The government is set to create a platform of stakeholders for efficient and coordinate use of water aiming at improving water security through reducing gap between demand and supply, officials said.
The body namely Water Multi-Stakeholders Partnership (MSP) will also work for improving the quality of available water resources for agricultural, industrial, and domestic use of water and to ensure sustainability of essential eco-system services, they added.
The Water MSP will comprise key policy-makers from ministries of water resources, finance, planning, commerce, agriculture, local government, environment, public-private partnership office and other concerned government agencies, non-government organisations like Brac, trade bodies, and water sector experts.
The Ministry of Water Resources will hold a view exchange meeting with concerned ministries and agencies next week which will be chaired by cabinet secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.
Later, a national steering board of Water MSP will be formed for coordination among water governance sustainability, greater Dhaka watershed restoration, and agri-water efficiency.
Multilateral development partners and donor agencies will be involved in the steering board as permanent observer members and they will knowledge, expertise, and funding.
The Water MSP will be formed under Bangladesh Initiative of 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG), an innovative and neutral public-private expert-civil society partnership of the World Economic Forum's Water Initiative which is being hosted by the International Finance Corporation since 2012.
A white paper prepared for WRG's Bangladesh Initiative said initially it will focus three work-streams namely: water governance and sustainability, greater Dhaka watershed restoration, and agri-water efficiency.
"Bangladesh faces challenges in creating both a cohesive set of policies and legislation and strong implementing mechanisms to ensure effective governance of this critical resource," it said.
The water governance and sustainability work-stream focuses on policy incentives and institutions, green finance for water, and Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 engagement.
The desired outcomes of these focused areas include strengthening policies and regulations for water resources management, increase of institutional capacity, collaboration and capacity of monitoring organisations, and strengthening of compliance system.
The reorganisation of water efficiency is an important segment by financial sector, making provision by central bank for funds to kick-start the water efficiency financing initiative, increased private sector participation in water infrastructure, and increased involvement of civil society in formulation and implementation of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
The Greater Dhaka Watershed (GDW) restoration covers 6,700 kilometres which include watercourses of greater Dhaka and surrounding areas that are greatly influenced by industrialisation; the white paper said and added these courses receive the entire pollutant load of the greater Dhaka area with a population of over 25 million.
"The GDW has suffered alarming levels of environmental degradation which was induced by the rapid growth of the poorly regulated export-based local industry, agricultural run-off, and an overall unplanned and un-serviced urbanisation," it noted.
As a result, the pollutant levels in the groundwater are increasing and many sections of the rivers and canals in the city and surrounding areas, especially the Buriganga and Sitalakhya rivers, turn out to be biologically dead during the dry season.
The GWD restoration work stream will focus wastewater treatment, aquifer management, river and wetlands management, and innovative solutions.
The possible outcomes of the work stream include increased reuse of treated water by industries and agriculture in and around Dhaka, and increased private sector investments in water infrastructure.
The white paper also said contrary to popular perception, Bangladesh is slowly entering into a serious stage of demand and supply gap in terms of its water resources. The growth forecast says that the domestic demand will double by 2030 following 200 per cent increase in industrial water demand, and over 46 per cent increase in irrigation water demand.
"If no drastic action is taken, the situation may take an unmanageable turn with serious consequences to its economy as well as lives of the populations," it said.
The Water MSP will work to introduce water efficient technologies like micro-irrigation systems and efficient water management practices, promote diversification to high value crops, and explore opportunities for innovative financing mechanisms, market linkages, and agricultural practices.
   syful-islam@outlook.com
Move to improve water security by reducing demand-supply gap
Syful Islam | Published: August 15, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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