Opportunities for Trans-Boundary Water Sharing in the Ganges, The
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Opportunities for Trans-boundary 3 Water Sharing in Th e Ganges, Th e Brahmaputra, and Th e Meghna Basins Mashfiqus Salehin, M. Shah Alam Khan, Anjal Prakash, and Chanda Gurung Goodrich Introduction Th e huge system of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, number of water management problems due to gross and the Meghna (GBM) basins, second only to that inequalities in the temporal and spatial distribution of of Amazon, is made up of the catchment areas of water, mainly fl oods, droughts, and dry season water 1.75 million km2 stretching across fi ve countries: scarcity. Th is poses a threat to infrastructure and prop- Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal (Ahmad erties, irrigated agriculture, navigation, and ecosystem et al. 2001). While Bangladesh and India share all the sustenance. Management of water resources in the three river basins, China shares only the Brahmaputra region becomes all the more challenging because of the and the Ganges basins, Nepal only the Ganges basin, huge population, the anticipated population growth, and Bhutan, only the Brahmaputra basin (see Figure and the prevailing poverty situation. About 10 per cent 3.1 and Table 3.1). Th e three basins are distinctly dif- of the world’s population lives in this region, represent- ferent in characteristics; the three rivers originate and ing only 1.2 per cent of the world’s land mass (Biswas travel through diff erent physiographic units, and have 2008). geographically distinct catchment zones with dissimilar Th e development and management of the GBM valleys and drainage networks (Khan 2005). basins have been subject to a number of geopolitical Water is the single most important natural resource constraints in spite of having huge potential for being of the basin countries; the three river systems contrib- a great example of regional cooperation (Brichieri- ute an annual discharge of 1350 billion cubic metres Colombi and Bradnock 2003). Country-specifi c man- (BCM), of which the Ganges contributes about 500 agement options have led to water disputes, which are BCM, the Brahmaputra 700 BCM, and the Meghna ranked amongst the most well-known trans-boundary 150 BCM (Ahmad et al. 2001). Th e three major rivers water confl icts in the world. Attempts to solve these have always played pivotal roles in shaping the suste- disputes have been bilateral in nature, for example, the nance of life, living, and the environment. However, Ganges Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh, the countries sharing the GBM basins are beset by a and the Mahakali Treaty between India and Nepal. 30 India Infrastructure Report 2011 75 50 25 20 25 PAKISTAN Rivers International boundaries CHINA 30 Ganga River Yamuna River NEPAL Kamali R. Gandak R. R. BHUTAN Ramganga R. Bagdad R. Kosi Teesta R. Chambal R. BrahmaputraINDIA River Bahadurabad Ganges River 25 Betwa River Farakka Barrage Sona R. BANGLADESH Feedar Canal Mogra R. Jangpur Barriage Bharab Hardinga Bazar Bridge INDIA Hooghly R. Kolkata Gorai R. Ganges Basin MYANMAR Brahmaputra Basin Meghna Basin Bay of Bengal 20 Figure 3.1 Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna Basins Source: Rahaman (2005). Table 3.1 Catchment Areas of the GBM Basins Country Ganges basin Brahmaputra basin Meghna basin Basin area Percentage of Basin area Percentage of Basin area Percentage of (1000 km2) total area (1000 km2) total area (1000 km2) total area China 33 3 293 50 Nepal 140 13 Bhutan 45 8 India 861 80 195 34 49 58 Bangladesh 46 4 47 8 36 42 Total 1,080 100 580 100 85 100 Source: Rangachari and Verghese (2001); Pun (2004). Th ese are regarded by many as creating a climate of of fl ood forecasting and warning, between India and goodwill and mutual confi dence, and off ering a window Bhutan, India and Nepal, and India and Bangladesh. of opportunity for water-based collaborative develop- However, while so much more could have been done, ment endeavours in the region (Rahaman 2009). Th e achievements in terms of sharing, development, and close and friendly ties between Bhutan and India have management of water resources of these rivers as well as created a win–win situation for both countries in the sharing and exchange of information and data through hydropower sector. Besides, some bilateral cooperation mutual cooperation have not been encouraging thus is in place, through exchange of data for the purpose far (Biswas 2008; Khan 2005).Th e recent plans of river Opportunities for Trans-boundary Water Sharing in Th e Ganges, Th e Brahmaputra, and Th e Meghna Basins 31 linking and construction of Tipaimukh dam, without rivers, mainly Sapta-Kosi, Gandaki, Karnali, and consensus among riparian countries, have generated Mahakali, causing immense damage in the terai area considerable concerns in Bangladesh and also widely in of Nepal (and also in adjacent areas of India). Besides, India. It is important to recognize that water resources frequent rockslides and landslides aggravate the fl ood- must be developed and managed in a rational, effi cient ing and river erosion problems. Unreliable river fl ows and equitable way, so that it can act as the engine to coupled with ineffi cient management have been aff ect- promote socio-economic development, shaping the ing the performance of irrigation systems and indus- future of millions of people living in this region (Biswas trial pollution has been leading to deteriorating water and Uitto 2001). A number of studies and syntheses quality. of information have demonstrated that trans-boundary In India, fl oods aff ect, on an average, about 7.5 cooperation in integrated water management in the million hectares of area per year (Ministry of Water GBM basins can off er these countries greater benefi ts Resources [MoWR] 2002). Of the total estimated than those that can be achieved through isolated fl ood prone area in India, 68 per cent lies in the GBM national eff orts (Ahmad and Ahmed 2003; Ahmad states, mostly in Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar et al. 2001; Gyawali 2001). Pradesh. Th e Ganges in northern India, which receives water from its northern tributaries originating in the Himalayas, has a high fl ood damage potential, espe- Water Resources Management cially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Th e unequal spatial Issues in GBM Basins distribution of rainfall means that the fl ows in many Th ere are a number of common water resource man- of the rivers in north-western, western, and southern agement issues for all countries in the GBM basins. Th e parts are considerably less than the Himalayan parts, river systems exhibit wide variations between peak and rendering the areas water stressed. One-sixth area of the lean fl ows as the major part of the basins belongs to the country is drought-prone (MoWR 2002). Other water monsoon region, where 80 to 90 per cent of annual management problems in India include degrading water rainfall is concentrated in 4–5 months of the South- quality mainly due to industrial and domestic wastes West monsoon. While excessive precipitation in these (Adhikari et al. 2000), and arsenic contamination of months is the main reason for recurrent fl oods, which groundwater in many parts of the northern states, par- cause damage to life, property, and infrastructure, the ticularly West Bengal. unequal temporal distribution of rainfall creates the Bangladesh, being the lowest riparian with only 7 problem of low water availability during the dry season per cent of the country lying in the GBM basins and and unequal spatial distribution creates water stressed with extensive fl oodplain topography bears the major conditions in some parts of the basin. Future climate brunt of widespread fl ooding. About 91 per cent change impacts may aggravate this situation further. of fl ood fl ows in Bangladesh enter from upstream Th e GBM river systems carry up to one and a half catchments in India through 54 border rivers (Rashid billion tons of sediments per year that originate in the 1991); the entire volume of the GBM river systems, foothills of the Himalayas (Ahmad and Ahmed 2003; about 142,000 cubic meters per second at peak periods Biswas 2008). Th e high rate of sedimentation of the (Rahman et al. 1990), discharges into the Bay of major rivers and their tributaries has been aff ecting Bengal through a single outlet at the Lower Meghna in not only the carrying capacity of the rivers but has also Bangladesh. Besides, the country is beset by fl ash fl oods drastically reduced their retention capacity, thus often in the northern and north-eastern hilly streams, and compounding the adverse eff ects of fl oods. tidal fl oods and occasional cyclonic storm-surge fl oods Major water management problems in Nepal in- in the coastal region. Th e country suff ers from moderate clude fl oods in hill valleys due to sudden cloud bursts to severe droughts spreading over 10 districts; very low over several days, fl oods in the mountains induced by dry season water availability in the southwest region glaciers, termed glacier lake outburst fl oods (GLOF) due to upstream withdrawal of water at Farakka, and (Bangladesh–Nepal Joint Study Team 1989; Ahmad associated increased salinity intrusion and threatened et al. 2001), and overbank monsoon fl ooding from agriculture and ecosystem including the Sundarbans; 32 India Infrastructure Report 2011 river erosion (including riverbank, char, and coastal countries for sharing the waters of international rivers; erosion) along about 75 rivers; degrading water establishment of a system for exchange of information quality due to industrialization in urban areas along and data on relevant aspects of hydrology, morphology, major rivers; and widespread arsenic contamination of water pollution, and ecology; joint assessment of the groundwater (Chowdhury et al.