1. Workshop on
Transnational Policy Dialogue for Improved
Water Governance of Brahmaputra River
Anjal Prakash and Poulomi Banerjee
August 21, 2013
IWFM, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh

4. GBM basin
Principal arm of GBM System; Total basin area 651,335 sq km
Total 58 tributaries (22 in Tibet, 33 in India and 3 in Bangladesh)
China (50%) India (33.6%) Bangladesh (8.1%), Bhutan(7.8%)
Unique drainage system that runs diametrically opposite directions
Highest specific discharge system in the world , highly braided
channels, large flood prone areas, bank erosion, channel migration
Seismically unstable zone
part of indo-Burma bio diversity hotspots

7. Arunachal Pradesh(41.95), Assam (36.3%), Meghalaya(6.1%), Nagaland (5.6%),
Sikkim (3.8%) west Bengal (6.3%)
Accounts 30% of the total water resources and 40 % of the hydel power potential of
the country
Utilization is much less with <5% in hydropower, 10% in irrigation, 4%
groundwater
Arunachal Pradesh (69350 sq km ) is the greenest state of the region; it has been
called the State with highest hydropower potential of 50,000 MW
Assam is the worst flood affected state of the country with 15 major floods (19542012)
High dependence on agriculture, widespread practice of traditional farming, low
usage of modern farm inputs, inadequate agricultural infrastructure, low
productivity, low income

10. Some facts on Bangladesh part of Brahmaputra basin
 Brahmaputra-Jamuna system constitute of Rajshahi, Dhaka and




shyllet divisions of Bangladesh with total catchment area of
5,83,000 sq km
Enters at Kurigram district (at the border of Kurigram Sadar and
Ulipur upazilas)
Brahmaputra-Jamuna is 276 km long, of which Brahmaputra is
only 69 km
The Teesta is principal tributary inputs, while Old Brahmaputra
and the Dhaleswari are major distributaries
Experiencing large-scale avulsion, widening and westerly
migration and rapid bank erosion in response to large floods

11. Some facts on Bangladesh part of Brahmaputra basin
 Home of over 10 million people
 Cultivable area under irrigation is about 0.7 million ha
 Major dams/barrages is Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge
 Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and Local
Government Engineering Development (LGED) are key
actors
 National Water Management Plan (NWMP,2004), National
Water Policy, 1999

12. Major issues and concerns
Unstable
physiography
Climate
change
Water
sharing
Basin
management
Rights ,
acts and
policies

13. Unstable physiographic conditions aggravated by climate
change
 Rising temperatures, recession of glaciers, intense rainfall
triggered by cloud burst impacting the entire eco and human
system
 Districts of north east India ranked high in agricultural, water and
forest vulnerability index
 High sesmicity and sedimentation impacting the hydrologic
characteristics and morphology of the river
 Extreme soil moisture leading to extreme drought condition
 Salt water ingression and sea level rise impacting the hydrology of
the system

14. Water sharing and water rights
 1977 marked the beginning of official discussion between two
countries
 On 12 December 1996, Bangladesh and India signed 30 years
Ganges, and no further treaty after that
 Contentions in water sharing of teesta, Feni (interim agreement of
2011 on sharing of Teesta water for 15 years) rivers
 Large scale hydroelectric projects in India and diversion of water to
Ganga erupting tensions at different levels
 4 hydro power projects (1297MW) on teesta in India have potential
conflict

15. Water Act and Basin Management
 Lack of bilateral/multilateral agreements, treaties(none of the
riparian countries signed the UN water convention 1997)
 Lack of apathy of the government to understand the fragility of the
system, widespread corruption, deteriorating law and order and lack
of transparency
 Technological biasness (India largely focusing on hydro-power ) and
its slow reach of leading to poor adaption
 Lack of sharing of scientific information
 Modification of river flow due to barrage, sluice gate and water
retention structures affecting connectivity and river depth

16. What is required?
 Adequate regional and international cooperation
 Technical information needs to be strengthened based on the need of
the society, ecology and economy
 Sharing hydro-meteriological, physical and environmental data
across riparian countries
 Instead of un fare race of constructing dams proper assessment and
reduction of vulnerabilities, empowering local populace are
imperative
 Basin management should cater to benefits to the river, benefits from
the river, reduced cost and benefits beyond the river

17. Thank You

18. Actor and Stakeholders’ mapping for
Organisationsinstitutions that influence the
management of Brahmaputra River
Key actors
Policy Makers
Executors
Users
Experts
What is their
mandate?
How
interested
they are in
the
managemen
t?
(High, Med,
Low)
How much
power do
they have?
(High,
Med, Low)
Degree of
Key means to
involvement influence
(Active,
them?
Passive, Fence
sitter)