Water justice, cross-border collaboration key to climate resilience: Rizwana

She made the remarks while speaking virtually from Dhaka at the Subregional Workshop on Water and Climate Resilience in the HK: Advancing SDG 2030 Agenda through Science and Cooperation, held in Nepal’s Kathmandu on Friday, said a handout.

Rizwana highlighted that water has historically connected countries but remains the least managed shared resource in South Asia.

She urged all countries in the region to strengthen collaboration under the UN Water Convention, noting that Bangladesh is already a party and stands ready to cooperate on critical issues such as disaster management, data sharing, and equitable distribution of shared rivers.

“This convention can facilitate regional preparedness through improved early warning systems and can help countries uphold water justice at a time when climate change is magnifying hydrological challenges,” she said.

Rizwana stressed that upstream–downstream interdependence is now more evident than ever.

“What happens to rivers in Nepal, Bhutan or India inevitably impacts Bangladesh, as 90 percent of our rivers originate upstream. Floods, droughts, sedimentation, salinity intrusion, cyclones and river erosion are no longer national issues—they are regional phenomena shaped by cross-border hydrology,” she added.

The Adviser underscored that despite existing policies, enforceable environmental laws, and flood management institutions in many countries, gaps in implementation remain a major barrier.

She expressed concern over outdated structural interventions built decades ago that have adversely affected river ecosystems. “Some embankments and flood-control structures built in the 1960s—without consideration of ecological impacts—have caused irreversible damage. We must revisit these interventions to protect rivers as living systems,” she observed.

Highlighting water pollution as a major regional threat, the Adviser mentioned that industrial effluents, illegal encroachment, mining, and unplanned development continue to degrade river systems.

She referred to ongoing efforts in Bangladesh to restore major rivers, appreciating similar initiatives undertaken in Nepal.

The Adviser called for recognizing rivers as living entities whose rights must be protected. “Our rivers are not only sources of irrigation, navigation or power generation—they sustain life and ecosystems. Several judicial decisions in Bangladesh and India have already declared rivers as living entities. This must translate into stronger accountability for state agencies responsible for their protection,” she said.

Rizwana also stressed that shared hydropower opportunities can drive a new era of cooperation. Recalling the recent agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal on hydropower supply, she noted that regional energy trade must be advanced on the basis of mutual trust, openness, and environmental responsibility, reports UNB. 

“Electricity generated upstream can support climate mitigation goals across the region if we ensure a cooperative framework rooted in trust—not suspicion,” she added.