Brahmaputra water flow declines

Says report

7 September 2011, 18:00 PM

Bss, Dhaka

Water flow of the Brahmaputra river declined by less than four percent during the last four decades, said a report of the independent think tank Strategic Foresight Group (SFG). The group predicted that the catchment of the Brahmaputra would face depletion of almost 275 billion cubic metres (BCM) of annual renewable water in the next 20 years. The per capita water availability is estimated to decline from 2150 cubic metres to 1860 in 2030 in China, from 1730 to 1240 in India, from 7320 to 5700 in Bangladesh and from 8500 to 5500 in Nepal, the report said. The depletion would cause severe water scarcity in the basins of the Brahmaputra, Asia's one the longest rivers covering Tibet, China, India and Bangladesh. The study said due to increase in demand for economic development, China will experience an annual water deficit of 50 to 100 BCM in 2030, India 200 to 260 BCM while Nepal and Bangladesh will also see their water balance shrink. The average annual contribution from catchment of the Brahmaputra is about 537.24 BCM, which is 30 percent of the annual average availability of water in South Asia. The SFG attributed the depletion to water diversion from upstream and hydroelectric power plants to generate electricity using water pressure of the river. Noted water expert and vice-chancellor of Brac University Prof Ainun Nishat said the report calls for an innovative solution to prevent or at least mitigate the crisis. He said reliable data are not available to them due to the absence of proper monitoring, lack of meteorological station and technological backwardness. The situation is likely to be more serious if China withdraws water from upstream, he said, adding that Bangladesh should take immediate steps for regular monitoring of water flow of the Brahmaputra at Bahadurabad point for solution of the probable impact. The report of the group said a China project to produce electricity with a total installed capacity of 510 MW at Zangmu of Autonomous Region might aggravate the situation.