'Best use of water can solve energy, food crises'

17 April 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Ensuring efficient water resources management in South Asia could resolve most problems such as energy and food crises, experts said yesterday. The nations that share the same Himalayan ecosystem suffer both from drought and flood that hugely affects the agriculture but fail to make the best use of the abundant water in time, they said at the inaugural ceremony of a workshop. Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) organised the workshop titled "Interdisciplinary Education in Water Resources Management in South Asia" at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel in collaboration with Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies. Speaking as the chief guest, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said water management is a top priority of the government and several institutions have been given the responsibilities of implementing various plans and programmes, but they often encounter questions, criticism and protests for the negative impacts of development interventions on people. Lauding Buet for introducing interdisciplinary postgraduate progamme on water management, he said such programme that includes social, economic, environmental aspects in engineering or hydrology could be replicated in other public or private universities. Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies Executive Director Dr Atiq Rahman said, "We are probably the most wasteful country in terms of water usage. Water comes from the Himalayas and goes into the Bay of Bengal… but we can't stop it for its use." If the South Asian nations could work together, most of the water and energy problems could be resolved, he said. Atiq suggested effective networking among the universities of the region, which could share information on water management and give suggestions to the policymakers about the best option of its use. "We have to break the barriers to solve water problems in South Asia," he said. The speakers said water resources education has so far been only based on engineering and hydrology, but incorporating social and ecological aspects into it is imperative to understand the issue comprehensively and address problems. Buet Vice Chancellor AMM Safiullah chaired the session.