“Climate Proofing” Water Resources Development Policy: The Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

The water sector of Bangladesh is instrumental in supporting the livelihoods of millions of people. Over the last few decades, water resources in Bangladesh have come under the severe threat of climate change impacts and the first effects of climate change are already being felt. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) univocally confirms the future water sector vulnerabilities for Bangladesh in its Fourth Assessment Report. However, the water resource development policies of Bangladesh have insufficiently acknowledged the issue of climate change impacts on its economy and livelihood. The paper aims to examine the level of climate policy integration in newly developed water-related policies, i.e. National Water Policy (NWP), National Water Management Plan (NWMP), Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The approach is conceptualized as “climate proofing” policy (integration of climate change as a cross-cutting issue). A descriptive analysis of “climate proofing” policy is presented based on a literature review. The paper finds that Bangladesh still cannot make its water policies “climate-proof” considering the high level of climate vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the lack of a wider contextual understanding of the issue has appeared as one of the major impediments. Subsequently, the paper outlines strategies for developing pro-adaptive, responsive and “climate-proof” water policies in order to sustain this valuable resource from climate change impacts. Improved coordination among the stakeholders and convergence of key policy documents has been deemed instrumental to make the policies “climate-proof” and sustainable. In addition, potential bottlenecks of developing such climate-responsive water policies occupy significant discussion in the paper.