Bangladesh – from a country of flood to a country of water scarcity – sustainable perspectives for solution

Quite often Bangladesh is portrayed as a water abundant country, which does not give the full picture of her water problems. Due to the temporal distribution of water resources, water problems of Bangladesh fall within two extremes. At one extreme is the monsoon period between June to October when the country becomes flooded due to high flows in the transboundary rivers and heavy rainfall within the country. At the other extreme is the dry season between December to May when the country become severely water stressed due to low water availability, unsustainable upstream water withdrawal and low quality of groundwater. Thus mitigating floods and ensuring enough water to address drought are the two major water resources management challenges for Bangladesh. This paper discusses water resources problems of Bangladesh and the consequences of flood and drought to her socio-economical and environmental development aspiration. This paper stresses that integrated water resources management approach through effective transboundary cooperation involving the riparian countries of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna river basins is vital for overcoming the current water crises of Bangladesh as well as the whole region. 

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