Bangladesh Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), and Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (Cegis) signed an agreement with Netherlands’ Deltares and Wageningen University at an event held at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) auditorium on Tuesday.
Organizers said the research will be conducted in order to support the Bangladesh Delta Plan (BDP) 2100 implementing agencies.
Under the agreement, the Joint Cooperation Program (JCP) Bangladesh-Netherlands will provide information, data, and other technical support to the government’s BDP implementing agencies in the selection, securing and prioritizing projects taken under the BDP, as per the requirement of the implementing agencies like Planning Commission, Water Development Board, and others.
Netherlands Ambassador Harry Verweij, IWM Executive Director Prof M Monowar Hossain, Cegis Executive Director Engineer Md Waji Ullah, and others were present at the event.The organizers said they have a fund of €4.4 million for the knowledge cooperation, and meta-model support for Delta Planning till 2022.
Under the agreement, the five projects are—app based information services, innovation on planning and designing of regulators for better water management and farm practices for improving polder livelihood, off take stabilization and sedimentation management through dredging and interventions to restore flow, and improve ecosystem in Old Brahmaputra, urban water quality management, and water food nexus.
Delta systems engineering and policy analysis project team leader Nishchal Sardjoe said: “Water quality of the rivers surrounding the capital was very bad due to huge pollution.”
“We will provide data, and information to the government to improve water quality with suggestions for better livelihood,” he added.
First secretary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Peter de Vries said this was a partnership mainly for researching on sea level rise, climate change, salinity, dredging, and the others for agriculture, fishing, navigation, and others for the country people.
He said cities like Khulna is influenced by the effect of coast of polders (water body) system weaknesses. We try to address day to day issues like drainage congestion, like salinity and safe water.
“We are capable of analyzing the factors behind degradation of the river system, and that can be partly because of dam creation in upstream country like India, so I think we may very well have documents behind the degradation of the river system, and that will support the government in defining its negotiation position,” Vries said. It will support Bangladesh government, he added.
Saiful Islam, associate specialist of Water, Environment and Climate of IWM in his presentation said that, the approach of the study is, reviewing regulatory design, and identification of problems, and stakeholder consultation are key aspects for improving planning. According to the presentation, their research will restore the fish migration path from river to internal channel of the polder, and improve the quick drainage system, enhance agricultural, and ecological system.