bangladesh and ganges catchment

7/30/2019 Bangladesh and Ganges Catchment

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Writer: Planner Shaing Shaing U Nini

Submitted to

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Bendigo Campus, La Trobe University.

Australia


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Ganges catchment and Bangladesh


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Abstract: This essay will explore the current concept of a catchment management. It has been

practicing by the environmentalist, socialist, government and community for three decades.

Catchment management is an idea that has a long history in the management of water in the UK,

legislation in the 1970s, catchment management plans in the early 1990s and later leaps

(Web4water, n.d.). The main purpose of this concept is to provide a sustainable environment

management to the mankind. As an idea, it is apparently great and widely supported by everyone.

However, there are some limitations and barriers that challenge the current approach of the

catchment management to implement and adopt with integrity. There are many examples in the

world that illustrate a catchment management issue can be seen as a social, national, political and

environmental challenge, as some of them have been badly managed and poorly used for a long

time. This essay will provide a case study on the catchment management that will demonstrate the

practical difficulties in adopting and implementing a structured approach to catchment management

in Bangladesh. Moreover, some practical measures that the writer has identified from the research

as to how catchment management could be implemented in Bangladesh as well as other concepts

will be explored.

Introduction: Rivers can be used and developed for many purposes of mankind including for

drinking, irrigation, drainage, industrial use and to produce electricity power. It can also be used to

mitigate floods and to sustain ecological diversity of the catchment. However, the use of water of a

multiriparian river is beset with conflicting problems. The self-interest of riparian areas, be it inter

or intra-national, often comes into conflict with natural laws related to the very survival of a river

regime. This writing will explore an on going dispute around a significant watercourse the Ganges

River India-Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a deltaic country, and it has numerous numbers of small and

big rivers. Brammaputra and Ganges are the major rivers in Bangladesh. The Ganges River which

started to flow from India is one of the biggest rivers in Bangladesh. The Ganga River in


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Bangladesh is known as Ganga-Padma River in Bangladesh begins in the central Himalayas and

flows 2500 kilometres to the Bay of Bengal. Since Farakka Barrage was built in the Ganges River

in India, it has been significantly affecting especially, lower part of the catchment's natural

ecosystem.

The difficult concepts of the catchment management:

Catchment is an area of a land which drains water to the same point. The Ganges catchment covers

three countries India, Bangladesh and Nepal. There are several issues in order to use, develop and

manage the entire catchment as a whole. Lacks of awareness, political desire, exploitation and

power have become the major factors for the deteriorating condition of the Ganges catchment

management. Moreover, there are also some other factors that have been limiting the scope of the

Ganges catchment management including the catchments boundary, geographical structure and

different type of interests around the catchment use and development. Technically, the Ganges

catchment boundary is significantly critical; therefore, to manage the entire catchment as whole

concept has become a great challenge.

Case study of Bangladesh:

Due to the poor management of the Ganges catchment, especially the ongoing activity in the upper

stream of the catchment has been significantly affecting half of Bangladesh. The conflict arose as a

result of the Indian governments decision to build a reservoir, the Farakka Barrage, at the very

beginning of the Ganges. In 1974, India built a barrage on Ganges at Farakka (a place in India) in

order to divert water for its own use. The water was diverted to Hogly River via 26 mile long canal

(M. Khalequzzaman, Farakka Barrage 1993:2). Evidence shows, due to diversion of Ganges

water in 1974-76, Bangladesh experienced drought which has impacted on the entire countrys


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economy. Every year there is drought and flood in Bangladesh due to the Farakka Barrage in India.

Particularly, in the summer seasons when the farmers need water for irrigation they experience

water scarcity. On the other hand, in rainy seasons there are some irregular floods occurring in

Bangladesh due to extra water excursion from the Farakka Barrage. It has adversely affected

agriculture, irrigation, forestry, industrial activities, and salinity intrusion of coastal rivers,

groundwater level, sediment influx, coastal erosion and fisheries in Bangladesh.

Especially, in the summer season, irrigation of crops and navigation are both impossible. The

summer of 1993 was characterized by almost completely dry riverbeds across the country as

reported by all major newspapers in Bangladesh (M. Khalequzzaman, Farakka Barrage 1993:2).

In the case of the Ganges catchment, the Farakka Barrage is not only the issue related to

development ( Farakka Barage), but there are also issues around misuse and management including

waste dumping for Puja (prayer and sacrifice to God) including dead animals and human bodies in


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the Ganges River (New effort to , BBC 2002). It is apparent that a mutual understanding and

political commitment is required for a better management of the Ganges River catchment.

Initiatives for the management of Ganges catchment

After the independence of Bangladesh, the Farakka Barrage issue was taken up for decision

between the two countries at the ministerial level. After a long political discussion, March 2nd

, 1972

the two countries signed a 25 years relationship treaty (the treaty of friendship, co operation and

peace). A part in the treaty said:

'the high constructing parties (further) agree to

make joint studies and take joint actions in the

fields of flood control, river basin development of

hydro electric power and irrigation' (Begum

Khurshida, 1987:100)

During that time a decision was also taken to set up the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission

(JRC). The main objectives of the JRC were to maintain liaison between the two countries in order

to ensure the most effective joint efforts in maximizing the benefits of the Ganges River system, to

study, investigate and plan on flood control and take up irrigational projects to utilise the water on

an equitable basis. However, there was no particular solution of sharing the Ganges water (Begum

Khurshida, Tension over the Farakka Barrage, 1987:109).


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Flood in Bangladesh 1998

Even after many years, there was no agreement between India and Bangladesh in order to share and

manage the Ganges catchment in a sustainable way. During the last 19 years, only between 1977

and 1982 there has been an agreement between these two countries to address water sharing during

summer months (M. Khalequzzaman, Farakka Barrage 1993:2).

Some of the practical difficulties in adopting and implementing a structured approach to

catchment management in Bangladesh:

There are some factors that limit the scope of the catchment management including the catchments

boundary, geographical structure and different type of interests regarding the catchment use,

management and development. Moreover, the lack of a workable management plan for the water

allocation to Bangladesh has created long term problems. It has not only been a political agenda but

also a community issue. International communities concerns have not been heeded to deal with

these issues. According to the Helsinki Rule signed in 1966 regarding water rights to international

rivers, all basin states of International River have the right to access an equitable and reasonable

share of the water flow. Over three decades, Bangladesh has been trying unsuccessfully to reach at


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an agreement with India to allocate water equally between two countries. Major river developments

usually have multiple purposes, but the Ganges dispute started with a major single issue which is

known as Farakka Barrage.

Issues around catchment management to deal with when working with different communities:

Obviously, every catchment has many different communities and interested groups for instance,

industrialist community, farming community, local social organisation, legal agencies, local

government, political parties, environmentalist and general community that depends on the

catchment. Therefore, for the success of an integrated catchment management it requires all

interested parties to be actively involved in the planning and decision making process. When a

catchment boundary is just limited within a country, it alleviates the difficulties faced to develop the

process of an integrated catchment management.

In the case of the Ganges catchment, it has different community from different countries (India-

Bangladesh-Nepal) are being depending on Ganges catchment. Therefore, it has become a complex

issue to resolve especially, when it comes to agree in a point for the decision making (Goree. Kimo,

2003).


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Innumerable cracks developed on the bed of the Padma as the mighty river dried up due to

the adverse effect of Farakka Barrage in India.

The presence of Farakka Barrage in the upper stream has brought economic prosperity for the

Indian economy, but chaos for the lower catchment boundary. Almost half of the Bangladeshi

population depends on the Ganges catchment, but there is no concern from the Indian government

that would cooperate to develop a sustainable watercourse management. In this case, apparently the

political power of the Indian government is playing a significant role in the resolution of the Ganges

catchment management, and the pressure and effort of the international community for the

sustainable of Ganges catchment management never been worked well.

How effective have these initiatives been and what is limiting their effectiveness :

It is obvious that, the efforts from the Bangladeshi government to resolve the issues associated to

sharing and developing the Ganges water between these two countries has not been effective and

diplomatic. The experts, who are not politicians made comments regarding this long-time consumed

issues are that 'it is first off essential to make India agree to some kind of solid agreement, and to


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get certain terms-conditions regarding the technical issues of the catchment which are dominating

the techno-political negotiations' (Begum Khurshida,1987:185). Second, Bangladeshi political

leaders must select the delegates who are famous and popular politically and diplomatically are

good enough to deal technically with the Ganges issues. Previous history tells, many times the

delegation convoys of the Ganges issues management were infamous, non-diplomatic,

controversial, young politician and disliked by the Indian people. Therefore, it delayed a successful

negotiation process for Bangladesh. Finally, the most important thing is a guideline and definite

policy which Bangladesh does not have. Bangladeshi politicians have no definite guideline to

pursue for water development, and they tend to settle things for the time when it is necessary. In

contrast, India has a long term policy to pursue with the finite end in view. Therefore, India has

chosen to make a short term sacrifice for a long term treaty on the Ganges-Brahmaputra catchments.

Finally, the whole discussion highlights the fact that political motives became a predominant factor

for the Ganges water dispute while the dispute originally based upon technical problem. The

behaviours of the particular political personality or personalities or parties' interconnection with

each other decide the fate of Farakka Barrage (Begum Khurshida, 1987:185).

Some practical measures that have identified from research: how catchment management

could be implemented.

Conflict over water resources has multiple causes, and the causes of conflict can include

incompatible uses of water, structural conflict, policies and regulation may be contradictory, value

conflict-different actors or agencies may value water differently, e.g. Use value versus economic or

conservation value Many reforms in the governance of water and river basin have been occurred as

an outcome of conflict. In Australia, longstanding conflicts between the environmentalist and the

farmers in the Murray-Darling provide the historical backdrop to the Landcare movement and to


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multiple-stakeholders forums for managing water in its basin context (Dealing with conflict and

risk, n.d.). In literature, conflict resolution is often prescribed through the utilization of one or a

combination of the following approaches:

Technical- modeling of water flows, quality and setting water use rules; Legal- stipulating rights in law and regulation, allowing conflicts to be dealt with courts of

law;

Political-multi-stakeholders forums/committees, co-management and negotiation (Dealingwith conflict and risk, n.d.).

However, theoretically dealing with these different approaches makes little reference to their

effectiveness in different, social, cultural and political context. Therefore, it is easy to describe how

a catchment system can be used and managed properly especially, if it is located within a national

boundary, but in many cases the fact is different. Most of catchments boundaries do not end within

a country; it could flow within two or more than two countries. Therefore, integrated catchment

management becomes a complex system to manage and develop because of the different

communities different level of interest, social perception, political agenda and religious value

However, conflict and problem can be solved, and the simple answer is if the community and

government, and all relevant parties of the Ganges catchment need to function together.

Conclusion: The idea and approach of an integrated catchment management offers a sustainable

and environment friendly future to the watercourse and mankind. In many countries, this approach

is being applied successfully to use, develop and manage the catchment system. However, there are

many places around the world where the approach of catchment management has not applied with

integrity rather than misusing the resources for particular purposes by the power holder country.

This essay has explored Ganges catchments current issues and conditions regarding the use,

management and development. Moreover, the critical components that pose challenges for an

integrated catchment management have also been discussed. Finally, this essay has discussed the


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practical difficulties in adopting and implementing a structured approach to catchment management

and provided some recommendations on the better catchment management specifically in the case

of the Ganges catchment management.

bangladesh and ganges catchment

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