Climate expert Ainun Nishat warns that Bangladesh’s project-centric water management ignores results, weakens governance and coordination, and worsens water scarcity, urging integrated, accountable approaches linking rivers, wetlands and communities nationwide.
Climate change and water resources expert Ainun Nishat on Sunday criticised government agencies for their excessive dependence on projects, saying Bangladesh is suffering from what he described as “projectitis”.
“We only want to do projects. I jokingly say Bangladesh is suffering from a major disease called projectitis, like meningitis or hepatitis. No one bothers to check whether these projects are actually delivering results,” he said.
He made the remarks while speaking at a session titled Water Resources Management and Governance: Rivers, Haors and Wetlands at the Parjatan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka.
The two-day national conference was jointly organised by the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and the Water Rights Forum. Sunday marked the concluding day of the conference.
Ainun Nishat stressed that water management cannot be treated in isolation and must be linked with agriculture, land use, livestock and irrigation management. “Right now, one institution does another’s job, creating chaos rather than solutions,” he said.
Citing an example from Feni, he said embankments damaged by floods fall under the responsibility of the Water Development Board, while damaged roads are repaired by the Local Government Engineering Department. However, funds are often allocated to the Ministry of Disaster Management, which lacks technical expertise in such work.
“They can distribute corrugated iron sheets, but they have no professional capacity for infrastructure repair. This is the reality of Bangladesh,” he added.
The keynote paper at the session was presented by BELA Chief Executive Taslima Islam, who said water availability in Bangladesh is declining due to pollution, arsenic contamination and salinity intrusion.
Referring to WaterAid data, she said two out of every five people in Bangladesh consume contaminated water. “Eighty percent of water distribution is urban-centred. Coastal communities spend four times more time collecting water than residents of Dhaka,” she noted.
She also pointed out that Bangladesh ranks 133rd among 180 countries in terms of water accessibility.
Professor Shahjahan Mondal of the Institute of Water and Flood Management at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said that although Bangladesh has policies and laws related to water resources, these are rarely reflected in project design and implementation.
Professor Jasim Uddin of Dhaka University’s Department of Soil, Water and Environment said institutions responsible for water protection often lack clarity about their mandates. “Their roles must be clearly defined,” he said.
In his closing remarks, ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda said recommendations and opinions from the conference would be compiled and shared with the government and political parties. “We must continue raising our voices to bring about meaningful change,” he said.
