Why in the News?
In 2025, Bangladesh became the first South Asian nation to join the UN Water Convention (Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes).
About UN Water Convention:
- Overview: Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, adopted in Helsinki (1992) and enforced in 1996 under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
- Globalisation: Originally regional (Europe, Central Asia); opened to all UN Member States in 2016 after a 2013 amendment, becoming a global treaty for transboundary water governance.
- Objective: Promotes sustainable management of shared water resources and conflict prevention through cooperative mechanisms.
- Key Goals: Implements SDG-6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG-16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) via equitable water sharing and joint management.
- Obligations for Parties:
- Prevent and reduce transboundary pollution and unsustainable extraction.
- Use shared waters equitably and reasonably.
- Coordinate national and transboundary water management policies.
- Establish joint bodies or commissions for shared basins.
- Institutional Mechanism: Managed by the UNECE Secretariat, which organises meetings, facilitates implementation, and promotes basin-level cooperation among signatories.
- Legal Character: Functions as a framework convention, complementing rather than replacing bilateral treaties (e.g., Indus Waters Treaty, Ganga Treaty).
- Significance: Serves as a legal and institutional mechanism for Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), regional peacebuilding, and climate-resilient governance.
- Related Instruments: Inspired the UN Watercourses Convention (1997); both operate in complementary scopes within international water law.
Why did Bangladesh join (2025):
- First in South Asia: Became the first South Asian nation to ratify the Convention amid escalating water stress and climate vulnerability.
- Hydrological Dependence: Over 90% of river inflows come from outside Bangladesh, mainly India and China, making Dhaka highly vulnerable to upstream interventions.
- Upstream Projects: Concerns over China’s Motuo Hydropower Project (Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra) and India’s unresolved Teesta water-sharing dispute drove the decision.
- Environmental Risks: 60% of population exposed to floods; half live in drought-prone areas, heightening need for cooperative governance.
- Legal Context: Bangladesh’s 2019 High Court ruling granting rivers legal personhood reinforced its institutional focus on water rights.
- Strategic Motivation: Seeks global legal recourse, access to data-sharing mechanisms, and international funding for climate adaptation and water security.
Implications for India:
- Shift from Bilateralism: India prefers bilateral river treaties (e.g., Indus, Ganga). Bangladesh’s multilateral engagement introduces scope for third-party mediation, contrary to India’s stance.
- Ganga Treaty Renewal (2026): Bangladesh may invoke “equitable utilisation” to seek a higher share of Ganga waters under Convention norms.
- Teesta River Pressure: The stalled Teesta agreement could face renewed international pressure, citing fairness and sustainability principles.
- Regional Domino Effect: Likely to motivate Nepal and Bhutan to join, potentially transforming South Asia’s hydro-diplomatic architecture.
- Strategic Concerns: Bangladesh’s simultaneous trilateral cooperation with China and Pakistan raises apprehensions of a Beijing-influenced hydro-bloc.
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