Implementing Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100

Bangladesh features the world's largest river delta, formed by the junction of three great rivers -
the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna. Two out of every three Bangladeshis - about
110 million people - live within this delta and depend on it for their lives and livelihoods.
As the threat of climate change and rising sea levels looms large, proper planning and
management of the delta is critical to the country's economic growth and development.
BANGLADESH DELTA PLAN 2100: The Government of Bangladesh has formulated a
comprehensive development plan - the Bangladesh Delta Plan (BDP 2100), focusing on
economic growth, environmental conservation, and enhanced climate resilience. The plan lays
out holistic and cross-sectoral action needed to improve productivity and minimize disaster risks.

Coupled with increasing climate risks, a business-as-usual scenario, without the implementation
of the plan, would lead to declining agricultural production, increased unemployment, and
migration. This would put additional pressure on urbanization resulting in an estimated decline
in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to 6.8 per cent by 2031 and 5.6 per cent by 2041.
This would mean an additional 25.1 million people living in moderate poverty and 5.4 million in
extreme poverty by 2041.
Effective implementation of the Delta Plan will eliminate extreme poverty, create more jobs and
sustain GDP growth above 8 per cent until 2041. It will increase trade and navigational
opportunities and strengthen food security. The Delta Plan will also help reduce urban migration
by about 60 per cent, coastal zone out-migration by 50 per cent, and river area out-migration by
50 per cent.

IMPLEMENTING CHANGE:

Delivering the BDP 2100 will require a combination of public and private funding from various
sources. The current investment plan to support the implementation of BDP until 2030 is
estimated to be $38 billion consisting of 65 infrastructure projects and 15 institutional, and
knowledge development projects.
The World Bank has already invested $1.8 billion to enhance the supply of safe pipe water;
improve sanitation, drainage infrastructure, and embankment system; increase areas protected
by polders from tidal flooding and storm surge. It will also improve the navigability of 900 km of
inland waterways to reduce travel time and transport costs - both for cargo and passengers -
thereby boosting national and regional trade.
The Bank is also preparing several upcoming projects to further support the implementation of
BDP 2100. These projects will help improve the navigability and river management
infrastructure of Jamuna river to support inland water transport and boost economic activities
around the river, as well as restore the ecology and transport capacity of the rivers of Dhaka
City. The Bank will also work with the government to focus on reducing pollution while
enhancing climate resilience and productivity of irrigated agriculture. The Climate Smart
Agriculture and Water Management Project will rehabilitate water control infrastructures,
drainage and irrigation sub-projects, making an area of 125,000ha climate resilient.
A series of institutional and policy reforms are underway to support the implementation of BDP
2100. A Delta Governance Council and an inter-ministerial forum headed by the Prime Minister
of Bangladesh have already been established to provide strategic direction.
Through the strong commitment placed on BDP 2100, Bangladesh is on its way to become a
global centre of excellence on delta and water management. This will take a comprehensive,
integrated, and multisectoral, approach to water, land and related resource management that is
sustainable. The investments to implement BDP will be based on Adaptive Delta Management
approach to ensure that the right investments are made at the right time while working in
harmony with the natural hydrological systems.

CONVENING WITH PARTNERS:

Effective coordination and collaboration among multiple stakeholders will be key to achieving
the vision of BDP 2100. The Bank has been convening the Bangladesh Water Platform, with
support from the Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership, to coordinate and facilitate
collaborative efforts among partners. Through this platform, it will also support policy reforms,
institutional arrangements, and capacity building to cross-sectoral government ministries.
Implementing the BDP 2100 goals will require a sustained and long-term effort. This includes
managing investments; aligning the planning, implementation and financing process; improving
inter-agency and inter-sectoral coordination; and designing adequate financing modalities for
public-private partnership. The Bank remains committed to support the government on its
journey towards a more safe, climate resilient and prosperous Bangladesh delta.
Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100: Highlighting five key
elements — I
The Government of Bangladesh has recently approved a plan that calls for a secure, safe,
resilient and prosperous Bangladesh. An adaptive delta management (ADM) practice is said to
be the cornerstone of this comprehensive plan called Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP
2100).The BDP 2100, as it sounds, is a long-term strategy, up to the end of 21st century, which
combines adaptive management practices to adapt with the uncertainties in the climate changes
and challenges due to endogenous, exogenous and anthropogenic interventions. Its primary
goals are to achieve long-term food and water security while ensuring environmental
sustainability along with economic growth. The plan is a robust, adaptive and integrated strategy
using a holistic approach and equitable water governance.

Adaptive nature of the approach, in implementing the Delta plan, has been proposed because of
the uncertainties in the forcing functions that will have indelible impact on the Delta. Therefore,
the role of knowledge, research and innovation would be the key to Adaptive Delta Management
practices. Without an adequate knowledge base and constant innovation and research it
wouldn't be possible to formulate proper and adaptive short-term strategies and policy options
for the Delta. Therefore, a comprehensive educational plan to prepare the people is needed for
this strategic plan, which will have direct impact on the livelihood of the people and their future
generations. Therefore, they need to be better educated and prepared for this sweeping water,
economic and environmental management plan that will shape up their lives.

A recent article by Dr. Shamsul Alam in the Financial Express gave a detailed account of the
Delta plan. Alam described the plan to be implemented using a holistic and integrated approach.
It ties the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) with the economic growth and
development. With this approach, he has outlined a series of goals included in the Delta Plan
2100 which are consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are-- water
and food security, climate change and environmental sustainability, people's livelihood,
economic growth, social development, knowledge development, biodiversity, forestry and
agriculture production. The goals also include development of effective institutions and equitable
governance within the boundary and trans-boundary water resources management.
In order to achieve the goals, the BDP 2100 has identified six hotspots based on hydrological
characteristics, namely, Barind and Draught Prone Areas, The Chittagong Hill Tracts, the
Coastal Zones, the Haor and Flash Flood Areas, the River Systems and Estuaries, and the
Urban Areas. However, the BDP 2100 has failed to recognise a few key elements that have
profound impact not only on the hydro-morphology, ecology, environment and economics but
also the livelihood of the people. These are: a) Knowledge Development Plan, a comprehensive
educational plan for the people of all walks of life, b) Bay of Bengal and the Blue Economy,
harnessing the potentials of the most precious water body nature has endowed us with, c)
Trans-boundary Watersheds, to gain better understanding of the watersheds that is not within
our political jurisdiction but has indelible impact on the Delta, d) Water Quality, to ensure
physical, chemical and biological integrity of surface waters in the Delta, and e) Delta Science
Foundation, to promote research and innovation to face challenges of the Delta and retain
talents.

KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN:

The Bangladesh BDP 2100 is a long-term, inter-sectoral, water-centric and techno-economic

plan. Therefore, Bangladesh must position itself to constantly develop capacity for
understanding of sciences, research and training to cope with the ever-changing challenges that
the planners and decision makers will face for generations to come. It is important that the BDP
2100 provides a comprehensive educational plan ranging from elementary school to graduate
level programmes so that the entire generation can be well prepared for this extraordinary plan
that will shape up their lives and future.
The programme starts from the elementary school curriculum, as we have seen in most
economically and socially advanced countries in Europe and the USA. Social awareness for
young children help them understand and function in the world in which they live. The
curriculum starts with actionable and outcome-based educational programme. In this
programme, the students get the first taste of laboratory experiment with a seed and a pot of
soil. The experiment shows them how the seed germinates. They pour water every day on the
pot and nurture it and watch how it begins to sprout and grow. It gives them a strong sense of
being a part of the world they live in. It helps them become more creative and innovative.
Similar actionable and outcome-based programmes can be introduced in secondary and higher
secondary school curriculum. These programmes will be related to water and its intelligent use
for economic growth and environmental protection. Once they graduated from high schools they
should be ready for undergraduate and graduate level education and research.
The BDP 2100 may also provide a strong scientific and knowledge base for the people to face
the challenges of the future. Therefore, it is important that a world-class institute, call
Bangladesh Delta Institute (BDI), be established that will be a centre of excellence for
water-centric academics, research and innovation. It will create water, environmental and
economics professionals who will lead the nation and the world. The institute should design and
develop its research and academic programmes in order to create technical expertise,
researchers, scientists, thinkers and policy makers to support Adaptive Delta Management
(ADM) practices to face challenges of uncertainties in climate change in the decades to come.

Under these programmes there may be an actionable education and outcome based learning
and research curriculum. The course work may be designed to broaden knowledge, enhance
research skills, and the students/practitioners should be able to demonstrate intellectual ability
to engage in scientific discussion, reasoning and construct practical outcomes. These courses
are, but not limited to: a) Estuarine and Coastal Science Programme, b) Haor, Wetland and
Lakes Programme, c) atmospheric and Climate Science Programme, d) Observational Field
Programme, e) River Hydraulics and Morphology Programme, f) Environmental and Ecological
Programme, g) Ground Water Programme, g) Agriculture and Water Use Programme, h)
Trans-Boundary Watershed Programme, i) Delta Socio-Economic Programme, j) Planning,
Design and Implementation Programme, k) Social and Professional Communication
Programme, and l) Mathematical and Data Science Programme.
The students and trainees will earn graduate degrees, such as MSc, Ph.D. and Post-Doctoral
research. These degrees will be conferred to successful students under Joint Academic and
Research Programmes (JARP) between BDI and other public an private universities, such as
BUET, Dhaka University, Chattogram University, Agricultural University and a host of other
private and public technical and liberal arts universities. This way collaborative efforts will be
established among all the institutions in the country.
Extensive television and social media educational programme needs to be introduced to
educate people on various programmes taken under Delta Plan 2100 and their impacts on their
livelihood. These programmes should be designed to make the people aware of their social
responsibilities to take care of nature and prevent water pollution and wastage.
BAY OF BENGAL AND THE BLUE ECONOMY:
It is important that the BDP 2100 supports research, disseminate information, and develop
programmes with other relevant government agencies to quantify the economic value of the
resources of the Bay of Bengal. A comprehensive plan for investment in educational and
research institutions, environmental restoration and water-related infrastructure can be made. In
addition, the plan should quantify the return on investment and the ecosystem benefits and
services generated by the Bay of Bengal. These efforts should be aimed at exploring the "Blue
Economy" and ensure that businesses, communities and agriculture are able to leverage the
Delta's abundant water resources (both fresh water and sea water) to support strong economies
and a high quality of life for the people.
The Bay of Bengal has fuelled the development and economic growths in the region for
centuries. It provided a maritime transportation system that facilitated efficient movement of
goods and commodities, supporting cluster of industries such as manufacturing, shipbuilding,
agribusiness, commercial fishing and energy exploration. The BDP 2100 may include a plan to
establish a centre for research and development of technologies to utilise and manage Bay of
Bengal water resources. The centre should set students and professionals on the path to
understanding their role in the Blue Economy.
While Bangladesh is blessed with the bounty of natural resources like the Bay of Bengal, it is
also highly vulnerable to natural hazards. It has a long history of resilience and capacity of
coping with major natural disasters. The government and the people have a wealth of
experience in preparing for, and responding to, disaster events.
However, what Bangladesh is significantly lacking in is the capacity to develop a storm forecast
modeling and observing system. This has kept Bangladesh in total dependence on foreign
expertise. Being a world leader in developing comprehensive planning and implementing
operational disaster management, Bangladesh needs to focus on capacity building on tidal
(astronomical, meteorological and tsunami) forecast modeling and research. Institutional
researchers and experts should be able to participate in national efforts to translate hard
science of natural events and climate change prediction into tangible, community-level actions
to support adaptation to increasing hydro-meteorological hazards and disaster risk reduction.
A multi-agency programme with relevant government agencies can produce a sustainable and
comprehensive tidal and storm surge forecasting modeling and observing system for the
estuarine and coastal waters including the Bay of Bengal. The system will function both as an
operational and research tool to be used not only to support adaptation to natural hazards and
disaster risk reduction, but also to foster a sustained economic growth with managed
environmental, infrastructural and economic resources of the coastal areas and the Bay of
Bengal.
The programme should be organised around five functional components: a) knowledge-based
resources and expertise development, b) development of modeling capabilities, c) data
distributions (modeling results and research outcome), d) remote sensing and observing
systems (field programmes), and e) outreach and disaster management (help develop and
participate in disaster management activities during natural disasters), including assessment of
infrastructural vulnerability and mitigation.

A key to the programme is communicating the results of the forecasting model to the officials
and decision makers involved in disaster and risk management. The system will also share
scientific results and resources with other governmental agencies such as the Prime Minister's
Office (PMO), Ministry of Water Resources (BWDB), Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock,
Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Ministry of Environment and
Forest, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Meteorological Department.
The vision is to develop a Flood Alert System (FAS). The FAS will be the portal to disseminate
the flood and surge information. It is envisioned that an automated text messaging system will
send alerts to appropriate authorities when predetermined locations in coastal regions are likely
to exceed a flood depth threshold. The text message alert will direct the receiver to visual GIS
flood depth layers supported by actual elevation data specific to each coastal zone. The GIS
layers of the forecast will be available 72 hours, 48 hours, 36 hours, 24 hours, 12 hours, and 6
hours prior to surge impact. The forecasts will also continue to be displayed on the government
websites and large LED display screens hosted in Prime Ministers Office, relevant Ministries
and governmental agencies directly involved in natural disaster and risk management.
This system can also be used as a modeling and research tool to investigate the social and
economical impact of global warming in the coastal regions. The modeling tool would be useful
to address and mitigate various coastal issues, such as, increasing drainage capacity and
reducing floods, water logging, salinity intrusions, riverbank and coastal erosions. Scientists and
engineers in academic and governmental and non-governmental sectors will have a scientific
edge to address short-term and long-term hydro-meteorological, climatological, social,
economical and geopolitical challenges. The scientific and technical capabilities will allow
Bangladesh to effectively formulate its maritime strategy and gain upper hand in projecting its
interest in the highly contested and strategically important Bay of Bengal.
TRANS-BOUNDARY WATERSHEDS:
The Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna (GBM) river basin encompasses a total area of
about 1.72 million km2, of which only 7 per cent is located within Bangladesh. They originate
from three different sources and their geographical, hydro-meteorological, hydrological and
morphological characteristics are quite diverse. The high and low water flows of the Ganges and
the Brahmaputra occur at different times, suggesting watersheds with diverse topographical and
hydrological characteristics. Among the 57 trans-boundary rivers, Bangladesh shares 54 rivers
with India and three with Myanmar. The annual cross-border river flows in Bangladesh are
estimated to be 40,000 m3/s, of which the three main rivers (GBM) contribute around 31,000
m3/s. Of the latter amount, some 54 per cent is contributed by the Brahmaputra, 31 per cent by
the Ganges and nearly 14 per cent by the tributaries of the Meghna (BDP 2100). As Bangladesh
is located in the low lying delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin, water resources
management is complex and highly sensitive to upstream developments. Therefore any
intervention, including diversion, use or storage of flows from the transboundary rivers are of
major challenge for Bangladesh.
Both India and China, being the powerful upper riparian countries, share a common view that
promotes bilateral approach in dealing with other riparian countries in the region, rather than
more rational and effective multilateral approach. Although India has shown a shift in its attitude
towards a more multilateral approach, however, the initiative is in its early stage and no visible
progress has been made. Lack of multilateral cooperation, contradictory governmental policies
and differences in priorities in the short-term and long-term water resources management plan
have lead to a conflict among the countries sharing the most complex watersheds in the world.
The upper riparian countries, especially the powerful ones, often project their interests
disregarding those of the downstream neighbours. It has been a great concern for Bangladesh
not only for the differences in perspective, priorities and watersheds management policies
among the riparian countries, but also the sheer absence of multilateral watershed data sharing
agreement between them. It is very difficult for Bangladesh to develop strategic plan to address
the hydro-climatic risk posed by climate change and global warming.

Within the framework of conflicts stated above and in absence of data sharing protocol, the
trans-boundary watersheds have become hotspots for Bangladesh that need to be addressed
by the BDP 2100 with priority and urgency. Therefore, a sophisticated and scientifically
advanced approach needs to taken to reconstruct the hydro-climatic conditions in the watershed
where Bangladesh has no field data nor has it access to it. This approach will help Bangladesh
gain upper hand in water diplomacy where Bangladesh enjoys a very limited leverage.
The Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 must take an observation-independent approach to construct
the hydro-climatic conditions in the GBM transboundary watersheds. A dynamical downscaling
approach, necessary to resolve the complex terrain features of the watersheds, uses
conservation of mass, momentum and energy equations in a large-scale regional climate model
(RCM) to produce small-scale spatial and temporal atmospheric conditions. In addition,
high-resolution topographic data (ASTER Global DEM), soil parameters (Soilgrids) and land
use/cover data (Global Land Cover Characterisation, GLCC) dataset can be incorporated in the
modeling framework. A hydrological model needs to be coupled with the RCM to simulate
downscaled atmospheric variables to stream flow at desired locations. A coupled modeling
framework could be a useful tool for BDP 2100 to simulate small-scale climate conditions in the
watersheds and formulate strategic planning for the Delta. This effort can also be directed to
address the water quality and ecological health of the watersheds. The coupled hydrologic
model will also be used to determine the impact of point and non-point sources of pollutions
across the watersheds and the river systems.

WATER QUALITY:
A comprehensive and careful strategy is required to restore and maintain the physical,
chemical, and biological integrity of the surface and ground waters of the Delta. The primary
goal of the strategy would be to restore and protect the aquatic resources of Delta. It would be a
significant challenge to preserve the water quality due to industrial, agricultural and other
anthropogenic activities not only in the GBM basin within the country but also in the upstream
transboundary watersheds. Therefore, it is important that the BDP 2100 introduce a
comprehensive plan to develop water quality standards for water bodies such as lakes, haors,
rivers, estuaries, coastal waters and ground waters. The plan should identify impaired water
bodies, which require stringent controls to meet the water quality standards. If necessary, the
Water Act 2013 should be amended to include a control mechanism so that the water quality
standards can be maintained. One of the mechanisms could be, for example, a quantitative and
adaptive measure called daily maximum loads (DMLs) for each water body depending on its
ecological health.
A DML or any alternative approach should include a calculation of the maximum amount of a
pollutant, such as N, P, C, BODs and other organic and inorganic materials that can be
discharged by industries, agriculture, municipalities and others in a water body and still meets
water quality standards. A DML is both a quantitative assessment of pollution sources and
pollutant reductions needed to restore and protect Delta waters. The Delta waters will be
assessed, and restoration and protection objectives systematically prioritised, and DML and
alternative approaches adaptively implemented to achieve water quality goals.
Eutrophication is an excessive loading of water with nutrients, dissolved substances containing
P, N and Si needed by organisms to grow. It is a global aquatic environmental crisis, which
requires a holistic approach to control through sustainable management of upstream
catchments and conservation of water resources. Nutrient loading of surface waters is caused
by increased inputs of fertilisers from agricultural activities in the upstream catchments,
atmospheric deposition and municipal effluents. The negative impact of eutrophication on
marine ecosystem includes-- algal bloom and dissolved oxygen demand, depletion of oxygen in
lower water layers that triggers massive fish kill and destruction of benthic organism. Mitigation
of the negative effects of eutrophication requires reduction of nutrient inputs (fertilisers) and an
ecosystem-based management strategy.
DML can be a planning process for attaining water quality standards and developing corrective
measures and control eutrophication. It is true that it would cost money and resources to meet
the DML criteria, however, the industries, municipalities, farmers and others must not discharge
uncontrolled pollutants and nutrients in the water bodies, as they have been doing for years. It is
expected that the DML will be a core element of overall efforts to protect and restore water
quality and preserve the ecosystem. A constant scientific review of DML's effectiveness on a
particular water body is necessary and an adaptive approach should be taken to achieve its
goals.

DELTA SCIENCE FOUNDATION:

As the BDP 2100 calls for a comprehensive and integrated water resources management
through adaptive delta management practices, it is important to make a comprehensive
research and development programme that must go parallel with the development projects in
the Delta. A Delta Science Foundation (DSF) may be established that will be governed by a
group of professionally active and respected scientists, engineers, academics and social
scientists. The Foundation will formulate research programmes consistent with the BDP 2100
goals. Research programmes will be funded to advise the BDP 2100 to implement projects and
use adaptive management plan.
The Foundation will operate based on the set of strategy set out by a Board. The Foundation
will fund research and education in the fields of science and engineering related to water,
climate, socio-economics, and water resources management. It will do this through grants and
cooperative agreements with colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal
science organisations and other research organisations across Bangladesh. In addition, the
Foundation will fund graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships. The Foundation may not
operate any laboratory facilities itself but may support Universities and colleges and or other
research institutions to develop their research labs and computational facilities, research
vessels and special laboratories for testing or computing. The Foundation will also support
cooperative research between universities and industry, and participate in international scientific
and engineering research efforts, and educational activities at every academic level. The DSF
will also formulate a plan to retain the talents in this sector.

Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100: Implementation

challenges and way forward
Bangladesh Government has approved Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100) on September
04, 2018 with the aspiration of achieving 'safe, climate resilient and prosperous Delta' by 2100.
In other words, 'BDP 2100 is the plan for moving Bangladesh forward towards the end of 21st
Century. Efforts have been made to formulate BDP 2100 exactly in the same way we want to
build Bangladesh in coming years of this century.
BDP 2100 is indeed the combination of long-term strategies and subsequent interventions for
ensuring long term water and food security, economic growth and environmental sustainability
while effectively reducing vulnerability to natural disasters and building resilience to climate
change and other delta challenges through robust, adaptive and integrated strategies, and
equitable water governance.

In fact, the complexity and dynamics of the Bangladesh delta necessitates a long term plan to
address challenges and realise the opportunities of Bangladesh Delta. From that necessity with
the directives from the Hon'ble Prime Minister, General Economics Division (GED) of
Bangladesh Planning Commission has formulated BDP 2100 which is a holistic and integrated
plan considering many themes and sectors for the whole country. The needs of natural resource
management have also been articulated in this mega plan. Side by side, it is also a
techno-economic plan, which covers both technical and economic issues (GDP growth, poverty
reduction, employment, food security, investment etc) for the whole country. BDP 2100 is also
an implementable plan having an investment programme up to year 2030 linked with
mobilisation of financial resources. Another important thing regarding this plan is that it has
strongly focused on climate change issues such as temperature rise, erratic rainfall pattern, sea
level rise etc., and for that it followed an Adaptive Delta Management (ADM) approach. For the
first time in any development planning, BDP 2100 has taken the climate change issue as an
exogenous variable in developing the macroeconomic framework of the plan.
In order to illustrate the role of BDP 2100 and its contribution to the long term development of
Bangladesh, two policy options are considered. One is called the Business As Usual (BAU)
Policy Option where it is illustrated that when the adverse impact of climate change and natural
hazards increases, the GDP growth rate starts falling over time, efficiency of capital falls
resulting in lower agricultural production, unemployment, migration and pressure on
urbanisation. The other option, Delta Plan (DP) Policy Option incorporates the adoption of
strong climate change related adaptation measures to achieve higher and sustainable growth
trajectories in the face of the various weather-related natural hazards and risks. This DP policy
option will allow us to achieve national level goals of eradicating extreme poverty and achieving
the status of UMIC by 2030 and also secure being a prosperous country by 2041. Moreover,
macro-economic analysis done for BDP 2100 reveals that in Business As Usual (BAU) policy
option, the extreme poverty will be eradicated around 2041. But, if the country adopts Delta Plan
policy option extreme poverty could be eradicated around 2027.
Side by side, yearly economic loss of about 1.7 per cent or more of GDP due to climate change
impacts and natural hazards has been predicted in future for Bangladesh Delta without BDP
2100.

BDP 2100 is a long-term holistic and integrated plan where management of water resources
following Adaptive Delta Management (ADM) is the cornerstone. Efforts have been made to link
the integrated water resources management (IWRM) with economic growth and development
considering the impact of climate change and natural disaster as the exogenous factor. In BDP
2100, water has been considered the most important factor for the sustainability of this delta,
not only for the human beings but also for sustainable environment. Important components of
the IWRM include different areas covering water security, CC impact and environmental
sustainability, food security and livelihood, economic growth, social development, knowledge
development, biodiversity conservation, forestry, crop production etc. Consistent with this, Delta
specific goals are fixed. The goals are to: ensure safety from floods and climate change related
disasters; ensure water security and efficiency of water usages; ensure sustainable and
integrated river systems and estuaries management; conserve and preserve wetlands and
ecosystems and promote their proper use; develop effective institutions and equitable
governance for in-country and trans-boundary WR management; and achieve optimal use of
land and water resources. All these goals are directly or indirectly related to the SDGs also. It
must be mentioned that, all six BDP 2100 goals are fully linked with SDG Goal 2, 6, 13 and 14
and partially linked with Goal 1, 5, 8, 9, 11 and 15. This linkage supported by appropriate
interventions and policy will be continued in the upcoming 8th Five Year Plan (FYP) as well as
the 2nd Perspective Plan (2021-41) in achieving the Bangladesh's Vision for 2041.
In BDP 2100 strategies as well as interventions are devised at three levels, viz. National level
(Flood Risk Management and Fresh Water), Hotspot wise and Strategies for cross-cutting
issues. Cross cutting issues considered in BDP are: sustainable land use and spatial planning;
agriculture, food security and livelihood, trans-boundary water resources management;
activating inland water transport system; blue economy; renewable energy; and preparedness
for earthquakes.
As such, some salient features of this mega plan are that it followed the principle of "Living with
Nature" which has been complimented by following "no regret" measures. All the strategies and
associated interventions are considered through the lens of "economic growth" and
"environmental sustainability". Formulation and implementation of BDP 2100 is inclusive of all
the stakeholders. During the preparation of the plan, lessons have been drawn from all other
relevant plans and policies. Most importantly, the plan itself is both 'horizontally' and 'vertically'
integrated. Another very important task conducted before the formulation of the plan is
conducting baseline studies in 26 major areas relevant to the. The studies conducted were
related to climate change, natural resources, environment and ecology, reviewing past
experiences and considered investment and finance, governance, knowledge and data
management etc. All of these baseline studies were reviewed and finally approved by the
Technical Advisory Committee comprising renowned researchers, academia, subject specialist
and professionals.
Formulation and approval of BDP 2100 is only the first step towards achieving safe, climate
resilient and prosperous delta. Challenges mainly lie with its successful implementation. There
are few challenges which should be addressed in a systematic and articulated manner. The
challenges are namely, financing of its investment plan; capacity building of the implementers
who will take the plan in the field; coordination among/between/within agencies and
ministry/divisions; aligning planning, implementation and financing activities of Delta
ministries/divisions with BDP 2100; aligning delta implementation works with Annual
Development Programme (ADP); designing the appropriate mode of financing for PPP related
projects under investment plan; climate financing under BDP 2100; practising appropriate
feasibility studies before taking up delta investment works (e.g. dredging, TRM, etc.);
rationalization and effective functioning of water management infrastructures keeping climate
change and ADM principle in view; funding and effective O&M suggested under BDP 2100; and
designing new projects taking climate change impacts into consideration.
To address the above mentioned challenges apart from cooperation and coordination of all the
stakeholders, we should take up some activities immediately. These are: establishment of 'Delta
Wing' in GED for overall support, guidance and coordination for the implementation of the BDP
2100; establishment of 'Delta Fund' and relevant essential institutional arrangements;
establishment of 'Delta Knowledge Hub' for hosting, updating and sharing of data/information
collected for and relevant to BDP 2100; presenting BDP 2100 to the development partners and
also negotiating with them in order to secure investments for the projects enlisted in the IP of
BDP 2100; reviewing the concepts for the Water User Association (WUA) and its Terms of
Reference (ToR); developing new pricing policies for Water and Sewerage services.
Coordination and cooperation among implementing agencies as well as cooperation with upper
riparian countries are considered crucial for the successful implementation of BDP 2100. The
cooperation is vital in the following areas namely-- strong regional cooperation for
Trans-boundary water management issues; basin wide water management and sharing
approach for the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Meghna basin; continuing efforts for signing
treaty for sharing water of the Teesta and all other trans-boundary rivers; pursuing construction
of the Padma Barrage in suitable location following basin wide Approach through mutual
cooperation for retention of water in the dry season; international cooperation on water uses and
development in the next 12 years; realising the potentials of blue economy; supporting the Delta
Coalition formed by 13 countries for mutual benefits and exchanging/accessing water
technologies for improved production and consumption for both home and industrial use;
sensitising development partners for mobilising support to the implementation of BDP 2100
Investment Plan; capacity building of the relevant government organisations, acquiring
knowledge of international best practices and technology transfer; and realisation of the yearly
100 billion US$ fund to the LDCs and developing countries for achieving SDGs, particularly for
climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
Successful implementation of BDP 2100 is earmarked as the major concern in the coming days.
Successful implementation mainly lies with the appropriate skills and technical capacity of the
relevant organisations. To address this challenge, GED is currently working on a project to
support the implementation of BDP 2100. The project aims to support capacity building,
institutional strengthening, facilitating implementation, supporting investment planning and
financing, validating investment plan, reviewing and updating of BDP 2100, if deem necessary
with continuously evolving new knowledge and tools.
The plan took four years to formulate with the help of local, national and international experts
and involved a huge number of stakeholders from all walks of life. In each and every stage of its
formulation till its final approval, it went through the scrutiny of technical experts and also the
policy makers in the government. We are looking forward to the active participation, contribution
and support from the government, private and civil society, and media equally in this respect.