The Ganges Water Diversion: Environmental Effects and ImplicationsM. Monirul Qader Mirza Springer Science & Business Media, 2004 M08 3 - 368 pages This book deals with environmental effects on both sides of the border between Bangladesh and India caused by the Ganges water diversion. This issue came to my attention in early 1976 when news media in Bangladesh and overseas, began publications of articles on the unilateral withdrawal of a huge quantity of water from the Ganges River through the commissioning of the Farakka Barrage in India. I first pursued the subject professionally in 1984 while working as a contributor for Bangladesh Today, Holiday and New Nation. During the next two decades, I followed the protracted hydro-political negotiations between the riparian countries in the Ganges basin, and I traveled extensively to observe the environmental and ecological changes in Bangladesh as well as India that occurred due to the water diversion. The Ganges, one of the longest rivers of the world originates at the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas and flows across the plains of North India. Eventually the river splits into two main branches and empties into the Bay of Bengal. The conflict of diversion and sharing of the Ganges water arose in the middle of the last century when the government of India decided to implement a barrage at Farakka to resolve a navigation problem at the Kolkata Port. |
Contents
THE GANGES WATER DIVERSION ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND IMPLICATIONS AN INTRODUCTION | 1 |
The Phases of Negotiations | 3 |
14 Road Map to the Book | 7 |
HYDROLOGICAL CHANGES IN BANGLADESH | 13 |
HydroMeteorological Setting | 14 |
23 The Data | 19 |
24 Hydrologic Changes in the Ganges System | 20 |
25 Conclusions | 31 |
85 Social Impacts of Reservoirs | 172 |
86 Towards Watering the Sundarbans | 174 |
ADVERSE EFFECTS ON AGRICULTURE IN THE GANGES BASIN IN BANGLADESH | 177 |
92 AgroClimate of the Ganges Basin in Bangladesh | 180 |
93 Degraded AgroEcological Constraints and Agriculture in the Ganges Basin | 184 |
94 Water Diversion and Effects on Agriculture | 189 |
95 Affected Area and Production Loss | 191 |
96 Concluding Remarks | 194 |
ROLE OF FARAKKA BARRAGE ON THE DISASTROUS 1998 FLOOD IN MALDA WEST BENGAL | 39 |
32 Brief Description of the Flood | 42 |
33 Causes of Flood and Role of Farakka Barrage | 43 |
34 Conclusions | 48 |
IMPACT OF UPSTREAM HUMAN INTERVENTIONS ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE GANGESGORAI SYSTEM | 49 |
42 Approach | 50 |
43 GeoMorphological Settings | 52 |
44 HydroMorphological Characteristics | 56 |
45 Natural and Human Interventions and Their Impacts on the Ganges | 59 |
46 Changes in the Ganges River and its Impact on the Gorai River | 69 |
47 Future of the Gorai River | 74 |
48 Discussion and Concluding Remarks | 77 |
EFFECTS ON WATER SALINITY IN BANGLADESH | 81 |
52 Dynamics of River Salinity in the Southwest Region | 83 |
53 The Data | 87 |
56 Projection of Salinity under the Ganges WaterSharing Treaty | 94 |
57 Implications of Increased Salinity in Bangladesh | 96 |
58 Conclusions | 101 |
FARAKKA BARRAGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE HYDROLOGY AND FISHERY OF HOOGHLY ESTUARY | 103 |
62 The Impact | 104 |
63 Concluding Remarks | 122 |
IMPLICATIONS ON ECOSYSTEMS IN BANGLADESH | 125 |
73 Impact on Physical Environment | 126 |
74 Impact of Reduced Freshwater Flow on Vegetation | 131 |
75 Impact on Faunal Richness | 143 |
76 Water Quality and Aquatic Biota | 150 |
77 Salinity and Fish | 151 |
78 Fauna of Conservation Significance | 152 |
79 Ecosystem Integrity | 153 |
710 Impacts on Ecosystem Services | 159 |
WATERING THE BANGLADESHI SUNDARBANS | 163 |
83 The GangesBrahmaputra Link Canal | 168 |
84 Water Development in Nepal | 169 |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE GANGES WATER DIVERSION AND ITS INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ASPECTS | 197 |
102 Environmental Impact of Indian Water Diversion Projects | 199 |
103 Legal Responses in the 1996 Treaty | 202 |
104 The 1997 Watercourse Convention | 207 |
105 A Comparison Between the 1996 Treaty and the 1997 Convention | 213 |
106 Customary Rules in the 1997 Convention | 215 |
107 Global Environmental Conventions and Soft Law Instruments | 218 |
108 Conclusions | 220 |
WATCHING THE FARAKKA BARRAGE ROLE OF MEDIA | 223 |
112 Reflection of Farakka in the Media | 225 |
113 The Role of Media | 230 |
114 The Function of Media | 237 |
115 Adaptation | 238 |
Media Should Show the Way Ahead | 240 |
VULNERABILITY TO THE GANGES WATER DIVERSION ADAPTATION AND COPING MECHANISMS | 247 |
A Brief Review of Concept and Issues | 248 |
123 Water Diversion Incremental Hazards and Thresholds | 257 |
A Synthesis | 264 |
125 Cost of Adaptation | 280 |
126 Concluding Remarks | 281 |
THE GANGES WATERSHARING TREATY RISK ANALYSIS OF THE NEGOTIATED DISCHARGE | 287 |
132 The Data | 289 |
134 How to Reduce the Risk? | 296 |
135 Concluding Remarks | 300 |
REGIONAL COOPERATION ON WATER AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE GANGES BASIN BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVES | 305 |
142 The Ganges Basin | 306 |
A Framework | 309 |
144 Experiences of Past Cooperation and Past Efforts towards Forging Cooperation | 312 |
The Case of InterLinking of Rivers in India | 319 |
146 Concluding Remarks | 322 |
ANNEX I | 327 |
Index | 353 |
Other editions - View all
The Ganges Water Diversion: Environmental Effects and Implications M. Monirul Qader Mirza Limited preview - 2004 |
The Ganges Water Diversion: Environmental Effects and Implications M. Monirul Qader Mirza Limited preview - 2006 |
The Ganges Water Diversion: Environmental Effects and Implications M Monirul Qader Mirza No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
1997 Convention adaptation agreement agriculture annual Article availability Bangladesh and India Bay of Bengal Brahmaputra BWDB canal Commission cooperation countries crops cusecs dams decrease Dhaka discharge values distributaries downstream drought dry season flow ecological ecosystem EGIS erosion estuary Farakka Barrage Figure fish fishery flood forest freshwater Ganga Ganges basin Ganges River Ganges water Ganges Water-Sharing Gewa Gorai River Government ground water habitat Hardinge Bridge hilsa Hooghly Estuary hydrological impact India and Bangladesh irrigation ISBN Khulna Kolkata m³/sec Mahakali River Malda Malda District mangrove mean discharge Meghna million Mongla Monirul Qader Mirza monsoon monthly Nepal off-take plankton post-Farakka period pre-Farakka Project rainfall reduced region of Bangladesh Report river system scenario sediment sharing significant sinuosity soil salinity Southwest region species Sundarbans Sundri Table upstream Uttar Pradesh vulnerability water at Farakka water diversion water level Water Resources Water-Sharing Treaty West Bengal William Halcrow Zone