Transboundary river management: Key to harnessing benefits and reducing flood effects

In 2017, flooding is devastatingly affecting livelihoods of millions of people in Bangladesh, India and Nepal particularly in the Ganges (called Padma in Bangladesh) and Brahmaputra (called Jamuna in Bangladesh, Yarlung Tsangpo in China) river basins (see map). The flood and river erosion is so intense that it is ruthlessly destroying houses, schools, trees, roads, bridges, railway tracks, crop fields, and human and animal lives as these rivers flow more than 2-3 thousand km on their way  through Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal. It may be mentioned that the amount of water passing through Bangladesh is huge ? 525 billion cubic meters/year in the Ganges and 19,800 cubic meters /sec in the Brahmaputra. However, only 7% of these river systems are in Bangladesh and the rest are in India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. So, in the context of international law and justice Bangladesh, as the lowest riparian country, can reasonably claim that it must get due share of the water flow in the dry season (Nov-May) as it is has to bear the excessive water of upper riparian countries in the wet season. However, the main thing is that for a transboundary river the best way to harness the benefit of natural water is for all countries through which the river flows to manage the river resource jointly.

Understanding this scientific approach, in most of the world’s major river systems agreements have been reached for rational use of the water resource among the concerned riparian countries. Examples include the Mekong (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia), Rhine, Nile and Indus rivers. But unfortunately there is no such agreement among all the nations of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins. There are some bilateral agreements with India-Bangladesh and India-Nepal but this is not enough to minimize effects of flooding and adequately share water in the dry season. In general, India opposes multi-lateral agreements including its neighbors for fear of being disadvantaged compared with bilateral agreements.  However, by maintaining such a policy India is creating distance with its neighbors and damaging the interest of millions of its own citizens, particularly in  Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, where poverty levels remain high. Moreover by creating barrages and dams India is seriously jeopardizing the eco-systems of the rivers, livelihoods of farmers and fishers and the environment of the catchment areas. Now India is investing billions of Rupees to clean the Ganges in UP without any remarkable success due its culture, caste systems and major diversion of water particularly from the Ganges. Like last year again this year Bihar is the worst flood affected state (with 10 million people) killing more than 200 people. According to Mr Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, the main reason is Farakka barrage. So he demanded to Mr Norendra Modi , Indian PM, to dismantle this barrage. Really this barrage has failed to achieve its purpose to flush out the siltation of Kolkata port but rather it has caused siltation in the river in Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh the Farakka barrage has had major impact in causing the death of Gorai/Madhumati River and disruption of several other Ganges tributaries. This has  resulted in intrusion of saline water in south-west Bangladesh, severe drought in the dry season in northern Bangladesh and worsened floods in the rainy season as the Ganges loses its water holding capacity and navigability. The amount of water withdrawal in India is more than the amount of water required in the river to maintain its environmental flow (the minimum amount of water needed for maintaining the eco-systems of the river is called e-flow). So, this is the time to revise and rethink about Indian policy on transboundary river management for its own people and for neighbors.

So far this year (July-August) flooding in Bangladesh has cost more than 130 human lives and nearly two billion USD US dollar worth of damage to crops, fish, livestock, houses, roads, bridges, railway tracks and associated infrastructure. India is another big looser to this year’s flood, followed by Nepal.

In such a situation, both experts and common people believe that transboundary management of common rivers can reduce the adverse effects of flood/erosion and can harness the benefit of irrigation, communication, aquatic life, ecosystems and even hydropower. The agreement can also draw huge overseas investment/grant fund which would be highly beneficial to the people of these countries, such as for the Mekong and other river agreements. It needs to be reminded that among 655 million people living in the Ganges basin (Nepal, India, Bangladesh) 30 % live below poverty. And perhaps the life of the 130 million people of Brahmaputra basin is worse than in the Ganges basin. No single country can alone solve this dire and recurrent problem.

The potential benefits of a transboundary river agreement

·        Increased data sharing, joint monitoring and capacity development

·        Joint investment, joint operation, dredging, pollution control, and aquatic life management

·        Store monsoon water for ensuring dry season flow

·        Expand irrigation and navigation facilities including river link for Nepal (as this country is land locked)

·        Mitigate the effect of floods and erosion

·        Manage droughts and salinity with the changing climate

·        Augment dry season river flows

·        Generate environmentally safe hydropower for own use and sale to other co-basin countries

·        Ensure ecosystem services through ensuring e-flow

·        Cooperation in climate smart agriculture to optimize water use for dry season crops

·        Cooperation for religious, cultural and eco-tourism

Ist picture: Flood in Bangladesh, 2nd picture flood in India, 3rd picture flood in Nepal

4th picture origin of Yearlung Tasagpo river in Tibet, China, 5th picture Costly Hisa fish in the rivers at Bangladesh