Experts call for fair water-sharing agreements amid South Asia’s water tensions

Experts have called for fair water-sharing agreements, greater information sharing and joint river management among South Asian countries amid growing tensions over the region’s transboundary rivers.

They also stressed the need for research-based, people-oriented agreements to ensure equitable access to water and urged states to move away from dominant political approaches to water management.

The speakers made the remarks at a seminar titled “Hydropolitics in South Asia: Water Sharing, Power and Geopolitics” at Chittagong University yesterday (30 September). The South Asia Youth for Peace and Prosperity Society organised the event.

Presenting the keynote paper, Muhammad Tanbirul Islam, a faculty member of the university’s Department of Bangladesh Studies, said South Asian hydropolitics cannot be understood simply by examining how much water each country receives or controls.

Upstream and downstream geography, the ability to control water flows, technological capacity, access to information, and political and economic dynamics all shape a state’s bargaining power, he said.

“The future of South Asia’s rivers is not only a question of water sharing; it is also a question of cooperation, fairness and shared responsibility,” he said.

Tanbirul said rivers can connect states but can also become sources of division because of unequal management and political mistrust. Future water security will depend on how far countries can move from competition towards information sharing, mutual trust and joint river management, he added.

He also called for an end to what he described as India’s “hegemonic” approach to regional water management, saying this was necessary to protect the water interests of neighbouring countries and promote peace in South Asia.

Professor Dr AKM Mahfuzul Haque alias Mahfuz Parvez, chairman of Chittagong University’s Department of Political Science, said attempts to use water as a weapon pose a threat to peace and stability in the region.

He alleged that India was damaging Bangladesh’s rivers and described this as a crime against humanity. He called for a multidisciplinary approach to identifying challenges and opportunities related to water and rivers and urged the government to strengthen expert-led initiatives in policymaking.

Samchuddin Elias, Chittagong bureau chief of The Business Standard, stressed the need for greater academic research on Bangladesh’s rivers.

He said research should establish the contribution of rivers to Bangladesh’s GDP.

He also said any discussion on renewing the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty should not focus solely on extending its term. Bangladesh should instead seek to incorporate new equitable provisions in the treaty to address challenges posed by climate change, he added.

Professor Dr Kazi Md Barkat Ali of Chittagong University’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies said South Asian states should work together to ensure water rights and equitable distribution through people-oriented agreements based on research and evidence.

Saleh Noman, general secretary of the Chittagong Metropolitan Journalists Association, said young people need greater awareness of water-use policies and called on them to work towards securing Bangladesh’s fair share of water.

Zahidul Karim Kochi, president of the Chittagong Press Club and resident editor of Dainik Amar Desh, said water had become an important element of geopolitics in South Asia.

He called for practical, research-based water agreements based on fairness rather than dominance and stressed the need for young people to play an active role in protecting Bangladesh’s water interests.