Speakers at a national seminar on Thursday emphasised the need for taking specific water planning and allocation by the Government for the people living at hard-to-reach zone in the country.Addressing the seminar on “Water Cooperation – The Zonal Context of Rural Bangladesh”, they also laid importance on increasing the use of surface water by reducing the dependence on aquifer to mitigate the shortage of drinking water.
NGO Forum for Public Health, Department of Public Health & Engineering, UNIC, WSP-The World Bank, Bangladesh WaSH Alliance jointly arranged the seminar at the DPHE auditorium on the eve of World Water Day to be observed on Friday and also the launching of the “International Year of Water Cooperation”.
Presided over by, Engr. Md. Nuruzzaman, chief engineer of DPHE, the seminar was also addressed, among others, by William Hanna, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh; Dr. Urs Herren, Ambassador, Embassy of Switzerland to Dhaka and Mark Ellery, Chair, Water Supply & Sanitation Working Group, LCG Bangladesh and Regional Water and Sanitation Specialist, WSP-South Asia, The World Bank.
Two key-note papers focusing on Challenges and cooperation in getting safe water in different ecological zones of Bangladesh were presented by Emaduddin Ahmad, Team Leader of GWM and Feasibility Study of 148 Pourashava, DPHE-IWM and Najmul Islam, a research fellow of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies..
EU Ambassador and Head of Delegation William Hanna mentioned that the Cooperation has become a crucial issue for European Union and the challenge in Bangladesh lies in bringing all the actors together- the government, development partners, international organizations, NGOs, and private sector.
He said people of 20 to 25 per cent area of the country suffer from over flow of water during the wet season every year. “All these realities increase health burden on the poor communities,” he added.
William Hanna said it is found that every family spends TK. 2,118 yearly against diarrhea treatment in the coastal area. Zone-specific planning & allocation should be the focus point of Water Cooperation in Bangladesh context.
He raised voice to take put priority on equitable water services for the hard-to-reach people considering the call for water cooperation under the UN Declaration of International Year of Water Cooperation.
Dr. Urs Herren, Ambassador of Swiss Embassy pointed out that SDC, the long-term development partner of Bangladesh has already shifted its water and sanitation programme focus on hard-to-reach zone-specific.
“The country’s coastal region, haor, char lands, drought & flood-prone areas and the hilly areas are the regions where water management is challenging in these areas considering different local socio-economic, cultural, educational issues in terms of water cooperation. The challenges need to be addressed with priority in these areas. Actions require full engagement of the communities and local actors including LGIs. New forms of cooperation and management are required for introducing innovative and alternative water supply and sanitation technologies in these areas,” Dr. Urs Herren added.
Regional Water and Sanitation Specialist of WSP-South Asia, The World Bank and Chair of LCG Mark Ellery stressed on hard-to-reach area-specific planning and allocation for safe water supply and sanitation.
He stressed on coming up with collective water management to address equitable planning, budget allocation and service-delivery for water supply services in the hard-to-reach areas. He stated considering new opportunities for cooperation by opening up both data and debates with the enhancing IT capabilities and the growing power of social media.
The theme of the World Water Day 2013 is “Water Cooperation.”
Different government and non-government organizations have taken various programme to mark the day.
The programme includes holding discussion meetings and brining out rallies.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) will bring out a rally from in front of the National Press Club in the morning to mark the day.
(Greenwatch Dhaka Report)
