Integrated river basin management for the Ganges: lessons from the Murray-Darling and Mekong River Basins (a Bangladesh perspective).
This thesis examines the applicability of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) model of Integrated River Basin Management to the Ganges Basin by utilising the lessons from the Mekong experience of adopting the MDB model. The Ganges is one of the major rivers in the world and the sharing of its water has long been an issue of dispute between the riparian countries. Fragmented and uncoordinated upstream management of the Ganges has caused serious ecological and economic loss in the downstream environment posing a threat to future sustainability of river resources. Cooperation among the riparian countries of the Ganges in order to embrace an integrated and basin-wide management approach is rapidly becoming more important. Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) is a concept widely advocated in different forums for managing the river basins of the world and is adopted in many transboundary river basins. The Australian example of managing the Murray-Darling Basin is considered as a model in the field. The Murray-Darling Basin Commission is well known internationally as a good example of a multi-jurisdictional water management institution. Similar river basin institutions are also evolving in other regions such as the Mekong River Commission for the management of the Mekong River in South-East Asia. The countries sharing the Ganges could learn lessons from the Murray-Darling and Mekong experiences and adopt a basin-wide approach for the better management of the Ganges. However, the policy transfer from a developed country to a developing country context is a challenging process. The highly pertinent contextual differences in social, economic, political, environmental and hydrological settings of the three cases need to be carefully addressed. The research critically examines these factors in the Murray-Darling, Mekong and the Ganges contexts, identifies the similarities and differences between them and attempts to understand the influence/s of these in the policy transfer or policy development process. This research adopted multiple-case studies involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. The cases of the Murray-Darling and Mekong were studied to understand the process and to utilise the lessons learned for the institutional development towards integrated and basin-wide approach for the Ganges. The study analyses the interview results from the experts in the relevant fields to get an insight of different issues and also to collect their opinions. The responses from the stakeholder interviews in Bangladesh were analysed to understand their perspective in this regard. The thesis concludes that adoption of the Murray-Darling Basin model of integrated management needs modification in the Ganges context and recommends a specific institutional structure for the basin-wide management of the Ganges. The thesis contributes to an area of knowledge in recent times by providing a greater understanding of the Integrated River Basin Management in a multi-jurisdictional context. It critically examines the issues in policy transfer from a developed to a developing country focussing on a little studied but significant international river basin, the Ganges. It is hoped that this thesis will contribute towards better policy options for the sustainable management of the international river system.
Ganges; River basin management; Bangladesh; Integrated management
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