1 Ensuring Water Security in Rural Areas of Bangladesh under Climate Change and Non-climatic Drivers of Change Mohammed Rahman Zillurand Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt1.1 Introduction This chapter addresses the question of security1 and sustainability2 ofwater resource managemen t (WRM) in Bangladesh due to climate change and complexsocial and political factors including weak govern- ance. It suggests that social networks should play an important role in ensuring secur ity at the micro levels, and the promotion of people-centred water manage- ment. Bangladesh, a highly populated country located on the floodplains of the Ganges-Brahmaputra- Meghna Rivers, receives abundant monsoonal rain which is concentrated between June and September. Rapid population growth, economic growth impera- tives, changing farming practices and the weak coordi- nation of WRM have increased the gap between the demand and supply of water leading to a water crisis that threatens the stabili ty of the country. It is increas- ingly being understood that climate change poses aserious challenge for future water resource manage- ment in South Asia as a whole and exacerbates exist- ing environmental problems. Babel and Wahid ( 2008) showed that Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to declin- ing freshwater supplies. Mirza and Ahmad ( 2003) showed that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers will change the volume and frequency of monsoonal floods due to changed river regimes and affect Bang- ladesh more severely than other parts of South Asia. Other changes in the country’s water resources include large-scale sedimentation, changing water quality, saline intrusion in coastal areas, land-use con- version and degradation of water ecosystems. Threats to the security of water resources and vul- nerabilities, 3 however, are not caused only by climate change; there are a number of non-climatic drivers or human-induced activities involved. For instance, dis- charging household and industrial sewage and waste- water into canals and rivers without any treatment, illegal encroachment of river course and construction inside river channels, imbalanced use and control ofwater by upstream users causing a reduction on the volume of flow, are important human-driven factors. These affect water availability in major rivers causingwater resource pollution and posing threats for human health throughout the rural areas in Bangla- desh. Sustainable economic development and povertyreduction still remain top priorities for Bangladesh, while the effects of climate change and impacts ofnon-climatic drivers on its water resources affect hu- man activities and settlements, making farmers in ru- ral areas in particular and poor people in general highly vulnerable. Increased water insecurities have the potential to undermine the nation’s development goals, in particular to erode its sustainability. Although the predictive power of water resources and climate change models has improved signif icantly, so far little has been done to link climate change to rural social factors, which are crucial in determining1 Environmental security is an incr easing issue in world affairs. Currently there is little coherence around the world on its definition, threats, and policy responsibili- ties. For the present purpose of t his chapter, we use Bar- nett’s definition: environmental security is the proactive minimization of anthropogenic threats to the functional integrity of the biosphere and thus to its interdependent human component (Barnett 2001). 2 For the purposes of this chapter , we follow the defini- tion of sustainability or sustainable development by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), defining sustainability as “forms of prog ress that meet the needs of the present without compromisingthe ability of future generations to meet their needs.” 3 The best, pro-poor, definition of vulnerabiulity has been proposed by Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon and Davis ( 1994: 16): ”By vulnerability, we mean the characteristics of aperson or a group and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard. ”
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1 Ensuring Water Security in Rural Areas of Bangladesh under
Climate Change and Non-climatic Drivers of Change
Mohammed Rahman Zillur and Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt
1.1 Introduction
This chapter addresses the question of security 1 and
sustainability 2 of water resource management (WRM)
in Bangladesh due to climate change and complex
social and political factors including weak govern-ance. It suggests that social networks should play an
important role in ensuring security at the micro levels,
and the promotion of people-centred water manage-
ment. Bangladesh, a highly populated country located
on the floodplains of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Rivers, receives abundant monsoonal rain
which is concentrated between June and September.
Rapid population growth, economic growth impera-
tives, changing farming practices and the weak coordi-
nation of WRM have increased the gap between the
demand and supply of water leading to a water crisisthat threatens the stability of the country. It is increas-
ingly being understood that climate change poses a
serious challenge for future water resource manage-
ment in South Asia as a whole and exacerbates exist-
ing environmental problems. Babel and Wahid (2008)
showed that Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to declin-
ing freshwater supplies. Mirza and Ahmad (2003)
showed that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers
will change the volume and frequency of monsoonal
floods due to changed river regimes and affect Bang-
ladesh more severely than other parts of South Asia.
Other changes in the country’s water resources
include large-scale sedimentation, changing water
quality, saline intrusion in coastal areas, land-use con-
version and degradation of water ecosystems.Threats to the security of water resources and vul-
nerabilities,3 however, are not caused only by climate
change; there are a number of non-climatic drivers or
human-induced activities involved. For instance, dis-
charging household and industrial sewage and waste-water into canals and rivers without any treatment,
illegal encroachment of river course and construction
inside river channels, imbalanced use and control of
water by upstream users causing a reduction on the
volume of flow, are important human-driven factors.
These affect water availability in major rivers causing water resource pollution and posing threats for
human health throughout the rural areas in Bangla-
desh.
Sustainable economic development and poverty
reduction still remain top priorities for Bangladesh,
while the effects of climate change and impacts of
non-climatic drivers on its water resources affect hu-
man activities and settlements, making farmers in ru-
ral areas in particular and poor people in general
highly vulnerable. Increased water insecurities havethe potential to undermine the nation’s development
goals, in particular to erode its sustainability.
Although the predictive power of water resources
and climate change models has improved significantly,
so far little has been done to link climate change to
rural social factors, which are crucial in determining
1 Environmental security is an increasing issue in worldaffairs. Currently there is little coherence around theworld on its definition, threats, and policy responsibili-ties. For the present purpose of this chapter, we use Bar-nett’s definition: environmental security is the proactiveminimization of anthropogenic threats to the functionalintegrity of the biosphere and thus to its interdependenthuman component (Barnett 2001).
2 For the purposes of this chapter, we follow the defini-tion of sustainability or sustainable development by theWorld Commission on Environment and Development(1987 ), defining sustainability as “forms of progress thatmeet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
3 The best, pro-poor, definition of vulnerabiulity has beenproposed by Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon and Davis (1994:16): ”By vulnerability, we mean the characteristics of a person or a group and their situation that influencetheir capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recoverfrom the impact of a natural hazard.”
in rural and costal areas and national economic devel-
opment are vulnerable to the impacts of climatechange.
Water quality: According to Longfield and Mack-lin (1999), climate change increases the vulnerabilities
of many geomorphic processes in water infrastruc-
tures, such as slope stability, soil moisture, erosion
and sediment transportation. The usual infrastruc-
tures of most rivers, canals and agricultural lands in
Bangladesh are becoming endangered by the unusual
water flows. This further increases the vulnerabilities
from floods, droughts and water quality in most parts
of Bangladesh, posing threats to human health andecosystems. Heavy rainfall and floods bring additional
suspended solids and increase the turbidity in lakes,
ponds, reservoirs and introduce pollutants (pesti-
cides, organic matter, heavy metals) and promote al-
gal blooms and increase bacteria content. Moreover,
Schindler (2001) argues that volatile and non-volatile
compounds such as ammonia, mercury, dioxins andpesticides will spread with surface water bodies to the
atmosphere, putting rural people’s living conditions at
risk.
Key human vulnerabilities are for:
• rural people, especially farmers (using contami-
nated water for irrigation), children and poor men
and women who are directly affected by water
quality (from lack of pure water for drinking andother household purposes);
• urban people who are indirectly vulnerable,
because many sick people in rural areas move to
urban areas and spread diseases. Food supply in
urban areas could decline and urban livelihoods
could thus also be affected.
Coastal areas: Ericson, Vˆrˆsmarty, Dingman, Ward
and Meybeck (2006) have noted that the Ganges,
Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers are highly sensitive to
sea-level rise, where the largest segment consists of deltaic plains. This unique physical property of the re-gion presents great risks to coastal water resources
and for the population, particularly for the poorer com-
munities (Woodroffe/Nicholls/Saito/Chen/Goodbred
2006). Allison, Khan, Goodbred and Kuehl (2003) ar-
gue that salinization of surface water in the coastal re-
gions in the south of Bangladesh increases through
seawater (saltwater) incursion into surface or freshwa-
ter sources, costal aquifers and costal river systems
and that is attributed by a rising sea level in the Bay of
Bengal.Key human vulnerabilities: Coastal farmers will
lose agricultural lands and its productivity due to sea
level rise and saltwater intrusion.
Agricultural productivity: Agriculture and agri-
food production sectors in Bangladesh are most vul-
nerable due to conditions such as heavy rains, floodconditions, weak quality of water and severe drought.
Faisal and Parveen (2004) point out that rice and
wheat productions are more vulnerable than other
crops because of their requirement of water for culti-
vation. They argue that about 8 per cent of rice and
32 per cent of wheat production will drop in Bangla-desh by 2050 due to climate change and its implica-
tion on water sector. From past experiences, almost
every year, all floods had submerged huge agricultural
cultivated lands and damaged large amount of crops.
On the contrary, during the summer season, rural
farmers face challenges to cultivate rice and wheat
crops due to severe drought in the northern part of
Bangladesh.
Key human vulnerabilities:
• Because the rural people will not have the means
to access the commercial market to buy products
Table 1.1: Socio-economic impacts of sea-level rise (IPCC 1996a: 306). Reprinted with permission of the IPCC.
tems of the rural poor. They also contaminate water
supplies with faecal bacteria, with dangerous chemi-
cals, pesticides, metals and hazardous waste. All theseaffect human health through diseases such as vector-
borne (e.g. malaria) and water-borne (e.g. cholera).
One indirect result of poor public health is that the
productive efficiency of rural agricultural activities
and non-farm economic activities are affected by the
shortage of labour and waste of man days.
Livelihood vulnerabilities in the Charlands: The
river systems in the Bengal delta, are in the final
stages of formation. They bring large amounts of silt
from upstream parts in the Himalayas which give rise
to riverine islands within the river beds and channels
that are locally known as the charlands. People living
in charlands are among the poorest and the most vul-
nerable to sudden floods. Baqee (1998: 1–2) has
shown that the large number of chouras, the inhabit-ants of the chars, constitute “some of the most des-perate people in the country,” who live in a most un-
certain and fragile environment. Thus, chars have
been at the epicentre of resource management and of
policy debates in Bangladesh because of the impor-
tance of the riparian zones to the country’s life and
economy and the large number of people living and
using these lands (Chowdhury 2000). Lahiri-Dutt and
Samanta (2006) noted that people who live in char-lands and who are coping with perceived insecurities,
due to certain livelihood benefits as well as lack of al-ternative opportunities, and social capital play an im-
portant role in mobilizing community support and en-
hancing resilience to cope with sudden disasters. The
impacts of climate change on water resources, in par-
ticular the seasonal floods, riverbank erosion and
shifting river channels, are expected to make theselarge numbers of chouras physically, socially and eco-
nomically more vulnerable and displace many of
them, forcing them to become environmental mi-
grants unless people-oriented water management
practices are promoted.
Socio-economic vulnerabilities due to climatechange can occur in different forms in Bangladesh;
for instance, damages can occur in an inequitable
manner leading to even permanent displacement of
the rural poor due to floods, droughts (or perceived
droughts, such as the lack of water in Padma River),
tornados and cyclones. Rural and coastal communi-
ties in Bangladesh are mostly victims of these changes
because of their limited resources, opportunities and
protection. Traditional livelihoods of local people are
threatened by their lacking ability to irrigate crops due
to water shortage or their lacking resources to buy
other products due to the crop damages from natural
hazards. Affected people are mentally stressed losing crops, property, infrastructures and livestock. But cer-
tain segments of the population, especially children,
the elderly, daily paid workers (working for other
farmers) and marginalized groups are even more vul-
nerable Further, diseases emanating from the poor
quality of water make some local people socially vul-
nerable because they do not get proper treatment due
to a lack of money. As a result, social stability will be
affected because most rural people will lose their in-
come, become unemployed and live with high mental
stress. The education of children and of the young
from affected families will be interrupted and they
will be socially vulnerable due to lower economic pro-
ductivity. Finally, the national economic development
is directly affected by these changes.
1.2.2 Human-induced Drivers, Impacts and
Vulnerabilities
Water resources in Bangladesh are not only threat-
ened by the impacts of climate change, but also by
non-climatic drivers or human-induced activities, such
as:
• Household sewage and wastewater are discharged
untreated into canals and rivers causing water pol-
lution.
• Due to a lack of tight regulations and effectivemonitoring systems water sources are at risk from
industrial effluents discharged into rivers. Textiles,
tanneries, pulp and paper mills, fertilizer, chemicalindustry and refineries are the most harmful indus-
tries for the water sector in Bangladesh. According
to Cegis (2003) these industries also discharge haz-
ardous chemicals, both organic and inorganic,
without treatment.
• Imbalanced use and control of water by upstream
users (e.g. India) are affecting water availability in
major rivers in Bangladesh (e.g. in the Padma River).
1.2.2.1 Important Vulnerabilities from Non-
climatic Drivers
The quality of water is depleting due to industrial ef-
fluents, household sewage and wastewater discharged
into rivers. As a result, fishes and other aquatic species
are becoming vulnerable to water pollution. Direct or
indirect effects of these pollutions are also contribut-
ing to people’s health and livelihoods. Loss of biodi-
versity, reduction of fisheries (a major source of pro-
Ensuring Water Security in Rural Areas of Bangladesh under Climate Change 7
tein for the people) and reduction of agricultural
production near river banks also increase the vulnera-
bility of local poor farmers for sustenance.The water flow of small rivers, canals and lakes
distributing the waters from or depending on the
Ganges becomes vulnerable due to the diversion and
unbalance use of water resource by upstream users in
India. The construction of the Farakka barrage over
the Indian part of the distributaries of the Ganges
River has undoubtedly worsened the water availability
during the winter months in Bangladesh. Moreover,
the chronic reduction over the recent years in the
flows of rivers falling into the Bay of Bengal has un-
duly created misunderstanding between the upperand lower riparian countries in this part of South
Asia. The physical effects have also led to further so-
cio-economic vulnerabilities in the rural areas of the
Ganges-Padma basin in Bangladesh. Finally, due to in-
creasing industrialization and urbanization, agricul-
tural lands are shrinking in all over the region, and it
is feared that reduced availability of farming land is
making the poor more vulnerable. This was apparent
from the recent outburst of public anger across the
border in West Bengal in India over the acquisition of
cultivable land for industrial use, leading to wide-
spread public perception of a looming decline in food
security.
1.2.2.2 Weak Governance
According to UNESCAP (2007 ), most developing so-
cieties are facing enormous challenges due to ineffi-
ciency and poor accountability which are symptoms
of weak governance. Pande, Tropp, Sharma and
Khatiwada (2006), in their report on human develop-
ment and good governance on Nepal, argue that ig-
noring the interest and priorities of the people in the
execution of plans by the government reflects weak
governance. This challenges principles of human dig-
nity (inclusiveness, liberty, equality and cooperation)and at the end societies become vulnerable to weak policies. Weak governance is a key non-climatic driver
with adverse impacts on WRM. Although climate
change impacts are also related to governance issues,
the direct impacts of weak governance on the sustain-
ability of water resources in Bangladesh are obvious.
For the WRM in Bangladesh, the influence of
weak regulations, lack of cooperation and monitoring
systems are acknowledged when major industries (tex-
tiles, tanneries, pulp and paper mills, fertilizer, chemi-
cal industrial and refineries) ignore their environmen-
Figure 1.4: Urbanization in Bangladesh. Source: Ericksen,
Ahmad and Chowdhury (1996: 239). Permission
is needed.
Figure 1.5: Migration in Bangladesh. Source: Ericksen,
tal consequences that affect the people’s livelihood by
polluting water resources through industrial effluents.
An example of weak governance is the well-known
common occurrence of encroachment and illegal con-
structions on rivers.The security of water resources in Bangladesh is
not only threatened by industrial pollution, but also
from the narrowing-down of the water system by ille-
gal encroachment of river channels and river banks
for building activities. A recent report in the Daily It-tefaq of 16 June 2009 suggests that the Buriganga
River in Dhaka will no longer be considered a legiti-
mate river with a regular flow if the construction ac-
tivities around it are not immediately stopped. Such a dramatically reduced water flow does not only under-
mine environmental sustainability but also threatensthe security of the water resources. One may question
the legitimacy of such constructions on common
property resources or on public lands, but more im-
portantly, the excessive demands for land are threat-
ening the natural river flows with long-term conse-
quences for human well-being. One may argue that
the lack of accountability, transparency and respon-
siveness of the public authorities are responsible for
the failure of the protection of water systems in Bang-
ladesh.
The influence of the national government on local
governments is another aspect of weak governanceand of poor WRM. Although there is a great demand
from civil society organizations, from non-governmen-tal organizations (NGOs) and academics for a decen-
tralization of governance, little progress towards a real
decentralization of administration and political power
has so far taken place. A reduced control of the cen-
tral government over local authorities would lead to a
loss of power to interfere in local matters.5
Unfortunately, the lack of accountability encour-
ages many central administrators to use their author-
ity for personal benefits (figure 1.6). This systematic
top-down control is a reflection of weak governance
and the process directly and indirectly impacts nega-
tively on the country’s water resources. However,
there are certain aspects contributing to this prevail-
ing weak governance and affecting the paradigm of WRM (figure 1.7 ).
Figure 1.4 illustrates the close linkages among
these factors and how these factors are contributing
to the risk of water resources due to the formulation
of weak governance. For instance, to put pressure on
the authorities for certain legal issues, a strong public
opinion is necessary. However, it is difficult to con-
sider these public issues given the low literacy rate (ca.
41 per cent) and as many people live below poverty line.
The sensitive politics of transboundary water shar-ing is another aspect of water security for the rural
areas of Bangladesh. Different policies on the water
use in international river basins by one country, e.g. by
India, Nepal and China affect the water availability in
Bangladesh. The Dublin principles6 emphasize the
importance of upstream and downstream users of
water as:
Figure 1.6: The central or national (top-down) control system and influences on the local level of government.Source:
Zillur (2007).
5 S. Kazi and K Alam, 2006: “Empowering Local Govern-ment in Bangladesh”; at: <http://nation.ittefaq. com/artman/publish/article_29731.shtm> (30 June 200?).
6 Four principles for IWRM were developed in Dublin(1992) by a conference on water and environmentPrinciple No. 1 : Fresh water is a finite and vulnerableresource, essential to sustain life, development and theenvironment;• Principle No. 2 : Water development and manage-
ment should be based on a participatory approach,involving users, planners and policy-makers at all lev-els;
• Principle No. 3 : Women play a central part in theprovision, management and safeguarding of water;
• Principle No. 4 ; Water has an economic value in allits competing uses and should be recognized as aneconomic good (<www.gwpforum.org>).
Ensuring Water Security in Rural Areas of Bangladesh under Climate Change 9
Upstream users must recognize the legitimate demands
of downstream users to share the available water resour-ces and sustain usability. Excessive consumptive use orpollution of water by upstream users may deprive thedownstream users of their legitimate use of the sharedresource (Jonch-Clausen 2000: 15).
Bangladesh has complained about declining water
flows during the dry season (November to May) due
to the construction of Farakka Barrage on the Ganges
by India. India has started to build barrages upstream
to use the waters of two other large rivers, the Brah-maputra and Meghna. These rivers comprise the main
sources of water for many small rivers and canals inBangladesh and such constructions may impede their
natural flows with dire consequences for the down-
stream ecology (Rahman 2005). The first and second
Dublin Principle on Integrated Water Resource Man-agement (IWRM) emphasize that a “holistic manage-
ment approach”7 and effective participation by all
countries – Bangladesh, India and Nepal – are re-
quired for an efficient management of transboundary
rivers. The geopolitics of the region is undoubtedly
dominated by India and water issues continue to pro-
voke strong tensions (Hill 2008). The impacts of re-
duced flows are far-reaching downstream. Samarak-
oon (2004) has shown that besides the environmental
effects, some social and economic challenges in Bang-
ladesh can sometimes be traced to decreased water
flows in the Padma River, particularly during the dry
season when other canals and rivers also become vul-
nerable to reduced flows.
1.2.2.3 Crisis of Water Availability or
Governance
Experts have referred to weak governance as the main
problem in South Asia. For Moench, Dikshit, Rathore
and Srinivas (2003: 3–4) governance is the “core water
challenge in South Asia.” The fundamental challenge
posed by the water crisis in South Asia is not about
the capacity of key stakeholders (governments, NGOs
or communities) to select technical solutions or plan-
ning mechanisms. Since water challenges heavily de-
pend on the ‘constitutional foundations’ to which all
decisions are linked, the authors argue for a deeper
analysis of such foundations and if necessary the re-
thinking of these constitutions. Major questions exist
as to who does the integration of water resourcesplanning, whose interests are reflected in the integra-
tion process and how this process is governed to en-
sure that the interests of all stakeholders are equitably
reflected, how disputes are resolved, and above all,
which issues must be addressed through integrated
approaches (Lahiri-Dutt 2008: xxxvii). Similar opin-
ions are voiced by completely different schools of
thought. For example, whilst Shiva (2002: 1) argued
that “the water crisis is the most pervasive, most se-
vere, and most invisible dimension of the ecological
devastation of the earth” and she stressed that the wa-
Figure 1.7: Interlinked factors behind weak governance posing threats for water security in Bangladesh.Sources: Zillur
(2007).
7 According to the EU, a holistic approach of waterresources management that is combined, ‘environmen-tally-sound water management; food security especially for the poor; private sector involvement; reduction of subsidies; decentralization of decision-making to thelowest appropriate administrative level; user participa-tion in services; institutional reform and regulatory fra-meworks; and cost recovery and pricing’ (EU 1999).The definition has been taken from the paper of “Wet-lands: water, life, and culture”, 8th Meeting of the Con-ference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention onWetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), Valencia, Spain, 18–26November 2002.
9 Asit K. Biswas is the founder of the Third World Centrefor Water Management and of the International Jour-nal of Water Resources Development. He received the2006 Stockholm Water Prize.
10 “Governance” simply means, “the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are imple-mented (or not implemented)” (UNESCAP 2007 : 1).