Bangladesh among South Asia countries with improvement in Water Security Index, but disaster risks rise: ADB report

Bangladesh is among South Asian countries that showed notable gains in the Water Security Index between 2013 and 2025, despite the region remaining at risk of water-related disasters such as floods, saltwater intrusion, and droughts, says the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) 2025.

The report, released yesterday (8 December) by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines, states that South Asia as a region has experienced steady, moderate improvement in overall water security during the period.

It finds that countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India showed notable gains, contributing to the region's overall progress.

The regional average for Economic Water Security (KD2) rose, reflecting success primarily in agricultural productivity and food security in countries like Bangladesh and India.

"Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives all achieved moderate KD2 gains, often linked to economic growth and improvements in the energy sector, enabling better water infrastructure," it says.

The AWDO finds that renewed political commitment, targeted investments, and governance reforms since 2013 have driven this progress.

It states that Bangladesh has improved economic water security, and the country, along with Nepal, received top scores for both implementation and monitoring.

The report also notes that Bangladesh and Vietnam have improved their performance through targeted investments in water-efficient agriculture, better use of data, and stronger integration of water planning with national development goals.

In Bangladesh, the Participatory Small-Scale Water Resources Sector Project shows what is possible when women are included in water management, the report mentions. The project supported 412 small-scale schemes for irrigation, drainage, and flood control.

These schemes reached 220,000 hectares and benefited around 160,000 rural households. A strong gender action plan ensured that women made up 37% of Water Management Cooperative Association members. One in three committee leaders were women, according to report.

Key dimensions

The AWDO assesses water security across five key dimensions (KDs): access to clean water and sanitation for people living in villages and cities; the availability of water for key economic sectors such as agriculture; the state of rivers and other natural ecosystems; and protection measures against droughts, floods, and other water-related disasters.

Each KD is scored out of 20, then grouped into one of five water security steps of the National Water Security Index (NWSI): Model, Effective, Capable, Engaged, or Nascent.

In Rural Household Water Security (KD1), South Asia doubled its regional average score.

"This transition moved Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka out of the Nascent step into the Engaged or Capable step," the outlook says, stating that the improvement was marked by the region's population-weighted WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) infrastructure score more than doubling, indicating a shift toward widespread basic coverage.

Health outcomes also improved sharply, suggesting a significant reduction in diarrheal disease, though these gains still lagged behind infrastructure development, it adds.

Despite these gains, South Asia faces environmental stress and remains the most at risk in the Water-Related Disaster Security (KD5) assessment, the ADB's water outlook warns.

"This high vulnerability is driven by rising hazard exposure, particularly from floods and droughts."

Furthermore, it adds, Environmental Water Security (KD4) remains a concern for the region.

The findings are reflected in recent weeks as parts of Southeast and South Asia have been hit by devastating floods.

Addressing the widening gap between infrastructure development and health outcomes, alongside managing rising climate hazards, will require integrated investment that cuts across sectors and borders, the outlook says.

But the investment prospects look bleak. The report finds that current spending on WASH infrastructure covers less than 40% of the estimated $250 billion needed every year, leaving an annual shortfall of more than $150 billion.

It estimates that $4 trillion through 2040 is needed to meet the region's water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs alone.

Closing the gap requires deploying finances in smarter ways, including through blended finance that pools public and private resources to reduce project risk and mobilise private capital, the report says.

Improving the efficiency and financial sustainability of the water sector can also attract private investment, it adds.

Meanwhile, the report finds, 2.7 billion people in Asia and the Pacific — about 60% of the region's population — have been lifted from the most extreme forms of water insecurity since 2013. This means that they now have access to basic water and sanitation or are safer from floods and droughts.

But funding shortfalls for water investments threaten to plunge billions back into water insecurity and expose them to extreme weather events such as storm surges, rising sea levels, and saltwater intrusion in the Asia and Pacific region, which already accounts for 41% of the world's floods, the water outlook warns.