Home ›› 30 Nov 2021 ›› Opinion
Bangladesh is a riverine country. Due to the adverse consequences of climate change, the rivers change their courses frequently. As a result, char lands have become a common scenario in Bangladesh and cultivable lands is gradually decreasing. There are around 109 char upazilas in 32 districts across Bangladesh. By 2030, the food needs of the growing population are expected to increase by 50 per cent, which will be 60 per cent by 2050, while the total energy demand, including hydropower and other renewable energy resources, will increase by 60 per cent. This huge demand for water and energy for increased agricultural production may result in quite serious crisis in the future.
In the world, about 785 million people do not have access to clean water. And 2.5 billion people do not have adequate sanitation. Every year 70-80 lakh people die due to natural calamities and water-borne diseases. The availability of water in different parts of the world is decreasing day by day. However, in the future, the amount of water used in agriculture alone in the world will increase by 19 per cent by 2050. Without technological advancement or policy mediation, the situation could worsen further.
Our environment, economy, communication, development, everything is dependent on rivers. And in this country, almost all the hundreds of rivers scattered like a net depend on 54 inter-border rivers in one way or another. As a downstream country, we have to depend on the upstream country, because the sources of these transboundary rivers are outside Bangladesh. Any kind of installation, project, or intervention there creates a chain of reaction in the rivers of our country. Bangladesh is always in favour of effective implementation of all the international agreements, conventions, or protocols related to rivers or water. We want to see greater water-based cooperation in the region. But experts working on the issue do not think there is enough initiative on the part of the government. Bangladesh should try and build effective water-based cooperation.
The water crisis in the north of our country can be an early sign of desertification. The salinity of the south, the scarcity of groundwater and arsenic pollution, the free dumping of agricultural and industrial chemicals and human wastes in the surface water, the tendency of human habitation and urbanization all have combined to harm the rivers and other water bodies of this country. As the sea level rises, so does the incidents of cyclones and tidal waves. Due to desertification in the north, the water level is gradually going down. In many areas, water is not rising even through deep tube wells. As a result, there is a danger of disaster in the paddy cultivation of Boro paddy-dependent Bangladesh.
In the interest of sustainable development, the main task in this situation is to innovate and apply new strategies to adapt to the changed situation. We have to take the necessary steps now to minimize human suffering. There is also a need to protect croplands as much as possible from saline water outbreaks; to take necessary measures to prevent a large number of people from being migrated due to drought, river erosion, etc. to develop saline water-tolerant farming methods. Universities and research institutes have to work with realistic ideas in these matters and they have to cooperate with the government in this connection. For this, allocation in the research sector should be increased. Above all, the government needs to implement immediate, medium- and long-term plans. The pace of work of public-private projects has to be accelerated. And the accountability regarding these works must be ensured.
To establish the economy that we need for sustainable development, the rivers must regain its lost glory. Rivers are closely associated with our nature and environment. We have to move forward with everyone for sustainable development and river protection. River use is now multidimensional. People are using the river without realizing that they may be causing harm to the eco-system. Large factories have sprung up alongside the river, and thousands of launch steamers are now on the river. Hundreds of dams on the river. The rivers are being polluted in quite a discriminate manner.
We have noticed the harmful effects of climate change. Effluents fall on the water and in other areas, including our agriculture and the environment. So, we have to work on keeping the flow of the river smooth. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Jamuna rivers should be given importance in uniform river management. We can save the rivers if we can move forward with proper planning by controlling sand extraction and dumping. And for all this, the river must be protected through the cooperation of political parties, civil society, and the younger generation. We need to protect future generations from the adverse effects of climate change.
Floods and river erosion have become major crises for the country. Waterlogging is one of the major problems faced by the people today. For all these reasons, the rivers must be protected by ensuring its navigability. We are all beneficiaries of the river, but some direct stakeholders are exploiting the river in an unscrupulous manner–such as some factories, hospitals, river vehicle owners, and encroachers. If these unwelcome activities continue, water will become unusable for agricultural purposes. And at the same time, various diseases and pests will spread. As a result of river pollution, various diseases are already appearing in the body of fish which is also harmful to our human body. The incidence of water-borne diseases is increasing day by day. To ensure sustainable development in the country, pollution must be stopped. The rivers of the country are on the verge of destruction due to the profiteers and river encroachers. The river must be protected from them too. In the interest of sustainable development, the main task in this situation is to innovate and apply new strategies to adapt to the changing situation.
Necessary preparations have to be made to alleviate the suffering of the people–to protect the croplands as much as possible from the outbreak of saline water, to take necessary measures to prevent a large number of people from being displaced due to drought, river erosion, etc. Each district has a river protection committee headed by a deputy commissioner. The committee works with all to work against river filling and illegal occupation, to carry out administrative work of river dredging, and to create various social awareness in river protection. But neither the district administration nor the water development board alone can save the river. Everyone must come forward for this. Above all, the government needs to accelerate the work of public-private projects with medium and long-term plans. Similarly, the accountability of these works should be increased.
In a developing country like ours where it is the one has to constantly fight for survival with nature; the idea of a ‘sustainable way of life is not something beyond the knowledge of the ordinary rural people. In this country of water, the banks of the river are constantly broken. With that, people’s housing changes. The adaptability of the people here is unique in the whole world. The structure of this land, the intensive way of life with rivers and wetlands have given the people of this country the unique strength to survive in hundreds of adversities. But in this delta, the river has been gradually removed and only the road has been established as the main and sometimes the only means of communication.
Every river in this country has diversity. With the diversity of water and silt, its biodiversity and the life of the people living along the river are also quite diverse. The crisis of the existence of the river means the way of life of the people associated with the river, the culture is also in crisis today. If justice is to be done with rivers, then the direct involvement of human beings with rivers and wetlands must be restored.
For the very survival of this country the well-being of rivers and wetlands is essential. It is not possible to establish equity with ecosystems without protecting river diversity. In our daily life, we have to consider each river as a unique living entity.
The writer is a Research Fellow, BNNRC
