Bangladesh has signed the 1992 Convention on International Rivers, drafted by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), sources say. Initially, the convention was only applicable to European countries. In 2003, it was opened to non-European countries through an amendment.
The countries outside Europe that have signed the charter using this opportunity are Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Bangladesh will now be added to this list, if the decision to sign the charter is approved by the country’s future parliament.
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The 1992 European Commission Charter is primarily concerned with the pollution of international rivers. Its main objective is to ‘prevent, control and reduce pollution’.
The charter states that work must be done at the source of pollution and in such a way that pollution caused by one country does not reach another country, directly or indirectly.
The Charter sets out detailed principles and guidelines for achieving this goal. The ECE Charter also calls for the ‘rational and equitable use’ of the waters of international rivers and ‘protection and, where necessary, restoration’. However, no specific policies are proposed on these issues. The main focus is limited to reducing pollution.
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Transboundary pollution is also a problem for Bangladesh’s rivers. The Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. In addition to industrial, domestic, agricultural and human waste, a large number of human and livestock carcasses are dumped into the river, which increases pollution. The Ganges enters Bangladesh with this polluted water.
Due to the increase in mining of various minerals in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, water pollution in the rivers flowing from this state into Bangladesh has also increased. Therefore, the signing of the 1992 ECE Charter to address pollution in transboundary rivers is a positive step.
However, more important than pollution for Bangladesh is the issue of getting a fair share of international river flows. Taking advantage of its upstream location, India is diverting river water, and due to this, river flows in Bangladesh are continuously decreasing (especially during the dry season).
■ India is taking advantage of its upstream location to divert water from rivers and as a result, the flow of rivers in Bangladesh is continuously decreasing. ■ It is clear that the 1997 Charter will have the support of international law in favor of Bangladesh’s interests on shared rivers, so Bangladesh should sign it immediately.
Due to the construction of the Farakka Barrage and many other structures upstream, the Ganges water in Bangladesh now drops below the ‘minimum environmental flow’ during the winter. As a result, the rivers of the southwest are cut off from the Ganges, and in many cases this connection is not re-established even during the monsoon season.
The Sundarbans are now under threat due to the decline in the flow of the Ganges. Multiple monitoring groups of UNESCO’s ‘World Natural Heritage’ have expressed concern about this.
India is also doing the same with the Teesta River in North Bengal. Due to the Ghajaldoba and other dams built by India on this river, the Teesta River in Bangladesh almost dries up during the dry season.Read more
What are the obstacles to Bangladesh signing an international water agreement?
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India is busy diverting the Brahmaputra River water to the west and south of the country through the Inter-River Interconnection Project. However, due to the decline in the flow of the Ganges, about 70 percent of the flow of Bangladesh’s rivers now depends on the Brahmaputra. Efforts are being made to reduce the flow of the Meghna River by constructing the Tipaimukh Dam and the Phulertal Barrage in the east.
According to researchers, India has built or is planning to build flow diversion or control structures on almost every one of the 54 rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh. This behavior of India is also causing harmful distortions in the rivers of Bangladesh.
The hardness of the riverbed is increasing due to the drying up in winter, due to which the riverbed cannot be as deep during the rainy season and the river breaks its banks. As a result, the rivers are becoming shallower on one side and wider on the other. Agricultural land is decreasing and people are becoming destitute due to river erosion.
Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to getting a fair share of river flows from India. For that, it is necessary to sign the 1997 United Nations Convention on International Rivers.
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The ‘Helsinki Provisions’ on International Rivers were adopted at the 52nd Conference of the International Law Association held in Helsinki in 1966. Since these provisions were not considered comprehensive enough, the United Nations formulated a 37-article Charter on the Use of International Rivers in 1997. After being signed and ratified by a sufficient number of countries, the Charter came into effect in 2014.
The 1997 UN Charter gives very specific form to the rights of downstream countries like Bangladesh over rivers. For example, Article 7 of this Charter states that ‘it shall be ensured that no significant damage is caused to other participating countries in the use of international rivers by any State. If such damage occurs, the responsible State shall, in consultation with the affected State, take other measures, including compensation, to make good the damage.’
Article 6 of the Charter provides a detailed list of factors to be taken into account in assessing this damage. The factors included therein include the ‘economic and social needs’ of the country (in the river), the ‘population dependent on the river’ and the ‘traditional, existing and potential uses’ of the river.
The 1997 Charter gives all States Parties, individually and, where applicable, jointly, the responsibility to protect and care for the international river ecosystem (Article 20). The Charter clarifies that river ecosystems are to be considered to include river estuaries and coastal areas (Article 23).
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From this brief description, it is clear that the 1997 charter is favorable to Bangladesh. According to this charter, India’s Farakka or Ghazoldoba dams, which have caused massive damage to Bangladesh, are not perfect at all.
India’s activities to divert water from the Brahmaputra River through the Inter-River Link Project are also against this Charter. The degradation of the Sundarbans that India has caused by diverting water from the Ganges is also against this Charter.
Above all, India cannot do anything that would harm the ‘traditional and existing uses’ of the rivers that the people of Bangladesh have been making for a long time.
The 1997 Charter also includes a mechanism for resolving river disputes (Article 33). It states that if the disputing parties cannot reach an agreement among themselves, they may choose any of the following three methods.
First, a third party can be requested to mediate or arbitrate based on mutual consent.
Secondly, they can receive support from a joint water management organization formed by them.
Thirdly, recourse can be had to the ‘International Court of Justice’.
Therefore, it is clear that the 1997 Charter on shared rivers will receive the support of international law in favor of Bangladesh’s interests, so Bangladesh should sign it immediately.
India wants to keep Bangladesh confined to the bilateral framework. However, it is regrettable that Bangladesh has not achieved any success in protecting its interests in river issues in this bilateral framework. In fact, this framework has now become largely obsolete. The India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission meetings are held infrequently.
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It is often said that since India did not sign the 1997 Charter and apparently does not want any other country in the subcontinent to sign it, Bangladesh will gain nothing by signing it except increasing India’s resentment. If this is the argument, then why did Bangladesh sign the 1992 Charter of the ECE? India did not sign this Charter either!
In fact, it is not appropriate for Bangladesh’s position to be determined by India’s wishes or preferences. Just as India looks after its interests, Bangladesh should also look after its own interests. India is able to impose its will by taking advantage of its upstream position. Therefore, by signing the 1997 charter, it does not want to impose various obligations on itself. For the same reason, India is not willing to participate in any multilateral discussion on river issues that includes Nepal and Bhutan.
India wants to keep Bangladesh confined to the bilateral framework. However, it is regrettable that Bangladesh has not achieved any success in protecting its interests in river issues in this bilateral framework. In fact, this framework has now become largely obsolete. The India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission meetings are held infrequently.
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It is important that by signing the 1997 Charter, Bangladesh can also use the protections provided in the Charter in bilateral negotiations with India. Bangladesh can show that its claims on the river are not an unreasonable ambition, but are recognized and supported by international charters.
Secondly, Bangladesh can also use the rights granted in this Charter to build public opinion in favor of its position in various international forums.
Third, Bangladesh can encourage other countries in the subcontinent to sign this charter, so that a consensus legal basis is created for resolving river disputes in the region.
India does not need to wait for the signing of the 1997 charter. China’s threat to divert water from the Brahmaputra in Tibet will probably wake India up one day.
It is noteworthy that just as India’s geographical location has some advantages, Bangladesh’s geographical location also has some advantages. That is why I proposed the ‘transit in exchange for rivers’ formula almost a decade ago. (Note, author’s booklet Transit in exchange for rivers: The key to improving Bangladesh-India relations, 2014).
India has recently demonstrated that transit, transshipment, port use, etc., by cancelling transit facilities for Bangladeshi exporters, can be negotiable and conditional. Now the time for the renewal of the Ganga Treaty is approaching. The Teesta crisis has also become apparent. It is difficult to see Bangladesh’s interests in the river being protected by maintaining the status quo. The signing of the 1997 Charter could be the first step towards progress in this regard.
● Nazrul Islam Professor, Asian Growth Research Institute and former head of development research at the United Nations
Source: Prothom Alo
