Bangladesh leads the way in cooperative water politics
Bangladesh has taken a decisive leap into uncharted waters by becoming the first South Asian state to accede to the United Nations Water Convention. In a region where rivers define borders, livelihoods and, increasingly, disputes, Dhaka’s move is both symbolic and strategic.
The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, once limited to Europe, now offers a multilateral framework for equitable sharing and environmental stewardship.
For a country that depends on 57 transboundary rivers, Bangladesh’s accession is more than a diplomatic manoeuvre — it is a matter of survival, according to a report published in this newspaper on Sunday.
Seasonal floods, dry-season scarcity, and climate volatility have exposed the limits of bilateral treaties with upstream neighbours. Dhaka now seeks international leverage to strengthen its hand.
India, by contrast, has long championed bilateralism in water governance. The Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty with Bangladesh were once held up as models of pragmatic cooperation.
Yet both arrangements are fraying. The Indus Treaty has been placed in abeyance, the Ganges Treaty expires in 2026, and the Teesta deal remains stalled by domestic politics.
New Delhi’s preference for one-on-one bargaining is increasingly appearing unsustainable in a region where climate stress and rising demand are intensifying competition.
The optics are troubling for India. By staying outside both the Water Convention and the UN Watercourses Convention, it risks being cast as a reluctant neighbour, unwilling to engage in rules-based cooperation.
If Nepal, Bhutan or Pakistan were to follow Bangladesh’s example, India could find itself isolated. In an era when China’s upstream dam-building adds new risks, the absence of basin-wide institutions or legal enforcement mechanisms leaves the region dangerously exposed.
Bangladesh’s accession should be seen not as confrontation but as foresight. Dhaka is preparing for a future in which water scarcity will define security, economics and politics.
Its demand for environmental flows, transparent data-sharing and dispute resolution is reasonable, and aligns with global norms. India, too, must ask whether bilateralism alone can meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The choice before South Asia is stark: cling to outdated frameworks or embrace cooperative, rules-based governance. Bangladesh has shown the courage to take the lead. The question is whether others, above all India, will follow — or whether water will remain a source of conflict rather than a common purpose.