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Water Resources Management

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Water Resources Management aims atmanaging the tasks required to generate water

and produce water related goods and services forthe benefits of the society as a whole. It includesphysical intervention, related financialmanagement, institutional arrangement,

legislation, and regulations.

Water Resources System (WRS) consists of

various components of the natural system,human made infrastructure, and the institutionalarrangements to regulate and control theavailability and access of users to thesecomponents.

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In Bangladesh agriculture is the principal economicactivity and the main user of water. Water also hasdomestic, commercial and industrial use. The in-stream

flows and water storage support fisheries, forestry,navigation, pollution control, salinity control, natureconservation and recreational facilities.

The natural subsystems of WRS of the country are:(a) the inter-linked system of rivers, estuaries,canals, khals etc;(b) the floodplain;(c) wetlands;(d) haors, baors, beels, lakes;(e) ponds;(f) inter tidal lands and water; and(g) groundwater aquifers

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Water management issues and challenges

Water resources management in Bangladesh faces

immense challenges of resolving diverse problems andissues. The most critical of these are floods in the wet

season and the scarcity of water in the dry season, ever

expanding water needs of a growing economy and

population, supply of safe drinking water and

sanitation, arsenic problem, water pollution, massive

river sedimentation and river bank erosion. There is a

growing need for maintaining the ecosystems

particularly in the fish resources and wetlands. The

water management is increasingly facing challenges ofexogenous developments of a global nature, such as

climate change and sea level rise, as well as of

upstream river basin development beyond the border of

the country. Also there is the issue of competitive

demand of various water uses.

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Major studies

The most important reports/documents which have guided

the government policy on the water resources sector are:(i) Water and Power Development in East Pakistan: Report

of UnitedNations Technical Assistance Mission, 1957

(Krug Mission Report);

(ii) East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority

Master Plan 1964 (EPWAPDA 1964 Master Plan);(iii) International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development (IBRD) Review of EPWAPDA 1964 Master

Plan, 1966;

(iv) Land and Water Resources Sector Study, Bangladesh,IBRD, 1972; (v) national Water Plan Phase-I, MPO, 1986;

(vi) National Water Plan Phase-II, MPO, 1991;

(vii) The Flood Action Plan, FPCO, 1989-95; and

(viii) The Bangladesh Water and Flood Management

Strategy FPCO, 1995.

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The Krug Mission Report, 1957 was a product of a study on floodcontrol and water management in East Pakistan after thedisastrous floods of 1954, 1955 and 1956 that drew world

attention. The most significant recommendation of the report wasto create a new government corporation with comprehensiveresponsibilities and authorities to deal with all water and powerdevelopment problems. Following the recommendation, EastPakistan Water and Power Development Authority was created in

1959.The EPWAPDA 1964 Master Plan was designed to meet the agriculturaldemand of water through large-scale public sector development andwater management in both dry season (irrigation) and wet season(flooding). The Master Plan identified 63 water development projects

and grouped them according to geographic locations. Major outcomesof the plan were the initiation of the process of national level watersector planning and the eventual implementation of large-scale FloodControl Drainage (FCD) and Flood Control, Drainage & Irrigation (FCDI)projects including the protection of most coastal zones against tidal

flooding.

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IBRD Report on Land and Water Resources, Bangladesh, 1972 emphasised the

need for quick results from water development efforts to achieve food grain self-

sufficiency. It attached high priority to small and medium sized, simple, low cost,

labour intensive projects. Such schemes would involve low embankments and

gravity drainage. It also proposed low lift pump irrigation and tubewell irrigation.

The government, however, did not accept the study as a whole but its water

development strategy was greatly influenced by its findings and

recommendations.

The National Water Plan (NWP) was formulated in 1986 by the Master Plan

Organisation (MPO) created in 1983. In its first phase, the NWP identified 15

modes of development for the water sector with analysis in four major categories

such as FCD (flood control, and gravity drainage), irrigation (major and minor

irrigation), FCDI (flood control, drainage and irrigation), and additional modes. The

investment priorities set by NWP included (a) minor irrigation schemes such as

low lift pump (LLP), shallow tubewells (STWs); (b) major irrigation schemes

(FCDI); (c) deep tubewells (DTW); and (d) flood control and drainage scheme

(FCD).Master Plan Organisation prepared the National Water Plan Phase-II in 1991. It

updated NWP-I with a detailed investment programme and a list of projects. The

20-year (1991-2010) public investment programme gave more emphasis to FCD.

Although the government did not formally accept the NWP reports, the NWP had

in its two phases, made important contributions to the knowledge and

understanding of the water resources of Bangladesh. The NWP data provided thebasis for subse uent water sector lannin .

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After the disastrous floods of 1987 and 1988, the attention of thegovernment of Bangladesh, as well as its development partners wasonce again focussed to floods in the country, especially in its urbanareas. The Flood Plan Co-ordination Organisation (FPCO) was createdin 1989 and it undertook 26 studies under a common umbrella known asthe Flood Action Plan (FAP). Noteworthy among the features of FAPwere (a) the attention to urban FCD and non-structural flood proofing,though agriculture remained the main focus of regional plans; and (b)emphasis on social and environmental impact, effect on fisheries, andpeople's participation in flood control and water management.The report titled "The Bangladesh Water and Flood ManagementStrategy (BWFMS), 1995" was a follow-up to FAP and became theworking policy document for the water sector that presented aframework for the development and implementation of specificprogrammes in water sector. It recommended a 5-year programmeinvolving (a) preparation of National Water Policy; (b) preparation of anational water management plan; (c) strengthening of water sectororganisations responsible for planning, construction, operation andmaintenance; and (d) implementation of a portfolio of high priorityprojects.

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Policy on Strategic frameworkThe government declared the NationalWater Policy (NWPo) in 1999. The six national goals of the NWPo wereeconomic development, poverty alleviation, food security, public healthand safety, a decent standard of living for the people, and protection ofthe national environment. The other related government policies thathave direct bearing on water sector are the National Environment Policy1992, National Forestry Policy 1994, National Energy Policy 1996,National Policy for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation 1998, NationalFisheries Policy 1998, National Agriculture Policy 1999, and IndustrialPolicy 1999.

Water Rights and Laws Ownership of surface and groundwater restswith the state. There are many legislation relating to water sector, somedating back over a century. The list includes the Irrigation Act 1876,Embankment and Drainage Act 1952, Bangladesh Water and PowerDevelopment Boards Order 1972, Irrigation Water Rate Ordinance1983, Groundwater Management Ordinance 1985, Water ResourcesPlanning Act 1992, Environment Conservation Act 1995, Water Supplyand Sewerage Authority Act 1996, Environment Conservation Rules1997, Environment Court Act 1999, Bangladesh Water Development

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International treaties and protocols In 1996, Bangladesh and India signed athirty year agreement regarding sharing of the Ganges water. This is the onlyexisting agreement between the two countries regarding sharing of the water oftheir 54 common rivers. Bangladesh is a signatory to the following international

protocols which has implications on environmental aspects of water resources:(a) Agenda 21, the 1992 Rio Convention on Biological Diversity; (b) the 1971Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, applies in Bangladesh to the Sundarbansand parts of the Haor Basin (Tanguar Haor), the only such sites at present inBangladesh; (c) the 1973 Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies of Wild Fauna and Flora; (d) the 1972 Convention on the Protection ofWorld Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites; (e) the 1992 United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change; (f) the 1954 InternationalConvention for Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil; (g) the MarinePollution Conventions; and (h) the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes.Institutional setting At present, the agencies or organisations which have

relevant functions in water sector are of four categories: (a) governmentagencies; (b) local government institutions; (c) other organisations and theprivate sector; and (d) development partners. The government agencies include13 ministries and 35 organisations, the most important among which are theMinistry of Water Resources, Bangladesh Water Development Board, WaterResources Planning Organisation (WARPO), Joint Rivers Commission, RiverResearch Institute,

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Surface Water Modeling Centre, Bangladesh Haor & WetlandDevelopment Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Ministry of Local

Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives, LocalGovernment Engineering Department, Department of PublicHealth Engineering, Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Authority,Chittagong Water Supply and Sanitation Authority, Ministry ofEnvironment & Forest, Department of Environment, Ministry of

Ports, Shipping & Inland Water Transport, Bangladesh InlandWater Transport Authority, Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock,Department of Fisheries, and Disaster Management Bureau.The local government institutions are the Paurashava

(municipalities) and the Parishads (councils, mainly the upazilaparishads). The category 'Other Organisations & Private Sector'includes community based organisations, non-governmentorganisations, cooperatives, and private sector organisations andinstitutions.

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Participatory water management The National Water Policydirected that "Stakeholder involvement should be an integral partof water resources management at all stages of the project cycle".

Stakeholder institutions (water users group) were establishedwithin FCD areas of BWDB, based on drainage blocks orchawks.LGED, DPHE, Barind Multipurpose Development Project alsoformed water user groups in different names. The institutionalframework in which the local stakeholders are to participate is known as the

Water Management Organisation (WMO) comprising the Water ManagementGroup (WMG), Water Management Association (WMA) and Water ManagementFederation (WMF). WMOs are registered under the Cooperative Societies Act1986.

Water sector projects and interventions The traditional

approach to water resources system management in Bangladeshhas been based on structural interventions in flood control,drainage and irrigation. Recently increasing emphasis is given toother kinds of management interventions such as flood warningsystem, flood proofing and adopting responses to hazardous

conditions.

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Water sector projectsRural FCD inland and coastal embankments and polders; regulators;small-scale FCD; river training, bank protection and river dredging.Urban FCD town protection schemes, embankments, regulators, pumpsetc.Minor/small-scale irrigation public sector force mode tubewells (bothdeep and shallow), rubber dams; and khal re-excavation.Major/large-scale irrigation pumps, irrigation canal network, drainagecanal network, barrages, etc.Flood proofinghomestead raising and construction of flood refuges.Flood warning systems flood/disaster forecasting and warning,preparedness and management.Water supply and sanitation piped water supply using both surface andgroundwater in big cities, sanitation services in big cities etc and handtubewells for drinking water in rural areas.Dredgingaugmentation of river flows and for navigation purposes.Cyclone protection embankments, cyclone shelters etc.Hydropower generation embankments, dams, river training, powerhouse etc.

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National WaterManagementPlan (NWMP)

The draft NWMP was prepared by WARPO in 2001. The plan

is to be updated every five years. The plan identified 84programmes, which are grouped both into eight sub sectoralclusters, as well as eight planning regions. The eight subclusters are the Institutional Development, EnablingEnvironment, Main Rivers, Towns and Rural Areas, MajorCities, Disaster Management, Agriculture and WaterManagement, and Environment and Aquatic Resources. Theeight planning regions are South West Region, North EastRegion, North Central Region, Northwest Region, South

Central Region, South East Region, Eastern Hills Region, andRivers & Estuary Region. Priority is given to the institutionaldevelopment, enabling environment, and water supply andsanitation. The estimated investment cost of the plan over 25years is Tk 91,457 crore ($18 billion).