The two-day 9th International Water Conference took place at a hotel in Dhaka under the theme ‘Water, River and Climate Change: Creating Space for Resilience’ ended on Thursday.
While moderating a session titled “Rights of the River: Integrated Basin Management” Dr Asif Nazrul, Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka, said, “In South Asia, major upstream countries do not want to sit with downstream countries.”
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“Most agreements are reactive agreements made in order to accommodate unilateral projects by upstream or powerful countries. They usually go bilateral to resolve any water and river related disputes. If we look into the South Asian Water sharing treaties, we see that most of them are periodical treaties for a selective timeframe, which we do not see in other parts of the world,” he added.
He also stated that all the basin states must find a fair way of water allocation to avoid disagreement. Also, there must be a regional framework for comprehensive data sharing regarding water resource management.
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Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström, First Secretary and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden stressed the inclusion of young people in water-related discussion and the climate justice movement. She also emphasised on the youth-led enterprise for sustainable water management.
Dr Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus, Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER), BRAC University, said, “In climate and water negotiations, it’s imperative to understand the politics at play. Climate change significantly impacts food security, and water is essential for ensuring this security. By understanding climate politics well, we can strongly stand for climate justice.”
Dr. Khairul Islam, Regional Director, WaterAid, South Asia Region, in the River, Resilience, and People session said, “Most of the civilisations started on the bank of the rivers. What we are seeing now is that the condition of the river is deteriorating. The majority of climate change is human-made or caused by the people. Water is the lifeline of the people, and we are polluting it. If we become conscious and more responsible, we can revert and improve this situation. We should find ways to save water bodies.”
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Remarks by Special Guest, M. Riaz Hamidullah, Ambassador, Embassy of Bangladesh in the Netherlands said, “If we are to look for a solution-driven approach, we have to understand Delta plan is not a guideline. A plan has to marry with the future of the economy and urbanization of the country. I do not see the knowledge institutions to inform projects.”
This year the conference emphasised on 10 thematic areas- Understanding the nexus of climate change and rights of rivers; Climate change and rivers: Risk and vulnerabilities; Development, inclusion and resilience; Water, river, and urban resilience: Infrastructure and ecosystem; River, resilience, and people; Rights of the river: Integrated basin management; Multilateral water cooperation and governance; Living museums and community resilience; Water and river: Engagement young people; Sustainable Future: Crafting technical solutions.