The Waters of Bangladesh: Meeting Competing Needs

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Bangladesh

With Bangladesh's growing population, both water quality and water quantity need equal attention. And both urban and rural areas must be addressed. The strategy therefore aims to identify and prioritize needed reforms and investments in all major water-related sectors, ranging from water supply and sanitation, agriculture, fisheries, and water resources management,   to inland water transport.  The   Water Resources Assistance Strategy aims to sharpen the focus of government and other interested parties in Bangladesh’s water sector and elicit their strong engagement in the country’s water development and management efforts, under the umbrella of Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and the National Water Management Plan.

There are many challenges, but also many opportunities for Bangladesh to more effectively manage its scarce water resources and competing water uses. The Water Resources Assistance Strategy highlights the priority reforms and investments needed to sustain Bangladesh's economic prosperity and family livelihoods.  The water-related sectors include: (i) urban water resources and pollution management; (ii) water supply and sanitation; (iii) fisheries; (iv) irrigation; (v) inland water transport; and (vi) water resources management.

·         Urban water supply in Dhaka is precarious, as rivers become increasingly polluted due to a growing   population who discharges ever more domestic and industrial wastewater. Dhaka is expected to become one of the world’s “mega cities,” quintupling from 9 million in 2000 to 30 million in 2025 and 50 million by 2050. All public services and infrastructure will be under severe pressure, and most of all the system that provides safe and reliable water supply for Dhaka’s inhabitants and industrial and commercial users. Huge investments are needed in system rehabilitation, replacement, and improvement, and for extending Dhaka’s water supply systems to raise service coverage levels. Water pollution also exacerbates water scarcity, and poor drainage increases exposure to pollution. Health surveys show that over 10% of all morbidity in urban areas is attributable to environmental pollution. Improving urban water issues requires an integrated framework that links water resources, including flood control and drainage, to environment, water and sanitation services and urbanization policies.  

·         Safe water and sanitation in other cities and towns is also a growing challenge. Bangladesh’s good progress on the water supply and sanitation Millennium Development Goals is threatened by rapid urban growth that puts immense pressure on the water supply infrastructure.   Extensive rehabilitation and expansion of bulk water resources as well as water supply and sanitation systems will be needed. To ensure access to water that is safe from bacteria and arsenic contamination in small towns and rural villages, scaling-up of innovative water supply systems is essential. The various government ministries and service providers will need to work together to address these problems in both rural and urban areas. Consumers need to be better informed and more engaged so that they can hold both policy makers and suppliers accountable for providing access to safe water supply.

·         Pollution in Bangladesh’s rivers and ponds is also affecting fish culture, at a time when demand for fish is rapidly increasing. Capture fisheries – on which the livelihood of the landless poor depends - will continue to decline without changes in current policies and additional investments. Therefore, particular emphasis needs to be placed on community managed fisheries, beel and wetland rehabilitation, in addition to the overall water quality management of the rivers.

·         Irrigation needs for water are also growing with expanded grain production requiring an increase in irrigated crop areas. The government’s current approach, under the National Water Management Plan, emphasizes new surface water irrigation systems. Starting with the improvement of the   performance of existing schemes permits food production to be scaled up more quickly and at a much lower cost.

·         Inland water transport in Bangladesh is in decline due to siltation, declining flows of rivers, and deteriorating water management infrastructure. It has also not received adequate financial allocations. The Strategy promotes increased public-private partnerships, improved communication services, navigation aids and landing facilities, as well as strengthened service delivery through training and skill development. Finally, a more integrated transport policy which fully incorporates inland waterways into the national transport network, is a priority.

·         As the delta of three major rivers, and the lower riparian, Bangladesh suffers from excess water and flooding in summer, shortage of water in winter, and poor water quality virtually all year. The burden of these extremes is ever more acute with increasing population density, industrial wastes and other forms of water pollution. Major investments in flood management, erosion and drainage are required, although the effectiveness of existing infrastructure also needs to be looked at. Focused studies should help identify appropriate infrastructure developments, and support better information sharing amongst neighboring countries.

               The Water Resources Assistance Strategy outlines the linkages across the different water sub-sectors and proposes medium to long-term priorities for World Bank engagement. These include development and management of infrastructure for irrigation, flood management and droughts, water quality and water protection. Within each sub-sectors, the World Bank would focus on: (i) institutional frameworks, including roles and responsibilities of government and other agents in the system; (ii) management instruments, including tools to ensure effective participation of stakeholders and ways to increase accountability; and (iii) the political economy of water management and reform, including incentives and policy reforms to encourage sustainable use of resources.

The long-term strategic vision outlined in the report clearly highlights the enormity and complexity of the investments and system reforms needed. To meet this challenge, coordination and partnerships between Government, the World Bank, and other donors will be actively pursued.