Barrister Harun ur Rashid
Ganges,Brahmaputra, and Meghna flow through Bangladesh from India until they fall into the Bay of Bengal, creating one of the biggest deltas in the world. It is estimated that 25,000 square miles within Bangladesh can be designated as delta, an area equal to Belgium and the Netherlands.
Unilateral water diversion or withdrawal of water from trans-boundary or international rivers has been the long-standing policy of India. Without any agreement with Bangladesh it has steadily embarked on constructing dam or diverting water from many trans-boundary rivers, such as Teesta, Gumti, Khowai, Dharla, Dudkumar, Monu. India had reportedly blocked streams of rivers such as Muhuri, Chagalnaiya, Fulchari, Kachua and many others in Tripura flowing into Bangladesh.
Since the trans-boundary rivers are within the territory of India, it did not discuss and come to agreement with Bangladesh on the blockage or diversion of use of waters of rivers, although the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission exists since 1972.
On sharing of "common rivers", Article 9 of the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty obliges India to conclude "water sharing treaties/agreements" with Bangladesh "on principles of equity, fairness and no harm to either party."
Depletion of water in trans-boundary rivers in India has thrown Bangladesh in a very critical state, especially in navigation, agriculture, and way of life. Farmers, fishermen and forests are all adversely affected by depletion of water in rivers.
Bangladesh will need to increase its agricultural yield about 2% per cent per year to meet the needs of the population that will increase to 200 million by 2020. To cope with the situation, Bangladesh must rely on surface water from rivers instead of withdrawal of ground water presently being practiced.
It is noted that increased flow of waters in Bangladesh Rivers will be of great benefit to India as well. Under an agreement with Bangladesh, India has been given permission to transport its goods through river crafts to its seven eastern states that are landlocked.
The river routes Kolkata-Chandpur-Chilmari-Dubri and Kolkata-Chandpur-Bhairab Bazar-Zakiganj-Karimganj are hardly being used by India because of lack of depth of water in the rivers. Furthermore Chittagong and Mongla ports together with adequate channel-depth of Bangladesh rivers could be utilized by both Nepal and Bhutan..
Tipaimukh Dam
The construction of Tipaimukh dam for generating 1500MW on the trans-boundary Barak River has raised hue and cry both in Manipur state in India and in Bangladesh.
The construction of the proposed Tipaimukh dam in a geologically sensitive zone, adjacent to the well recognized Taithu Fault is a major concern. A major earthquake may cause the failure of the dam and endanger the lives, land and forest of both India and Bangladesh.
The risk of dam failure is a significant issue. A dam-break is a catastrophic failure which results in the sudden draining of the reservoir and a severe flood wave that may cause destruction and deaths downstream in Bangladesh.
It is reported that Dr. Soibam Ibotombi of the Department of Earth Sciences, Manipur University,(India), in an article, mentioned that the "Tipaimukh dam is a geo-tectonic blunder of international dimensions."
Besides being criticised for technical and environmental grounds by many experts both in India and Bangladesh, it may be strongly argued the proposed dam is, among others, contrary to:
· The 1997 UN Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses
· Fourth preambular paragraph of the Indo-Bangladesh 1996 Ganges Water Treaty
· Article 6 of the 1989 ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
· The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity.
Although India may not be a party to the 1997 Convention or 1992 Biodiversity Convention, India as a regional power may demonstrate its leadership in South Asia by complying with the globally accepted Conventions.
It is good to note that a parliamentary delegation from Bangladesh is going to visit the site, assess the impact on Bangladesh and report to parliament in due course.
China's proposed diversion of water from the Tibetan plateau
According to an Indian Professor of Strategic Studies at Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, Brahma Chellaney, China's intensive farming needs water and it is increasingly turning its attention to water reserves of the Tibetan plateau.. China is presently toying with massive inter-basin and inter-river water transfer projects.
According to a report by the same Indian writer, China attempts to redirect northward the flow of waters from the Tibetan plateau. The Tibetan plateau is the Principal Asian Watershed and source of ten major rivers.
It is roughly estimated that 10-20% of the Himalayan region is covered by glaciers while an additional area ranging from 30-40% has seasonal snow cover. Himalayan glaciers cover around 100,000 sq km and store about 12,000 cubic km of fresh water: the most incredible water tank in the world.
Tibet water travel to eleven countries and are said to bring fresh water to over 85% of Asian population, approximately 50% of world's population. Four of the world's ten rivers the Brahmaputra, Indus, Yangtze, and Mekong have their head water on the Tibetan plateau.
South Asia is mainly concerned with Brahmaputra, Indus, Sutlej, Arun, Karnali, whose water is life line for more than one billion people living downstream. The Brahmaputra River is considered to be the highest river on earth with an average altitude of 4,000 meters. It runs 2,057 kilometres in Tibet before flowing into India, where it becomes the Brahmaputra. One of its interesting characteristics is the 'SHARP U-TURN' it takes at the proximity of Mt. Namcha Barwa (7,782 meters) near the Indian border.
Several Chinese projects in west-central Tibet have a bearing on river-water flows into India but it claims that China refuses to share information with it. Indian writer Chellaney has disclosed two Chinese projects that are likely to affect India adversely.
One is the proposed Great South-North Water Transfer project diverting Tibetan waters and the first phase for building 300 kilometres of tunnels and channels to draw water from the Jingsha, Yalong and Dadu rivers on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau.
The second phase of the project is more damaging because it proposes to re-route Tsangpo/Brahmaputra waters northward before it enters India.
Although Chinese government claims that the project is still at a conceptual stage, it is reported in foreign media that work of the project has already begun with the target to finish it in next five to seven years.
Now India became aware of its rights when China wants to divert waters from Tsangpo/Brahmaputra river. China is reportedly doing the same thing with India as India did with its rivers in relation to Bangladesh.
Water-related conflicts
Fresh water is becoming scarce according to a UNESCO study. Population growth, pollution and climate change will combine to produce a drastic decline in water supply in the years ahead. Underground water is diminishing rapidly. It has been reported that across Asia, Africa and Latin America, ground water level are dropping as much as three metres a year.
The study suggests that if pollution keeps pace with population growth, the world will in effect lose 18,000 cubic kilometres by 2050: almost nine times the amount all countries will lose for use for irrigation.
The average supply of water is expected to drop by one-third within twenty years. UNESCO points out that up to 7 billion people could face water shortages by 2020 and global warming may put 50 countries with severe water shortages. South Asia is one of the regions to be adversely affected.
Water experts believe that water disputes on intra-state and inter-state level may increase in future. It is the potential inter-state conflict over river-water resources that may be of greater concern.
The author is former Bangladesh Ambassdor to the UN, Geneva.
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