POVERTY ALLEVIATION THROUGH IMPROVED WATER MANAGEMENT IN A DELTAIC TIDAL PLAIN Md. Mahbubul Alam DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Institute of Water and Flood Management BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY February 2011 POVERTY ALLEVIATION THROUGH IMPROVED WATER MANAGEMENT IN A DELTAIC TIDAL PLAIN By MD. MAHBUBUL ALAM DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Institute of Water and Flood Management BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY February 2011 ii BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM) CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL We hereby recommend that the Ph.D. thesis work submitted by Md. Mahbubul Alam, Roll No: P10062802 F, Session: October/2006, entitled “Poverty Alleviation Through Improved Water Management in a Deltaic Tidal Plain” has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) on 23 February, 2011. BOARD OF EXAMINERS 1. Chairman ----------------------------------- Dr. Abul Fazal M. Saleh Professor, IWFM, BUET, Dhaka 2. Member ----------------------------------- (Ex-officio) Dr. M. Shah Alam Khan Professor & Director, IWFM, BUET, Dhaka 3. Member ----------------------------------- Dr. A. K. M. Jahir Uddin Chowdhury Professor, IWFM, BUET, Dhaka 4. Member ----------------------------------- Dr. M. Mirjahan Professor, Department of Water Resources Engineering BUET, Dhaka 5. Member ------------------------------------ Dr. Md. Rezaur Rahman Professor, IWFM, BUET, Dhaka 6. Member -------------------------------------- (External) Dr. Nimal Gunawardena Professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka iii CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION This is to certify that this work entitled “Poverty Alleviation Through Improved Water Management in a Deltaic Tidal Plain” has been done by me under the supervision of Dr. Abul Fazal M. Saleh, Professor, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka. I do hereby declare that this thesis or any part of it has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree or diploma from any other institution. Signature of the candidate ------------------------------------------ (Md. Mahbubul Alam) 4 iv DEDICATED TO MY BELOVED FATHER v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the Almighty Allah for the bountiful mercy bestowed on throughout my life. I am expressing my most sincere gratitude and profound thanks to Dr. Abul Fazal M. Saleh, Professor, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), for kindly supervising the research work. I am also grateful to him for his guidance, encouragement and insightful comments, suggestions and intellectual support. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to other members of the Doctoral Committee. Even with all their pressing responsibilities at their respective institutions, Professor Dr. A.K.M. Jahir Uddin Chowdhury, Professor Dr. M. Mirjahan, Professor Dr. Rezaur Rahman and Professor Dr. Shah Alam Khan have always made time to address specific concerns regarding my dissertation. I will be always indebted to them for taking the time to monitor my progress with great enthusiasm. I would like to thank the Crossing Boundaries (CB) project for providing me fellowship and research support for the study. I am grateful to Dr. Mashfiques Salehin, Coordinator, CB Project and Associate Professor, IWFM, BUET, and Dr. Hamidul Huq, Research Coordinator, CB Project, IWFM, BUET for their kind cooperation and inspiration during the research work. I am also grateful to all other faculties of IWFM, BUET for their kind cooperation during the work. I would like to express my thanks to all the employees of IWFM, BUET for their spontaneous support and kind cooperation during the study. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to Dr. Atiq Rahman, Executive Director, BCAS for his continuous inspiration during the research work. Thanks are also extended to all other members of the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) of the CB project for their kind suggestions and inspiration. I am grateful to the Officials of LGED, Narail, for their cooperation and assistance during the study period. Thanks to BWDB and DAE officials for their kind cooperation. The cooperation I have received from Mr. Sumon Kundu, Upazila Agricultural Engineer, DAE vi and Mr. Tarun Kumar Mustafi, Co-ordinator, Banchte Shekha, Narail, was very much valuable for the study. I would like to acknowledge the support and cooperation of SaciWATERS through the CB Project, especially for the support provided by Dr. N. C. Narayanan, Ex- Director; Dr. Dibya Ratna Kansakar, Ex-Director; and Dr. Chanda Gurang Goodrich, Director, SaciWATERS. I would like to acknowledge the support and cooperation of Dr. M. A. Rashid, CSO and Head, IWM Division, BRRI. Thanks to Dr. M. Mussahrrof Hossain, CSO and Head, AR Division, BRRI for his cooperation during the research work. I am also grateful to the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) authority for providing me deputation for the study. Special thanks for the members of the Training Operation Cell and Library of BRRI for their kind cooperation during the study. I gratefully acknowledge to the people of the Narail sub-project for their support and cooperation. It would not be possible to complete the study without their cordial and voluntary services. The hospitality and cooperation provided by the rural poor people will remain in my memory forever. Especially the cooperation obtained from Mr. Sukontho Roy and his family, Mr. Nirapodo Biswas, Mr. Shankar Biswas, Mr. Bimal Biswas, Mr. Robin Biswas. Mr. Taqui Ali, Mr. Babul Hossain, and many others were quite precious. I am grateful to my wife- Irfat Jahan (Tamanna), daughter- Pushpita and son- Pial, for their unconditional support and sacrifice during the work. I am also grateful to my mother- Jahanara Begum, brothers’ and sisters for their kind cooperation and support during the work. vii ABSTRACT The southwest region of Bangladesh that represents about 27 per cent (40,450 sq. km) of the total area of the country is crisscrossed by large tidal rivers. A large number of Tidal Basins, which are flat, low-lying alluvial lands interspersed with tidal streams and water-filled depressions are found in this region. Though affected by water management problems like flood, drought, drainage congestion and salinity intrusion, the southwest area of Bangladesh is still very much dependent on agricultural crops, particularly rice, as the main source of income and livelihood for its rural population. The region is among the highest poverty- stricken parts of the country. Improved water management (irrigation, flood control, drainage improvement and salinity intrusion control) is the key to agricultural productivity improvement and have a positive impact on the poor. The objectives of this research work were establishment of linkages between water management interventions and poverty, assessment of impact of water management interventions on poverty and selection of suitable water management options for further alleviation of poverty in the tidal basin. Linkage between water management interventions were established through focus group discussions (FGDs) of the stakeholders. Impact of water management interventions on poverty were assessed through household survey. For selection of options for further poverty alleviation, water resources demand and availability were assessed analytically. The feasibility of different water management options for productivity increase was evaluated. Finally, the selected options were prioritized by the stakeholders through focus group discussions. Study results of linkage analysis showed that in most cases water management interventions increase the income from agriculture by increasing crop yield and cropping intensity, by encouraging fish culture, commercial agriculture (orchard, betel leaf plantation etc.) and livestock rearing. They also generate employment opportunities for the resource poor. Combination of necessary agricultural water management interventions reduces poverty at different level. Study results on impacts of different water management options showed a reduction in poverty incidence by 10.0, 6.7, 6.7 and 6.7 percent, respectively due to the presence of irrigation, flood control, drainage improvement and salinity intrusion control interventions. The benefits of irrigation, flood control and drainage on poverty alleviation are additive when implementation is feasible. Flood control, drainage and irrigation (FCDI) projects had the highest impact on poverty alleviation compared to any other water management interventions. Besides, these interventions, further poverty alleviation is possible through efficient use of available water resources. Canal rehabilitation for increasing surface water availability with promotion of conjunctive use, use of polyethylene pipe instead of earthen canal, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) instead of keeping continuous standing water and shifting from traditional Aus (pre-monsoon) rice varieties to supplementary irrigated HYV rice varieties are some of the ways for increasing productivity and alleviation of poverty. Conjunctive use after rehabilitation of existing canals could increase the present irrigation coverage by 70% and reduce the present overexploited groundwater use by 57%. Use of plastic pipe and polyethylene pipe could reduce the conveyance loss from