Integrated watershed management suggested to address water related problems
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Comprehensive integrated watershed management involving South Asian countries could address the longstanding water related problems including flood havoc, desertification and flash flood, said water experts, reports UNB.
As the origin of all principal rivers of Bangladesh is outside the country, so the rivers depend on upstream water to continue their flow and the country will not be able to address water related problems without integrated initiative with neighbouring countries, they said.
About 92 per cent of the catchment area of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) rivers is located outside Bangladesh while the GBM river basin is around 64 per cent in India, 18 per cent in China, nine per cent in Nepal and three per cent in Bhutan.
Water expert Sardar M Shah Newaz told the news agency that river floods result from melting of snow in the Himalayas and heavy monsoon rainfall over the catchments of Ganges and Brahmaputra floodplains lying outside Bangladesh.
He said, "Flash flood occurs in Bangladesh every year due to runoff during heavy rainfall in the neighbouring upland areas, mostly outside Bangladesh. We cannot manage our flash floods for want of comprehensive and planned watershed management."
Mr Newaz, also director of Flood Management Division of Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), underscored the necessity of water reservoirs in maintaining water system in South Asia region.
"As Bangladesh is a downstream country, there is no capability to build water reservoirs. Bangladesh can build water reservoirs in upstream areas of GBM basin in cooperation with neighbouring countries."
India, Nepal and Bhutan have great potentiality to construct water reservoirs in upstream areas due to vast space. If those countries would take joint initiative to build water reservoirs with mutual understanding, all countries would be benefited.
Mr Newaz said that more power could be generated by setting up hydropower stations in upstream areas to address the electricity crisis in South Asia region.
Recalling some big floods that occurred in Bangladesh over the couple of decades, he said it was common phenomena that the country's Meghna River basin was flooded every year and the flood situation could be controlled by ensuring integrated watershed management in the region.
"If we can ensure comprehensive integrated watershed management in a planned way, the ecosystem may improve though it will be changed."
Chairman of National Disaster Management Advisory Council MA Quassem said water availability was around 90 billion cubic metre (BCM) during the dry season against the demand of about 147 BCM-a shortfall of nearly 40 per cent, resulting drought like situation in large parts of the country.
"Water shortage in the dry season affects all water using sectors. Due to inadequate surface water, ground water is extensively used for irrigation and the over-extraction is causing deterioration of its quality."
Dr Quassem said rapid global warming had been causing fundamental changes to the country's climate. While flood-proneness in the monsoon season would increase, reduced water availability in the dry season would become more severe and accelerated sea level rise would increase salinity intrusion into low-lying areas.
"It is predicted that 45-cm rise of sea level may inundate about 17 per cent of our land by 2050 and result in about 35 million climate refugees from the coastal districts. Our water related problems are generated on the upstream watershed outside our territory and we face the consequences!"
Dr Quassem said the upstream storage reservoirs would provide multipurpose benefits like hydropower generation in addition to dry season augmentation of flows.
Nepal's hydropower generation was estimated at about 83,000-mw, of which 42,000-mw was considered as techno-economically feasible while that of Bhutan about 20,000-mw and India 34,000-mw, he said.
He said that the issue of cooperation among the co-riparian countries on watershed management should be considered as an issue of national development growth, rural development and poverty alleviation and should not be used for political expediency.
"The benefits of such cooperation should be clearly visualised and appreciated by the people in general."
As the origin of all principal rivers of Bangladesh is outside the country, so the rivers depend on upstream water to continue their flow and the country will not be able to address water related problems without integrated initiative with neighbouring countries, they said.
About 92 per cent of the catchment area of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) rivers is located outside Bangladesh while the GBM river basin is around 64 per cent in India, 18 per cent in China, nine per cent in Nepal and three per cent in Bhutan.
Water expert Sardar M Shah Newaz told the news agency that river floods result from melting of snow in the Himalayas and heavy monsoon rainfall over the catchments of Ganges and Brahmaputra floodplains lying outside Bangladesh.
He said, "Flash flood occurs in Bangladesh every year due to runoff during heavy rainfall in the neighbouring upland areas, mostly outside Bangladesh. We cannot manage our flash floods for want of comprehensive and planned watershed management."
Mr Newaz, also director of Flood Management Division of Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), underscored the necessity of water reservoirs in maintaining water system in South Asia region.
"As Bangladesh is a downstream country, there is no capability to build water reservoirs. Bangladesh can build water reservoirs in upstream areas of GBM basin in cooperation with neighbouring countries."
India, Nepal and Bhutan have great potentiality to construct water reservoirs in upstream areas due to vast space. If those countries would take joint initiative to build water reservoirs with mutual understanding, all countries would be benefited.
Mr Newaz said that more power could be generated by setting up hydropower stations in upstream areas to address the electricity crisis in South Asia region.
Recalling some big floods that occurred in Bangladesh over the couple of decades, he said it was common phenomena that the country's Meghna River basin was flooded every year and the flood situation could be controlled by ensuring integrated watershed management in the region.
"If we can ensure comprehensive integrated watershed management in a planned way, the ecosystem may improve though it will be changed."
Chairman of National Disaster Management Advisory Council MA Quassem said water availability was around 90 billion cubic metre (BCM) during the dry season against the demand of about 147 BCM-a shortfall of nearly 40 per cent, resulting drought like situation in large parts of the country.
"Water shortage in the dry season affects all water using sectors. Due to inadequate surface water, ground water is extensively used for irrigation and the over-extraction is causing deterioration of its quality."
Dr Quassem said rapid global warming had been causing fundamental changes to the country's climate. While flood-proneness in the monsoon season would increase, reduced water availability in the dry season would become more severe and accelerated sea level rise would increase salinity intrusion into low-lying areas.
"It is predicted that 45-cm rise of sea level may inundate about 17 per cent of our land by 2050 and result in about 35 million climate refugees from the coastal districts. Our water related problems are generated on the upstream watershed outside our territory and we face the consequences!"
Dr Quassem said the upstream storage reservoirs would provide multipurpose benefits like hydropower generation in addition to dry season augmentation of flows.
Nepal's hydropower generation was estimated at about 83,000-mw, of which 42,000-mw was considered as techno-economically feasible while that of Bhutan about 20,000-mw and India 34,000-mw, he said.
He said that the issue of cooperation among the co-riparian countries on watershed management should be considered as an issue of national development growth, rural development and poverty alleviation and should not be used for political expediency.
"The benefits of such cooperation should be clearly visualised and appreciated by the people in general."