Amid the growing water challenges, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Sunday cautioned that water is going to be a limiting factor in sustainable development of the country.
“Water is going to be a limiting factor in our sustainable development, not other resources…water management is going to be more challenging in Bangladesh,” he said while addressing the IWM Users Conference 2015 held at Biam auditorium in the capital.
Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) organised its users’ conference aiming to obtain feedback from its clients and service users, and to demonstrate the developments in various fields of its operation to potential users.
Addressing the programme as the chief guest, Anisul Islam said as a huge quantity of silt is being deposited in Brahmaputra River each year, its riverbed is rising gradually, putting immense pressure on water management.
Crop adaptation depends on availability of water and Bangladesh must introduce saline-tolerant, flood tolerant and drought tolerant varieties of crops to ensure the country’s future food security, he said when talking about climate change and food security.
“Without intensive study on climate and water, we’ll not be able to address climate change impacts.”
State Minister for Water Resources Muhammad Nazrul Islam said 80 percent of the country is featured with rivers and their flood plains, which support life, livelihood and economy of the whole country.
Water Resources Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan presided over the conference, while IWM executive director Dr M Monowar Hossain made power-point presentation on ‘Sustainable Development Goal by 2030:
Role of IWM’.
Participants from government bodies like Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Dhaka WASA, Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) and Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Development Board, and international organistions like World Bank and DHI-Denmark took part in the conference.
