A water conference titled “River: A Living Being” has kicked off on January 29 in Kuakata, Potoukhali. The two-day event is organized by Action Aid Bangladesh (AAB).
This is the fourth edition of the conference and it endeavors to bring attention to issues such as protecting rivers, and how to use rivers in an environmentally-responsible manner.
Some interesting cases were discussed during first day of the conference: for example, the cases of New Zealand, Nepal, and India granting rivers the same legal rights as human beings. The first day featured talks that highlighted the idea that rivers are living entities.
Other themes of the conference include: water democracy, innovation with the intent to create a space to share ideas, encouraging dialogue, fostering trans-border activism, and building alliances.
Regarding the purpose of the convention, water resources and climate change specialist Dr Ainun Nishat said: “The conference encourages people to protect water resources, and pledge support to the people’s initiative and action to this end.
“The river, like a human being, has a life. Therefore, it should live like it.”
He also said that the river carries sediment, not only water. In order to save the water, we need to prevent the obstruction of its normal flow.
Country Director of AAB Farah Kabir said: “Water and life are often synonymous. The United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognizes the human right to have access to water. Nonetheless, the rights of rivers are yet to be widely recognized across the globe.
“The rivers Whanganui, Jamuna, and Ganges now legally have personalities, meaning they must be treated as living entities. These cases are milestones in the movement of rivers getting the recognition they deserve.”
Patuakhali Deputy Commissioner Matiul Islam Chowdhury attended the event as a panelist. He said: “While the discourse on water is traditionally concentrated on the basic human need for sanitation, the contemporary global development agenda goes beyond this by recognizing the importance of protecting the courses of rivers, as well as biodiversity and the environment.
"Water as 'WEBS'—an abbreviation which stands for ‘water, energy, biodiversity, and sediment’—is one of the broad thematic areas."
Chairman of the National River Conservation Commission Dr Muzibur Rahman Howlader said: “We have reviewed the current state of the rivers in 54 districts out of a total 64 in the country.
“If we find any rivers or canals that are filled or occupied, we will take necessary action.”
Dr Ram Devi Tachamo from the Aquatic Ecology Centre, Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal discussed the impacts of human-induced hydrological and morphological changes to aquatic biodiversity in trans-boundary rivers of the Himalayas in Nepal.
Nepal foresees the development of over 25000 MW of electricity in the next ten years. However, the impacts of operating such projects undermines the ecological preservation of downstream ecosystems that have led to contentious issues among water developers and environmentalists.
Dr Ram Devi Tachamo said: “We have assessed how much water abstraction could have harmful impacts on aquatic biodiversity and river health. The study was conducted in trans-boundary rivers in western Nepal.”
She said the study saw a significant decline in biodiversity recorded just in sites of over 80% of water abstraction of average river discharge. She mentioned that maintaining at least 20% of river discharge in the driest season of a year would likely preserve the ecological integrity of a river without compromising their services to livelihood and ecosystems.
The conference will involve the participation of the: Department of Geology of Dhaka University; Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology; Aquatic Ecology Centre, Kathmandu University; Department of Zoology of the University of Chittagong; and Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Jahangirnagar University.
Participants from diverse backgrounds and locations—and national plus international academics and activists—will attend the conference. Six representatives from Nepal, India, and China will discuss their work and experience during the conference.
