesh. Joint ventures, public-private partnerships, and foreign direct investments can provide the necessary financial resources for large-scale energy projects. This collaboration can accelerate the development of energy infrastructure, promote technological innovation, and create job opportunities in Bangladesh.
Regional energy integration is a key focus for ASEAN, as evidenced by the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) and other cross-border energy projects. Bangladesh can explore opportunities to integrate with regional energy networks, facilitating the exchange of energy resources, enhancing grid stability, and ensuring energy security. Participation in regional energy initiatives can also provide access to a larger energy market and attract investments from neighboring countries.
ASEAN-Bangladesh energy cooperation holds immense potential for addressing energy challenges, promoting sustainable development, and fostering economic growth. The existing agreements and projects, along with future opportunities for collaboration, highlight the strategic importance of this partnership. By leveraging ASEAN’s advancements in renewable energy, energy infrastructure, policy development, and regional integration, Bangladesh can enhance its energy security, diversify its energy mix, and achieve its sustainable development goals. The future of ASEAN-Bangladesh energy cooperation looks promising, with both regions poised to benefit from mutual collaboration, shared knowledge, and joint investments. As they continue to strengthen their energy ties, ASEAN and Bangladesh can pave the way for a more secure, sustainable, and prosperous energy future.