
Photovoltaic technology has emerged as one of the methods of accessing energy for low level consumption. The systems use solar energy for generation of electricity. Since solar energy is available everywhere, this technology should serve as a great booster for rural electrification. There is no fuel cost or moving parts in this system, resulting in quiet functioning leading to durability and a soundless environment. Since 1980, a number of organizations in Bangladesh have been involved in research, development and diffusion of PV systems, but penetration among the users has been very slow.
This book is based on the author's more than thirty years experience with soils and agricultural development in Bangladesh. It provides a systematic description of the country's soils, how they have formed and where they occur. It is intended for use as a university text-book and as a guide for agricultural, forestry and environmental officials and consultants on the characteristics and distribution of the soils which support the country's varied land use and ecological habitats.
This book explores how the landless poor, excluded from land-based agricultural development, can open up an opportunity to get out of poverty in the rural economy. The book identifies a gap between the growth and poverty-reduction dimensions of non-land-based rural development. The former is directed towards the non-poor; the latter is open to the landless poor. The poverty-reduction dimension is effective in reducing poverty but is not sufficient to help the landless escape from poverty.
Is Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) just a cliche, which does not adequately address the growing complexity of water resources management, or is it an operational approach toward making rational decisions regarding the use of these essential resources? This book aims to contribute to efforts in Bangladesh to make IWRM into an effective approach. It does so by focusing on two crucial issues in IWRM: institutional arrangements and participatory approaches.