Foreign Adviser advocates need for trans-boundary water management

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Foreign Adviser (FA) Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said in the city Saturday that trans-boundary management of waters between Bangladesh and India was relevant and important since the two friendly countries were dependent on the Ganges waters, reports BSS.
"This dependency positioned by the river Ganges remains and ever present reminder of the umbilical links between Bangladesh and India," he said while speaking at a dialogue on "Trans-Boundary Water Management: Issues and Concern" in CIRDAP auditorium in the city.
He said the Ganges and its tributaries flowed through three countries namely India, Nepal and Bangladesh. "It may not be an exaggeration to say that the enormous land mass including the fertile alluvial plains formed through the Ganges-Brahmaputra river basin system was the elixir of life for Bangladesh and India," he added.
The adviser said that the importance became more pronounced for a lower riparian country like Bangladesh where the Ganges provided freshwater supplies for its distributaries.
Eminent water expert Ainun Nishat, who is also country representative of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) presented the keynote paper.
Chaired by Mahfuz Ullah, chairperson, Bangladesh National Committee of IUCN, the function was also addressed, among others, by MH Siddiqui, KB Sajjadur Rahseed, Enamul Haque, Sultan Ahmed, Ferdousi Begum, Abdur Rahman and Ms Shikha.
Stressing the need for trans-boundary management of water, the FA said the Ganges basin river system remained the major source of freshwater for almost half of the population of India and Bangladesh and nearly entire population of Nepal.
The FA said considering the catchments of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna rivers, only seven per cent lay in Bangladesh. "This physical disposition severely constrains Bangladesh in the control and management of the inflow of water in the monsoon and dry seasons," he said.
Chowdhury said that the management of water resources between the two countries was necessary due to the seasonality aspect of water availability. In the Ganges, the flow might drop below the requirements of both countries from November to May. At present, he said, the shortage was acutely felt in March and April.
He said in future when both the countries developed more agricultural and industrial projects, the period of shortage would begin in November and end in June. The adviser said that trans- boundary management of water resources could be a win-win situation for both Bangladesh and India.
He said the two countries should cooperate to address conservation and protection of bio-diversity, to prevent desertification and to check salinity intrusion.