Water convention stresses sustainable water resource management
UNB
Speakers at the National Water Convention, 2016 stressed the need for sustainable management of water resources as the availability of water is declining day by day, reports UNB.
Speaking as the chief guest, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud emphasised preserving the countrys water-bodies and rivers, aiming to ensure sustainable management of water resources.
Weve many rivers, canals and beels, but all are being grabbedwe must preserve these rivers and wetlands to store water, he told the inaugural session of the conference in the capital yesterday.
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad and NGO Forum jointly arranged the two-day National Water Convention 2016: Sustainable Water Regime in Bangladesh: Availability, Management and Access at PKSF auditorium.
During monsoon, the minister said, Bangladesh gets huge water but 80 percent of it goes to the Bay of Bengal for lack of its proper management while only 20 percent remains available for the rest of the year, creating scarcity of water during the dry season.
He said Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) had given emphasis on flood control and irrigation only during the 70s and it started river management in the early 80s changing its previous approach. But, now were extensively managing rivers.
Noting that sustainable water development is a new concept, the minister said Bangladesh has been created by rivers and that is why people never in the past thought that water could become a problem where there.
About the prevailing water challenges, the Water Resources Minister said since Bangladesh is a lower riparian country, withdrawal of water from trans-boundary rivers is intensifying the water problems here.
He said water flow has rapidly declined in common rivers like the Teesta and the Ganga due to withdrawal of water from upstream areas by India, contributing to the emergence of arsenic and salinity problems in the countrys southwestern region.
To meet our water demand, were extracting groundwater triggering arsenic problem herebut water availability and its management is very important. Were polluting water every day because were not aware of, he said.
Many people often talk about the Teesta Water Treaty and Bangladesh of course is keen to sign the pact to get its share of water, he said, adding that but people hardly say about its utilisation.
PKSF chairman Prof Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said Bangladesh must ensure water management, aiming to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).
About the availability of water, he said the total water volume of the earth is about 1386 cubic killometres in diameter and of which, only 2.5 percent is freshwater. But, only 0.76 percent of total water volume, which is freshwater, is useable since over 68 percent freshwater is locked up in ice and glaciers, he added.
Qazi Kholiquzzaman, also an economist, said the per capita water in Bangladesh is 7,568 cubic metres while 150-200 cubic metres in neighbouring countries. So, question may arise why Bangladesh faces sacristy of water. Its because the country has a plenty of water during monsoon, but a very little water during dry season, he said.
Recalling water-poverty linkage, he said if there is any water trouble, the poor people, including farmers and agriculture workers, will be badly affected. The economist said climate change also poses one kind of adverse impact on the availability of water in Bangladesh.
As many as 13 working sessions on saving rivers, flood management in Bangladesh, arsenic contamination in the ground water, water management in drought prone regions, urban water challenges, climate change induced salinity in coastal areas of Bangladesh and trans-boundary water issues will take place in the two-day seminar.
