A critical review of the Ganges Water Sharing arrangement

Abstract

The 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was an important breakthrough in solving disputes over sharing Ganges water between India and Bangladesh. This study evaluates cooperation reflected in the Treaty by performing a quantitative analysis on available water sharing data. The study recognized that inaccurate projection of future flow and the obligation of allocating guaranteed 991 m3/s flows perpetuate the ongoing water sharing conflicts. The provision of guaranteed minimal flow alternately to India and Bangladesh during critical periods leads to frequent occurrences of low-flow events. Results indicated that the Treaty underestimated the impact of climate variability and possibly increasing upstream water abstraction. Statistical analysis of the post-Treaty data (1997–2016) also indicated that 65% of the time Bangladesh did not receive its guaranteed share during critical dry periods with high water demand. It is advised to project the reliable water availability using a combination of modelling and improved observation of river flows. In addition, the condition of minimum guaranteed share should be removed to reduce the frequency of low-flow events in future. Although our analyses show a number of weaknesses, the Treaty could still enhance the future regional cooperation if some adjustments are made to the current terms and conditions.

Effects of COVID-19 lockdown and unlock on health of Bhutan-India-Bangladesh trans-boundary rivers

“…Trans-boundary river represents a hydro-geographic unit which is divided by static national or international political boundaries ( Rahman et al, 2019 ). The importance of trans-boundary rivers is always high due to their international significance in social, cultural, economic, political, ecological and physical aspects.…”

Life at the borderline: Responses of Ganges river dolphins to dry‐season flow regulation of river and canal habitats by the Farakka barrage

“…As a result, no clear evidence for the 10‐day cycle of water releases was detected. Similarly high flows also occurred in 2014, and even at that time no 10 day cycle in water sharing was detected (Rahman et al, 2019). Water sharing and regulation were expected to intensify during the period with the lowest flow (11 March to 31 May), when both countries are guaranteed to receive a minimum quantum of water in alternating 10 day periods (Government of India & Government of Bangladesh, 1996; Penny et al, 2020).…”

“…The India-Bangladesh treaty implementation has reportedly increased average dry season water flows towards Bangladesh by releases of more water in the Ganga during the 10 day allocation periods (Penny et al, 2020). Estimated water availability at Farakka in the study period was found to be consistently greater than the average value of 3,000 m 3 s À1 (Thomas, 2017;Rahman et al, 2019), which was also backed up by local reports, and probably related to the anomalous and intensive flooding in 2019 (Bhatt et al, 2020). As a result, no clear evidence for the 10-day cycle of water releases was detected.…”

“…The Farakka barrage diverts approximately 1,200 m 3 s −1 of water from the main stem of the Ganga River through the Farakka feeder canal into the Hooghly distributary (Government of India & Government of Bangladesh, 1996) in the dry season. It has caused a decline in rice‐paddy cultivation and fisheries and obstructed the upstream migration of hilsa along the Ganges (Adel, 2001; Kawser & Samad, 2016; Rahman et al, 2019). The barrage has also led to a reduction in river width by almost 70% and increased the total sand bar area and connectivity downstream, resulting in reduced habitat availability for dolphins (Sonkar & Gourav, 2020).…”

Assessment of long-term hydrogeological changes and plausible solutions to manage hydrological extremes in the transnational Ganga river basin

“…Nevertheless, Bangladesh argues that they do not receive their fair share of water allocated for them in the non-monsoon. Rahman et al (2019) indicated that the treaty underestimated the impact of climate variability and possibly increased upstream water abstraction creating obligations for guaranteed flows perpetuating the risk of water-sharing conflicts. On the other hand, India and Nepal signed the Kosi agreement in 1954 to construct a barrage between the India-Nepal border to regulate the flow of the river, flood management, power generation, and irrigation purposes.…”