The demand for water will go up by 50 per cent by 2050 and some 4.0 billion people in this world face water scarcity at least for a few months of a year.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, came up with the statement while addressing the closing ceremony of the 6th International Water Conference organised by ActionAid Bangladesh on Friday.
Mr. Chowdhury also mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic has made people rethink that water should be taken care of from a holistic point of view which ranges from the source to distribution, economic cycle, agriculture and then coming back to nature.
About the water conflicts among countries he mentioned, water can be an issue of conflict. Better water policies can ensure a better life for the people and the policy should be better informed, he also added.
Director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCAD) Professor Saleemul Huq, ambassador of Switzerland in Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard, COP26 Regional Ambassador for the Asia Pacific and South Asia Ken O’Flaherty, Former Nepalese minister of water resources Dr. Dipak Gyawali and academician of China’s Tianjin University Dr. Liyan Zheng also addressed the conference.
About the unique geographic feature of Bangladesh and its relationship with river and water, Professor Saleemul Huq, Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCAD) stated, for every single area of this country water is the key part as Bangladesh is a deltaic country of three main rivers.
Farah Kabir, Country Director ActionAid Bangladesh in her closing remarks on the last day of this International Conference stated, “We should shift from the land-centric to water-centric approach”.
She also appreciated that the three-day International Water Conference has brought out of the box perceptions.