Challenges and issues of Water Management in Bangladesh: Anthropological Study

Abstract

Undertaking the prime objective of exploring the major challenges of water management in Bangladesh, present study identified various geographic, socio-economic and environmental factors all are in coherent with anthropological aspect that shape the water management issues of Bangladesh. Water resource management has been focal point in Bangladesh for last few decades, but with the increasing conflict around the distribution of water to contending demands, and mounting water stress due to climate change, there is now a critical demand for social equity in water resource management. The present study mainly focused and concerned with the status and trend of these issues principally impact of Farakka barrage and it’s impinging on stakeholders. This paper is divided into eight consecutive chapters. Chapter one deals with the main problems being investigated and discussed, the aims and rationale of the study. Chapter two involves a critical review of some vital concepts and theories relating to this study. Chapter three discusses about research design and methodology. Chapter four explores about the socio-economic and environmental features of the study area Char Ashariadaha of Rajshahi. The chapter five consists of discussion on policy and stakeholder mapping. Chapter six talks about riverine ecosystem, lives and livelihood, and development interventions in the study area. Chapter seven discusses about major challenges of water management. Chapter eight includes concluding remarks and a way forward. Deriving from anthropological tradition of research, present study uses observation, interview, key informant and other tools and techniques of anthropological fieldwork for collecting in-depth data. It finds out major issues of water management in the study area from holistic view. Water crisis is predominant among other problems which results from Farakka barrage in dry season. Farakka barrage has been able to tremendously influence the lives and livelihood of local people in Char Ashariadaha. Its degree of impact ranges from dry out of local water bodies to force occupational groups shifting river based livelihood option. Central to the impacts of Farakka barrage, decline of agricultural production further exacerbates many social crises directly or indirectly connected with hydraulic aspects of social life in the locality. Traditionally local people of the study area are totally depending on Padma River. Now Padma is likely going to be a curse for their livelihood, frequent flood washes way their assets and destroying the natural species. Before Farakka a lot of fishermen and boatmen were working there now mostly disappeared, shifted their work to other field. A good number of rickshaw pullers of Dhaka city come from Rajshahi to survive. Critically reviewing water treaty of 1996, water act, and other legislative institutions, this study endeavored to mapping out stakeholder analysis with a view to pick up local perspective from the prism of bottom-up approach of anthropological research to reach at the heart of the problem and find out an effective way out. It argues that vital point of water crisis and management in the locality resulted from weaker negotiation with India for ensuring equal distribution of Ganges/ Padma’s water in dry season. Other challenges of water crisis management includes immoral political atmosphere, nepotism, unrestricted and unsustainable extractions of ground water etc. Flood and flesh flood induced by gate opening of Farakka barrage in rainy season, drought in dry spell, and political factionalism aggravate water mismanagement in the locality. This study identified that local people have to suffer from water shortage in dry season. This shortage is derived from two important sources; natural cause and anthropogenic reason. Underground water level decreased followed by less precipitation in winter season is very common according to Bengali seasonality. Thus, construction of barrage like Farakka for impeding water flow into Bangladesh is proliferating water shortage in the community. This unusual shortage of both ground and surface water brings about many adverse impacts; drinking water crisis, sanitation water shortage, irrigation water scarcity, and all coupled with lower production and increased livestock and human disease. Present study identifies two types of entitlement on ground of dimension; local entitlement and national entitlement. Despite having available water in natural water bodies, local poor and marginalized people have limited access to water which is lack of local entitlement. Contrasting to this, Padma River has natural water availability in dry season, but India impedes water flow and control over Bangladesh’s accessibility to water which is lack of national level entitlement. It argues that water bodies in Char Ashariadaha comprise of complex political ecology that is not only governed by local elite but centralized political system has direct and indirect influence. Rich farmers play despotic role by controlling over natural water bodies; impeding natural water flow and making poor and marginalized farmers to depend on their will for getting irrigation water. Hence, water management system goes under political ecology, water governance runs under hydraulic despotism concept, and water use rights is protected under entitlement approach produce a multidimensional crisis that is difficult to deal from single lens. Present study propose two critical ways for these issues; a multidisciplinary comprehensive research model should be taken to account the versatility of water crisis, and a multi-stakeholder based intervention and action group for the effective implementation of the model. However, informed policy making to meet policy goals and make local people aware of their significance and impact is an essential requirement of a dynamic water management policy in Bangladesh. Present study argues that as the water management becomes progressively complex with various dimensions in rural areas like Char Ashariadaha, further research should be conducted from in-depth anthropological insights and from social sciences with a view to ensure bottom-up knowledge venture instead of top-down system for local people engagement in decision making process regarding water crisis management.