Water security: Precondition to economic growth and sustainable development
The correlation between water and economy in Bangladesh is very intense from the beginning
of civilization in this soil
Faruque Hassan
Many of us may not be aware of the fact that World Water Day is an annual event celebrated on March 22nd as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. So lets commit to not wasting a single drop of water,today, tomorrow and the rest of time.
Historically known as a riverine country Bangladesh has more than 700 rivers, tributaries and different form of wetlands. The correlation between water and economy in Bangladesh is very intense from the beginning of civilization in this soil. Industrialization and urbanization also developed surrounding inland and sea ports. In the history of Bangladesh water comes in the form of disaster, means of communication and flood. Culturally the people of this area is never aware about water crisis and it is not treated as a scarce resource.
Due to heavy urbanization and industrialization the water table in and around Dhaka depleting 1 to 2 meters every year! Though ground water is not a problem for the whole country, the unplanned extraction of ground water in Bangladesh is dangerous for the future sustainability of our Country. Considering the importance of water resource conservation; sustainable consumption has been identified as one of the major goals of 17 SDGs. Ensuring water security has already been identified as a key area of concern for the RMG and textile industry of Bangladesh. Both industry and major buyers have showed significant concern over ensuring water resource for the days to come. Bangladesh standing at a takeoff phase and aspiring to be a middle income country by 2021 while RMG and textile will be playing a major role as it is the main engine of economic growth. No significant hydro economic studies have yet been done to see if we have enough of water to reach our strategic goals in future.
Bangladesh government has taken the issue of water security very seriously for which Bangladesh Water Act 2013 has been published and major policies are in hand. Government has signed an MoU with the Government of Netherlands on Bangladesh Delta plan 2100, Water Resource Group 2030 (WRG 2030) is a cosignatory of the MoU. WRG 2030 working through a water Multi Stakeholder Platform (MSP)that includes government, private sector and civil society with a aim to come up with some transformation in the industry, agriculture and municipal sector and ensure water security by demand-side efficiency measures, improve surface water quality through wastewater treatment and promote integrated water resources management. In the world Economic Forum 2017 in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Seikh Hasina asserted commitment of her government to the 2030 WRG in Bangladesh. Private sector too is very committed to this platform which is being steered by a high level National Steering Board where BGMEA is an important member.
Prior to the involvement in 2030 WRG, BGMEA introduced Bangladesh Water PaCT (Partnership for Cleaner Textile) program which is being implemented in around 200 wet processing units of the RMG industry that has helped successfully reduce water consumption of 18.4 billion liter per annum in the intervened factories. Another pilot project named TREES has been introduced in around 17 SMEs jointly implemented by BGMEA and PSES, GIZ. A textile sustainability platform (TSP) has been established to provide policy suggestion to the government toward ensuring sustainable growth of the industry. A textile technology business centre (TTBC) first of its kind has been established in BGMEA to help its member factories in disseminating information about environment friendly and resource efficient technology and best practices. TTBC also organize seminars on cleaner production, green factories etc. In recent years Bangladesh RMG sector showed remarkable success in the area of green industry, till date 67 factories got LEED Certification from United States Green building council (USGBC) of which 4 of the factories achieved highest rating in industrial category of the whole world and 13 are Platinum and 20 are Gold Certified. 220 more factories are in LEED certification pipeline
Most of the garments manufacturers are now concerned for Effluent treatment plant (ETP) as well as many NGOs are coming forward for waste water treatment for recycling and reuse of water as 72% water consumption takes place in the chemical processing of textiles. Directly throwing the waste water to field or linkage with rivers and water-logging causes a serious damage to the water, environment and creatures. ETP can be used to achieve certain standard from waste water before releasing waste in to the environment or any other sources.
For better service and concern for our environment, some NGOs are operating Mobile Water Treatment service around Dhaka area, where on call basis water treatment can be conducted and necessary suggestion and remarks can be provided for making standardized water quality that is reusable and environmental friendly.
Rain water harvesting, hazardous chemical manage ment, use of day lights, energy efficient LED lights, reuse and recycle of process water and so many other things are being practiced by the industry beyond compliance. Some significant development has already been achieved in Bangladesh but we have a lot more to do. Sustainability is not a standalone game rather a shared responsibility of all the parties involved. Changing attitude is definitely a long call, but it has to be started, the good thing is it started rolling in the right direction.
Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice-President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Exporters Association ( BGMEA ). Member, Board of Trustees , BGMEA University of Fashion Technology.
Managing Director , Giant Group
