World Water Day: Accelerating change for a safer tomorrow

The UN 2023 Water Conference—formally known as the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028)—will take place at UN Headquarters in New York from March 22 to 24. Tajikistan and the Netherlands are set to co-host the conference. The conference aims to provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite the world to address the global water challenge on this year's World Water Day.

This year, with the theme "Accelerating Change," the conference calls for quick action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which promotes universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. According to the World Health Organisation, 785 million people worldwide lack access to basic drinking water services and around 2 billion people reside in areas where water scarcity is a severe issue. 

One of the regions with the greatest challenges in terms of water scarcity, pollution, and the effects of climate change is the Indian Subcontinent and Bangladesh in particular. In this article, several of these issues will be covered, along with suggested solutions.

Bangladesh, a low-lying country, mostly depends on its rivers for transportation, fishery, irrigation, etc. But a number of things put these rivers in danger, such as upstream dams and diversions that reduce their flow, industrial and agricultural runoff that contaminates their aquatic habitat, and sea level rise and tropical storms that make them more prone to salinity. One of the most crucial problems we face right now is that many people, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh, don't have access to clean water. 

Bangladesh is also at risk of natural disasters like cyclones, floods, and droughts that damage its infrastructure and cut off its water supply. According to a Unicef report, more than 40 million people in Bangladesh lack access to clean water for drinking, and more than 85 million need access to proper sanitation.

Despite significant progress in recent years, Bangladesh still has a long way to go before it can ensure its citizens drink safe water. Due to a significant water problem, millions of people in Bangladesh lack access to clean, safe drinking water. 

The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) says that only about 55% of the population has access to clean drinking water. The rest of the people get their water from untreated surface water sources or groundwater that contains toxins like arsenic. 

The situation is especially bad in rural areas, where getting clean water to drink is even harder. Also, the contaminated water sources that are available in many parts of the country contribute to other health problems, such as water-borne infections.

The BWDB has been trying to solve this problem in a number of ways, such as by building water treatment plants and putting in deep tube wells. However, these endeavours have been hampered by a lack of funding and infrastructure. Floods, which taint water supplies and make them unfit for human consumption, are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, which also aggravates the problem.

This critical issue requires prompt action from the government, civil society organisations, and the international community. Thankfully, various initiatives are being worked on to address this problem. The government of Bangladesh has various programmes in place to ensure that all citizens have access to safe drinking water, two of which are the Bangladesh Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project and the National Water Supply and Sanitation Programme.

Moreover, assistance with these programmes is crucial from international organisations. Programmes have been launched by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to expand Bangladesh's access to clean water. The UNDP project primarily focuses on improving water governance, whereas the World Bank programme focuses more on enhancing rural sanitation and drinking water services. 

However, much more has to be done to ensure that all Bangladeshi citizens have safe drinking water. The government, civil society organisations, and the international community must collaborate. Despite the immense difficulty, we must persevere.

Bangladesh needs to deal with these problems as a whole by combining social and economic development, reducing the risk of disasters, and managing water resources. To ensure a just and equitable allocation of transboundary waters some potential strategies and actions include: a) strengthening regional cooperation with neighbours, particularly India; b) urging rainwater collection, groundwater recharge, and wastewater reuse; c) utilising wetlands, mangroves, and forests as green infrastructure that can facilitate ecosystem services and resilience; and d) strengthening planning.

Every stakeholder has the opportunity to unite on this year's World Water Day 2023 and accelerate progress toward a time when Bangladesh and the rest of the world have access to clean water. 

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Earth has enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed,". It is our responsibility to ensure that we use these resources wisely and fairly.

Muhammad Zayed Hossen Jubayer is a third-year honours student majoring in Finance and Banking at Govt. BM College, Barishal. 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.