Speakers at a Chattogram seminar urged stronger research, expert-led policymaking and climate-responsive provisions in South Asia’s future water-sharing agreements.
Water rights in South Asia should be based on justice, cooperation and shared responsibility, speakers said at a seminar in Bangladesh’s Chattogram on Wednesday, with calls for greater research, expert-led policymaking and fairer water-sharing agreements.
The seminar, titled “Hydropolitics in South Asia: Water Sharing, Power and Geopolitics”, was organised by the South Asia Youth for Peace and Prosperity Society at the University of Chittagong. It was held at 10:00 am at the conference room on the fifth floor of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Biological Sciences.
Professor Dr. Md. Iqbal Sarwar of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies chaired the seminar.
In his keynote paper, Muhammad Tanbirul Islam, a faculty member of the Department of Bangladesh Studies at the University of Chittagong, said understanding water politics in South Asia required looking beyond how much water a country would receive or control.
He said the geographical position of countries as upstream or downstream states, their ability to control water flows, technological facilities, access to information and political and economic relations together determine a state’s negotiating capacity.
“The future of South Asian rivers is not only a question of water sharing; it is also a question of cooperation, justice, and shared responsibility,” Islam said.
He said rivers could connect states, but unequal management and political mistrust could also turn them into sources of division.
Future water security would depend on countries moving from competition towards information sharing, mutual trust and joint river management, he said.
Islam also called for an end to what he described as India’s hegemonic political approach, saying water politics in South Asia required justice to ensure the water rights of neighbouring states and help establish a peaceful South Asia.
Discussant Professor Dr. A. K. M. Mahfuzul Haque, also known as Mahfuz Parvez, chairman of the Department of Political Science at the University of Chittagong, said attempts to use water as a weapon in South Asia posed a threat to peace and stability in the region.
He said India was, in effect, destroying Bangladesh’s rivers, describing this as a crime against humanity. He called for a multidisciplinary approach to identifying problems and opportunities related to water and rivers and urged the government to increase expert-led initiatives for policy formulation.
Shamsuddin Illias, Chattogram bureau chief of The Business Standard, said academic research on Bangladesh’s rivers was necessary and should determine their contribution to the country’s gross domestic product.
On the future renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India, Illias said Bangladesh should not focus only on extending the existing agreement. In the context of climate change, he said Bangladesh should actively participate in negotiations to identify and include new and more equitable provisions in the treaty.
Professor Dr. Kazi Md. Barkat Ali of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Chittagong said South Asian states must work together to ensure water rights, including fair water sharing, by establishing people-oriented agreements based on research and reliable information.
Saleh Noman, general secretary of the Chattogram Metropolitan Union of Journalists, said young people needed to learn about policies related to water use. He called on everyone to come forward to ensure Bangladesh’s fair share of water.
Zahidul Karim Kochi, president of the Chattogram Press Club and resident editor of Daily Amar Desh, said water had become an important element of geopolitics in South Asia.
He said water agreements in South Asia should be based on justice and practical research while avoiding hegemonic attitudes. He also stressed the importance of an active role for young people in protecting Bangladesh’s fair share of water.
