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dam-l GBM Scheme discussed at Hague: Kathmandu Post, March 20, 2000 (fwd)
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From cwaterp@del3.vsnl.net.in Mon Mar 20 07:43:51 2000
Subject: GBM Scheme discussed at Hague: Kathmandu Post, March 20, 2000
Source: Kathmandu Post, March 20, 2000
GBM scheme nit-picked at
By Kavita Sherchan
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 19- Water resource experts from South
Asia today criticized the
framework for the development of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM)
region as simple, rhetoric
and lacking in analyses.
At the regional presentation on Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin on the
third day of the 6-day
World Water Forum, water resource expert from Nepal Ajay Dixit said the
same arguments were
being repeated for the past 15 years. Dixit said the approach has to be
forward looking and more
focused if integrated development of the GBM basin is to be achieved.
Mohan Man Sainju, Director of Institute for Integrated Development
Studies (IIDS) Nepal, George
Verghese from Centre for Policy Studies India and Q K Ahmed, chairman
of Bangladesh Unnayan
Parishad made a presentation on the GBM region.
The framework for the GBM basin was prepared by the three institutes
after a meeting in 1998. The
framework states that poverty alleviation and environmental
conservation can only be achieved if the
region is "considered for sustainable development on holistic and
integrative basis." The session was
expected to outline the process and results of the effort and plans for
future. Critics also stressed the
need to involve the governments in the process.
A representative from Bangladesh said cooperation in the GBM basin
could not achieved with the
commitment from Nepal and Bangladesh alone. "The commitment has to come
from the big brother
India," he said.
Jayant Bandhopadhyay from the Institute of Management, Calcutta, India
questioned the validity of the
data. "The data we have is what the engineering department produces,"
he said. "We cannot start
projects based on the inadequately prepared data system." He said large
projects were being
recommended without the clear picture of its impact.
Experts also questioned how it was possible to talk about regional
cooperation in harnessing the
three rivers without discussing bilateral issues.
Activist from Nepal Gopal Shivakoti Chintan said the Mahakali Treaty
between Nepal and India has not
dealt with the lower riparian issues and the issue of equal sharing.
Another participant Ajay Karki, a
civil engineer from Nepal, asked why China was not included in the
process while it has a major role
in the Brahmaputra river.
Development of water resources in GBM basin is expected to improve the
waterways in Bangladesh
and generate hydropower in Nepal besides controlling flood and
irrigating the plains in the region.
The report has pointed out hydropower development, flood management and
flow augmentation and
water sharing as the basis for regional cooperation.
More than 3,500 people worldwide are participating in The Hague
meeting.