Is there a link to transboundary water conflicts resolution?

Notably 50 percent of all drinking water, 40 percent of industrial water and 20 percent of irrigation water in the global perspective are sourced from underground aquifers, the largest fresh water source of supply. About one-third of the world population's water needs are met by groundwater supplies. Over-abstraction principally for irrigated agriculture resulting in drawdown of the water table has thus primarily affected its quality particularly in the shallow aquifers and further because of widespread indiscriminate withdrawal in many parts of the world in quantities greater than the nature's ability to renew, the hydraulic conditions have been disrupted. The disruption has led to seawater intrusion along shorelines, causing salinisation of coastal agricultural lands. The water table has dropped by tens of meters in many places. Falling water tables have also exacerbated land subsidence in many regions causing land fissures and damages to roads, railways and housing including many other settlements.

In the face of continuous stretching of the water stress worldwide, agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of freshwater consumption, mainly for irrigation of agricultural crops, as against 82 per cent by the developing and the underdeveloped.. Agricultural demand for water is projected to continuously increase, since much of the additional food that will be needed to feed the increased population is expected to come from an increase in irrigated agriculture.

In Bangladesh the distribution of water use by sectors is, in agriculture 59 percent, municipal 10 percent, industry 11 percent, navigation 15 percent and, environment 2 percent. Such use-distribution by sector over time has not developed in composite manner rather one has little or no link to the other in water use planning resulting in hydraulic disruption of streams. In this backdrop of the total use for agricultural purpose, ground water accounts for 70 percent and surface water 30 percent. Quality-wise arsenic contamination of ground water is a challenge for ensuring drinking water supply in the rural areas. According to a recent news (The Daily Ittefaq, May 18, 2006) 1.5 million tubewells are contaminated by arsenic mixed water threatening about 70 million rural population. Groundwater depletion is the major threat for domestic supply in urban areas particularly in known major cities.

Another official statistics published in the recent past (The Daily Star, March 23, 2006) revealed that 890 thousand out of 3.15 million hectares of irrigated lands in the peak season went almost beyond irrigation for excessive drawdown of groundwater table making 300 thousand shallow tubewells virtually redundant. The report further revealed that the south-west part of the country is reportedly empty of underground aquifer. Water resource management for meeting the needs of different sectors is severely stressed. Apart from other needs, only 2 percent annual increase in food production for 40 percent absolute increase in population by 2025, to the extent based on underground aquifers, may as such severely stress-batter the nation's groundwater reliability.

Land development has seriously impacted the underground aquifer storage. The closed water bodies in Bangladesh are estimated at 351,000 ha that includes ponds, baors and costal low lands. Further the haor area measures about 114,000 ha and the Kaptai hydro-power dam storage is 68,000 ha. Water bodies are rapidly shrinking primarily by upstream withdrawal and then from corresponding invasion by agriculture. The groundwater recharging phenomenon in the system is thus being destroyed.

Estimation of groundwater availability in Bangladesh has remained as a source of considerable controversy differed by opinions of experts within the country. National Water Management Plan, 2003 failed to apprehend any probability of nation-wide deficit in groundwater resources by 2025 except in a limited area on the west. It has been evidenced that at the point the river Ganges entering into Bangladesh, along the western border the underground aquifers depletion is gradually advancing easterly. Experts are of the opinion that upstream withdrawal of surface water has ceased refilling the underground aquifers. The concerns for same phenomenon in case of barrage at the upstream of Teesta and the hydro-power dam planned to be built soon across the river Borak in India upstream of the Meghna basin may sustain. The process of recharging underground aquifers at the west, central, and east at some point of time may thus culminate in total hydrologic disruption drying up the subsurface water storage within the country.

The geologic formations of aquifers differ from place to place. Uncertainty over the physical properties of aquifers is a primary problem for its management. Furthermore the difficulty of ground water management often relates to transboundary issues between countries. Additionally, ground water is influenced by land development patterns. These influences can cause decreasing water levels and contamination of ground water. It is important to protect the recharge area, which primarily captures the precipitation on the surface in order not to disturb water flow into the ground. Hydraulic behaviour of ground water is much more complex compared to that of surface water. Groundwater disperses beneath the surface irrespective of state boundaries. Unfortunately, the question of how much land needs to be protected for recharging groundwater is still not known to the scientists.

The sovereignty of an aquifer can be determined in five ways namely (i) the entire aquifer within the state, (ii) a confined aquifer divided by the state boundaries, (iii) an aquifer that is entirely within a state but hydrologically linked to international river, (iv) an aquifer that is entirely within a state but hydrologically linked with another aquifer in a neighbouring state, (v) an aquifer that is entirely within the territory of a state but its recharge area is in another state. Intra-state rivers or lakes may have influences where there is hydrological relationship or links to an aquifer.

The International Law Association (ILA), established in 1873, is a non-governmental organisation that works for the development of emerging rules of international law. The earliest works of ILA regarding transboundary groundwater regulations is the Helsinki Rules in 1967. In this rule international drainage basin was defined as "a geographical area extending over two or more states determined by the watersheds limits of the system of waters, including surface and underground waters, flowing into a common terminus". Later in 1986, the Seoul Rules defined that 'an aquifer that contributes water to or receives water from surface water of an international basin constitutes part of an international basin' for the purpose of the Helsinki Rules. An aquifer intersected by the boundary between two or more states that does not contribute water to, or receives water from, surface water of an international drainage basin constitutes an international drainage basin for the purpose of the same rules. The Helsinki and Seoul Rules are the fundamental recognition of hydrologic relationship between surface and groundwater.

Experts have begun to realise and question the competence and capability of the Joint River Commission (JRC) in dealing with issues relating to transboundary water conflicts resolution in the region. A cursory evaluation may surface that the commission is more a talker by shivering shoulders than really understanding the issues by depth required in facing its counterparts across the talking table. The role of JRC as such must shift from 'eating and meeting' to substantially 'acquiring and achieving' the national benefits and interests. The question at this point of time is therefore put before the commission to scour out the answer whether groundwater recharging within the country has any link to surface water development in the co-riparian countries.

Md. Saeedur Rahman is a former Chief Engineer of BWDB.