Technological ambitions in environmental hell

Bangladesh is among the world’s most densely populated countries, and its environmental situation is dire. As officials in Dhaka tout digitisation and AI, outside are poisoned rivers, stripped forests and pervasive poverty.

ForkLog examines how the country is trying to reconcile its push for innovation with a deepening ecological crisis.

A country of contrasts

On the one hand, Bangladesh is a global centre of garment manufacturing. According to the IMF for 2025, the country’s GDP exceeded $467bn.

On the other hand, the average monthly salary, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, varies around 25,000–30,000 taka. 

Against this backdrop, talk of blockchain and artificial intelligence can seem surreal. Yet the conversation is active.

Between prohibition and experiments

The authorities’ official stance on cryptocurrencies remains unequivocal and harsh—an outright ban. All operations with digital assets fall under the “Foreign Exchange Regulation Act” and the “Anti-Terrorism Act”. Violators face lengthy prison terms. 

At the same time, in December 2022 Bangladesh Bank announced plans to launch a CBDC—a digital taka. The first pilot transactions with the asset were conducted in January 2024.

As so often, a formal ban does not mean the absence of a market. Its main drivers are the shadow economy and the overseas Bangladeshi diaspora. For migrants sending money home, cryptocurrencies offer a way to bypass the high fees of traditional remittance systems. 

It is a scenario familiar to many countries, including in the post-Soviet space. De facto, a parallel financial system operates—uncontrolled by the state yet tacitly acknowledged.

According to Triple-A, about 2.55% of Bangladesh’s population owns cryptoassets—roughly 180,000 people. By comparison, in neighbouring India the figure reaches 6.55%.

Bold pledges, scant results

In 2020 the government presented a National Blockchain Strategy to introduce distributed-ledger technology into public services by 2025. The plan envisaged digitising the land cadastre, electronic voting and transparent supply chains.

Five years on, tangible results are lacking: documents have been adopted, but real implementation is stalling. Meanwhile, the authorities are promoting the Smart Bangladesh Vision 2041. The initiative comes from the Awami League, led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The goal is to turn the country into a technologically advanced nation, built on four pillars: “smart citizens”, “smart government”, “smart economy” and “smart society”.

The question is who truly benefits from these projects. When external players supply “smart city” technologies in exchange for access to data and the market, and local elites secure state contracts, does life improve for an ordinary farmer or seamstress? Or is this merely a new, high-tech way to reallocate resources to a narrow group?

Who is driving digitisation

The state plays a pivotal role in technological development. The country is pursuing the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative, building tech parks—such as the Hi-Tech Park in Kaliakair—developing e-government and digital citizen services.

The private sector also matters. Local IT firms such as Grameenphone (the largest mobile operator), bKash (a leader in mobile financial services) and numerous startups are actively rolling out innovations.

International organisations and donor agencies play a key role in Bangladesh’s technological development. The World Bank finances projects to develop digital infrastructure and e-government. The Asian Development Bank has provided the country with 740 loans, grants and technical-assistance packages totalling $33bn.

Foreign technology companies are present, too. For instance, China’s Huawei is actively involved in developing Bangladesh’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Environmental collapse as a backdrop to innovation

Bangladesh ranks among the ten most polluted countries on the planet. Dhaka regularly tops rankings of cities with the worst air quality.

Causes of the environmental disaster:

• the textile industry discharges an average of 2.5bn litres of wastewater daily;
• brick production is a central component of the economy in South Asia, but also a source of greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution;
• since 1930, 75% of forests have been cut;
• the Buriganga and Shitalakkhya rivers are deemed biologically dead. 

The causes are not natural disasters but human action: unregulated industrialisation, driven by global demand for cheap clothing, compounded by corruption, the non-enforcement of environmental rules and immense demographic pressure.

Streetwear brands are the chief beneficiaries. Fast-fashion firms such as H&M, Zara and GAP have built their models on producing garments at minimal cost. 

The leading textile manufacturers in Bangladesh are Ha-Meem Group, Beximco Textiles and Square Fashions Ltd. The country ranks second by apparel exports—shipping $46.2bn worth of garments in 2024.

This raises a fundamental question about technological intent. Can advanced technology be rolled out while basic problems are ignored? Or is it a distraction? There is a risk that building data centres in such conditions will only worsen matters, increasing the strain on an already fragile ecosystem.

Is there a window of opportunity?

The issue is not the technologies themselves but the purposes they serve. A pragmatic, environmentally minded approach—without Luddism—may offer a way forward.

In theory, technology could deliver significant benefits. AI can track river pollution in real time, while drones and satellite imagery can uncover illegal logging.

But for that to happen, initiatives must come not only from government or corporations. There needs to be demand from civil society and from small and medium-sized businesses. 

For now, Smart Bangladesh risks remaining on paper, as many such visions have elsewhere. And if implemented, it may serve not the people of Bangladesh but those who see the country merely as a source of cheap labour and a new market.