Congratulating on making the 8th International Water Conference a success, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, member of the parliament and Chairman of Parliamentary standing Committee of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the closing session remarked, while the whole concept of recognizing river as living entity is appreciable, to transform policies and actions we need to now identify how to do valuation of rivers and natural resources.

Otherwise, these services and resources will continue to be taken for granted. The government has taken an initiative to do natural resources accounting with the support of BBS where river will also be an integral part. This will have a reflection in the country’s GDP and there will be yearly publication on the valuation of natural resources, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, added.

In addition, he mentioned, the linkage between water and governance needs to be emphasized everywhere. As we graduate from LDCs and more development takes place, water governance will continue to become a crucial component. He also mentioned to explore with the parliamentarians on how to scale up the water museum, situated in Kalapara, Patuakhali and create an interactive and engaging platform for people to know about water and rivers.

The three-day-long 8th International Water Conference took place from 23-25 January 2023 in Sylhet District with the theme ‘Water and Rivers for Life and Living: The Role of Youth’, organized by ActionAid Bangladesh. The first day of the conference started off with a visit in the Kushiyara river and its adjoining areas at Fenchuganj upazila.

This conference brought the youth groups, along with policymakers, academicians, researchers, and practitioners, to a common platform to emphasize the importance of incorporating youth mobilization on issues related to water and rivers. The conference identified significant points that can contribute to water governance at the national and transnational levels.

The conference emphasized on five thematic areas- Watershed History, Morphology and Changes; River as a Living Entity and Anthropogenic Impacts on Water and River; Youth Engagement in Water & River Rights; Transboundary River and Water Politics and Innovation: Water, Ecosystem and Sustainable Livelihoods.

On the first day of the conference, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen through a video message inaugurated the event. He said, “fishing, farming, and industries all thrive on the water that makes our territory the largest living delta in the world with over 820 rives in Bangladesh crisscrossing the country. However, we are faced with the harsh reality of climate change leading to increased river erosion, salinity intrusion, and other related phenomena. It is an existential question for us to understand better and address the issues concerning the water ecosystem for concerted actions, preferably through nature-based solutions. We believe sound water management can be an important factor for regional peace and solidarity”.

Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor, Department of International Relations, and Director of Centre for Genocide Studies, University of Dhaka said, “As we conclude the 8th International Water Conference, I believe these conferences have helped us to progress in the right direction, particularly in making people across the country and South-Asia region to think about water. This year as we focus on the importance of engaging youth in ensuring river rights, policymakers should also think how to mobilize student association of the country to advocate for issues of rivers and environment, besides their involvement in politics. In addition, this regional conference opened a doorway to investigate commonalities of water and rivers of India, Nepal Bangladesh, and China. We can look into the urban rivers and its pollution of each of these countries and create a transboundary platform for dialogue to share best practices, away from all forms of river politics of geopolitical challenges.

Dr. Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairman, National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) said that in 2019 a landmark verdict was given by the high court of Bangladesh acknowledging Turag River as a living being. He also opined that National River Conservation Commission has taken an initiative to develop a framework on identifying all rivers in Bangladesh with similar names so that the rivers are counted properly and protected.

ActionAid Bangladesh’s Country Director, Farah Kabir, in her remarks said, “Rivers have an influence on our lives and livelihood. But now a days rivers are being encroached and polluted. Rivers are shrinking in size as well. Rivers have existence and life. Changing its course forcibly threatens the nature and humankind. Rivers should be allowed to flow naturally.”

“The multiple sessions of the conference created a spaced for sharing insights and best practices. This year we brought in the importance of youth participation while keeping the main focus on river and water as a part of our dreams, culture and lives and livelihoods.” she added.

In response to Saber Hossain Chowdhury’s initiative of resources valuation, Farah Kabir remarked “When the natural resource valuation is being done, the social indicators should be ensured to check if global standard considers social indicators and gender sensitivity.”

Dr. Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus, Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research, BRAC University said ” The shape of a river depends on the flow of water and sediment. Changes in these naturally lead to geographical changes for which river erosion occurs. So, we are responsible for the change of river morphology and their extinction. A sustainable solution should be found to resolve all these issues.”

“We need to identify a way to ensure transboundary rivers benefit both India and Bangladesh. People of both countries have equal rights over the water of these rivers as the lives and livelihood of these people are also associated with these rivers. The Kushiara river water allocation treaty has initiated a context of discussion for other transboundary rivers and we need to hold onto this momentum”, said Jayanta Basu Expert Director, Environment Governed Integrated Organisation (EnGIO) and environment and climate correspondent based in Kolkata, India.

“If we want food security, we need to ensure water security. We must look into different aspects of river rights, including climate change, ecology & economy” said Mohammed Mofizur Rahman Scientist, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

S.M. Manjurul Hannan Khan, PhD, Executive Director, Nature Conservation Management; Ibrahim Khalil Al Zayad, Vice-Chair, ActionAid International Bangladesh Society; Md. Jahir Bin Alam, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, SUST; Sheikh Rokon General Secretary, Riverine People; Hasin Jahan Country Director, WaterAid Bangladesh; Dr Zhang Jin, Associate Professor and Vice Director, Centre for African Studies, Shanghai Normal University; Sukrit Sen Arts and Outreach Coordinator based in Kolkata, India, for Living Waters Museum (LWM) also spoke in the conference among others.

In the closing ceremony, participants from India and Bangladesh proposed to initiate nature club in educational institutions and include lessons on natural resources, including rivers, for engaging young people from the very beginning of their life to encourage them to act as responsible citizens.

As a way forward of the conference, it has been emphasized that young people need to be more engaged to ensure river rights. A youth platform for every river of the country could be initiated to lead the activities of riverkeepers. The youth group could also be engaged in establishing a river map database, by using photos and GPS until the next international water conference takes place. Moreover, usage of multilingual web news platforms as a type of macromedia intervention has been suggested to improve public involvement, awareness, advocacy and transboundary dialogues.