Staff Reporter:
Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan yesterday sought international support in restora-tion of the country’s rivers.
She urged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international partners to help Bangla-desh create a successful example of river restoration.
Rizwana highlighted the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to restoration of the riv-ers.
Speaking as the chief guest at a Knowledge Sharing Seminar on “River Restoration: Lessons for Bangladesh,” at Pani Bhaban here, she expressed optimism about the potential to transform even polluted rivers like the Buriganga into sources of fresh water.
Rizwana, also environment adviser, noted that other countries have demonstrated effective meth-ods for tackling such challenges.
Observing chromium contamination caused by tanneries as an additional challenge for the Buriganga River, she stressed immediate action rather than more policies, plans or strategies, which Bangladesh has, to address the water problems.
Rizwana called for ADB’s support in developing a concrete action plan using existing documents and institutions such as the National River Commission, the River Research Institute, and the In-stitute of Water Modelling, which have technical expertise but yet to be fully utilised.
She mentioned that the Delta Plan and the Water Policy of 1999 would serve as crucial frameworks for future river restoration efforts.
The Water Resources Planning Organisation has already developed an action plan for restoring val-ley rivers, she said.
Additionally, she said, GPS mapping conducted by the newly appointed Administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation has identified pollution sources for four major rivers, with the final list of polluters being expected to be announced by March.
The water resoures adviser saif the Director General of the Department of Environment has been instructed to issue letters to all polluters, and the government is committed to providing the neces-sary support for businesses to take proper pollution control measures.
The government also possesses a comprehensive list of encroachers for the four major rivers and acknowledges the need to address plastic pollution in rivers, she said.
She shared that special equipment is required to remove plastic waste from riverbeds, a task con-ventional dredgers cannot accomplish.
She urged relevant agencies to form a working committee to coordinate river restoration efforts, led by the Ministry of Water Resources and involving other key ministries and experts.
Rizwana also highlighted the potential for annual flooding to serve as a natural cleaning mecha-nism for rivers.
She hoped that with the necessary resources and time, significant progress could be made in restor-ing rivers like the Surma within a short span of five to ten years.
The advisor emphasised the importance of involving river-dependent communities in the action plan and engaging development partners like ADB.
She called for a continuous, institutionally owned river restoration process rather than a project-based approach.
Rizwana announced the formation of a task force to initiate action on at least one river, aiming to create a pollution-free and encroachment-free river as a model for future efforts.
Environment Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed presided over the seminar.
Administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation Mohammad Azaz; Hoe Yun Jeong, Country Direc-tor, Bangladesh Residence Mission, ADB; and Nazmul Ahsan, Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources; spoke as special guests.
Dr Md Kamruzzaman, Director Genaral, Department of Environment; Yaozhou Zhou, Principal Water, Resources Specialist; Yasmin Siddiqi, Director, SG-AFNR, ADB; Au Shion Yee, Principal Water Resources Specialist and Xueliang Cai, Senior Water Resources Specialist, SG-AFNR, ADB; Stefan Rau, Principal Urban Development Specialist, SG-WUD, ADB; Eric Quincieu, Principal Water Resources Specialist, SG-AFNR, ADB; Arun Shumshere Rana, Senior Project Officer, SG-AFNR, ADB; Kenichi Yokoyama, Former Director General, South Asia Department, ADB also shared experiences on the occasion.
