Political consensus needed to solve water problem in South Asia
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Speakers at a seminar said that water is a cardinal resource for human stability and prosperity and it should be used as a force for regional integration and not division, said a press release.
Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP) organised the seminar on "Trans-boundary water issues in South Asia" in the city Monday.
Presided over by Quamrul Islam Siddique, president of BWP, the seminar was attended by ATM Shamsul Huda, chief election commissioner as the chief guest.
Former ministers of the Ministry of Water Resources Anisul Islam Mahmud, Abdur Razzaque and LK Siddiqui also attended the seminar.
Tauhidul Anwar Khan, secretary general of BWP presented a keynote paper at the seminar. In his keynote paper Khan observed that a river basin organisation could be set-up in collaboration with different countries for an integrated management of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers.
Prominent among the discussants were Prof M Maniruzzaman Mian, vice-president of BWP and former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University (DU), Sadeque Khan, columnist, Farhad Mazhar, columnist, Prof Sajjadur Rashid of DU, Ambassador Mohammad Zamir, vice-president of BWP and Syeda Rizwana Hassan, director of BELA.
In his address Shamsul Huda said a broad political consensus is necessary to solve water issues in the region. He stressed on the heart to heart talks between the politicians of the region on sharing of river water.
Anisul Islam Mahmud said that the problem of water issues actually lies in the Brahmaputra river. He, however, stressed on the point that the Brahmaputra river water has to be guaranteed.
Abdur Razzaque said, political will and commitment are necessary to solve water problems in our country.
LK Siddiqui said, we are supposed not only to share the Ganges water, but also to share the bounties of nature.
Farhad Mazhar in his observation as a discussant said, "We in Bangladesh should harvest and conserve sweet water as well."
Sadeq Khan said, the role of international agencies fostering water management is very important in modern times for water sharing among the river basin authorities.
Syeda Rezwana Hassan said, international water issue is not merely a political issue, it is also an environmental and economic issue. She said, water distribution for South Asia has to be considered not only from engineering bias, but also from environmental consideration.
Sajjadur Rashid said, water problem is not a bilateral issue in this region. He said, a kind of multilateral approach is necessary to solve water issues.
Maniruzzaman Mian said, due to global climatic change we will have to face dearth of water in future and population will continue to increase. The water situation in dry season will be serious, he said. Water problem can never be solved bilaterally, he added.
Zamir said, "We need to stop looking back. We have to look forward. We have to form a mindset to solve water issues in our region".
Quamrul Islam Siddique in his presidential address said, substantial water augmentation in our river systems is possible if we all work together at the government and political level.
Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP) organised the seminar on "Trans-boundary water issues in South Asia" in the city Monday.
Presided over by Quamrul Islam Siddique, president of BWP, the seminar was attended by ATM Shamsul Huda, chief election commissioner as the chief guest.
Former ministers of the Ministry of Water Resources Anisul Islam Mahmud, Abdur Razzaque and LK Siddiqui also attended the seminar.
Tauhidul Anwar Khan, secretary general of BWP presented a keynote paper at the seminar. In his keynote paper Khan observed that a river basin organisation could be set-up in collaboration with different countries for an integrated management of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers.
Prominent among the discussants were Prof M Maniruzzaman Mian, vice-president of BWP and former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University (DU), Sadeque Khan, columnist, Farhad Mazhar, columnist, Prof Sajjadur Rashid of DU, Ambassador Mohammad Zamir, vice-president of BWP and Syeda Rizwana Hassan, director of BELA.
In his address Shamsul Huda said a broad political consensus is necessary to solve water issues in the region. He stressed on the heart to heart talks between the politicians of the region on sharing of river water.
Anisul Islam Mahmud said that the problem of water issues actually lies in the Brahmaputra river. He, however, stressed on the point that the Brahmaputra river water has to be guaranteed.
Abdur Razzaque said, political will and commitment are necessary to solve water problems in our country.
LK Siddiqui said, we are supposed not only to share the Ganges water, but also to share the bounties of nature.
Farhad Mazhar in his observation as a discussant said, "We in Bangladesh should harvest and conserve sweet water as well."
Sadeq Khan said, the role of international agencies fostering water management is very important in modern times for water sharing among the river basin authorities.
Syeda Rezwana Hassan said, international water issue is not merely a political issue, it is also an environmental and economic issue. She said, water distribution for South Asia has to be considered not only from engineering bias, but also from environmental consideration.
Sajjadur Rashid said, water problem is not a bilateral issue in this region. He said, a kind of multilateral approach is necessary to solve water issues.
Maniruzzaman Mian said, due to global climatic change we will have to face dearth of water in future and population will continue to increase. The water situation in dry season will be serious, he said. Water problem can never be solved bilaterally, he added.
Zamir said, "We need to stop looking back. We have to look forward. We have to form a mindset to solve water issues in our region".
Quamrul Islam Siddique in his presidential address said, substantial water augmentation in our river systems is possible if we all work together at the government and political level.