Water Issues in South Asia: Upstream countries neglect downstream ones
Staff Reporter :
Speakers have said that the major upstream countries do not want to sit with downstream countries in South Asia and most agreements are reactive agreements made in order to accommodate unilateral projects by upstream or powerful countries.
They came up with the remarks while speaking at a two-day-long 9th International Water Conference on ‘Water, River and Climate Change: Creating Space for Resilience’ held at a city hotel on Thursday.
Dr Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus of Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) of BRAC University, said, “In climate and water negotiations, it’s imperative to understand the politics at play. Climate change significantly impacts food security, and water is essential for ensuring this security. By understanding climate politics well, we can strongly stand for climate justice.”
Dr Asif Nazrul, Professor, Department of Law of University of Dhaka, said, “In South Asia, major upstream countries do not want to sit with downstream countries. Most agreements are reactive agreements made in order to accommodate unilateral projects by upstream or powerful countries. They usually go bilateral to resolve any water and river related disputes. If we look into the South Asian Water sharing treaties, we see that most of them are periodical treaties for a selective timeframe, which we do not see in other parts of the world.”
He also stated that all the basin states must find a fair way of water allocation to avoid disagreement. Also, there must be a regional framework for comprehensive data sharing regarding water resource management.
Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström, First Secretary and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation of the Embassy of Sweden, stressed the inclusion of young people in water relater discussion and climate justice movement.
Dr. Khairul Islam, Regional Director of WaterAid of South Asia Region, said, “Most of the civilisations started on the bank of the rivers. What we are seeing now is that the condition of the river is deteriorating.”
“The majority of climate change is human made or caused by the people. Water is the lifeline of the people, and we are polluting it. If we become conscious and more responsible, we can revert and improve this situation. We should find the ways to save water bodies,” he added.
M Riaz Hamidullah, Ambassador of Embassy of Bangladesh in the Netherlands said, “If we are to look for solution driven approach, we have to understand Delta plan is not a guideline. A plan has to marry with the future of economy and urbanization of the country. I do not see the knowledge institutions to inform projects.”
“We need to reach out to the public and private spheres, what are the kind of water scenarios we are to encounter in the future. We are driven by the dominant narrative that Bangladesh is a water abundant country. We need to move away from this narrative’ he added.
