Accepted Papers - 3.pdf - UNESCO

for subsequent use of water for irrigating the second crop. New ponds and re-excavated
canals can also be used for fish cultivation (personal communication with fisheries experts).
Fish cultivation alone in the ponds and re-excavated canals will be cost effective.
Rivers especially smaller rivers can be compartmentalized to series of seasonal ponds
during November to May through appropriate water conservation structures like weirs
and rubber dams. Community based fisheries management system can be introduced in the
seasonal ponds following the Common Property Resource Management Procedure of the
country. Fisheries experts confirmed that these seasonal ponds could be brought under
profitable fish cultivation program through stakeholder participation and on an average,
0.5 to 1.0 ton fish can be harvested per hectare of water body. Moreover, water stored in
the seasonal ponds/riverbeds will be a continuous source for groundwater recharge, which
subsequently can be used for irrigation using deep and shallow tubewells without severe
lowering of groundwater table. River water conservation will also contribute to afforestation
program along the riverbanks, irrigation development using low lift pumps for the lands
adjacent to the rivers and availability of drinking water and bathing place for cattle. Success
of this approach in one river may be replicated in other area of the country, which will
contribute to its overall development.
The national development plan should be to maximize utilization of rainfall, surface
and ground water through conjunctive use of these resources. The development strategy
will be to increase production per unit of land, unit of water and unit of time.
INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh is blessed with excellent quality of
ground and surface water for irrigation, which is in
abundance for the year-round use. However,
distribution pattern of surface water availability over
the years makes a complex condition for its
profitable use and causes flooding almost every year
sometime during June to September. The country
receives about 90% of the surface water resources
during June to October through rainfall and river
flows, most of which flows to the Bay of Bengal.
With management alternatives, part of it can be
retained in crop fields (especially rice), rivers, canals
and low areas and can be effectively used for
agricultural (crop and fish production) and nonagricultural
purposes during the lean period,
November to May. Through conjunctive use of
ground and surface water, about 76% of the
cultivable area can be irrigated (MPO 1991 and
WARPO 2000), of which about 60% are presently
under irrigation (MOA 2005). Out of the present
irrigated area of 60%, about 90% is irrigated using
deep tubewells (DTWs), shallow tubewells (STWs),
manually operated and low lift pumps (LLPs) which
are popularly known as minor irrigation in
Bangladesh. Rainfall distribution pattern indicate
that water requirement for most crops be met from
477
rainfall only during May to September, since monthly
rainfall during these months on an average is more
than 200 mm. Therefore, sustainable crop production
can only be expected with rainfall only during these
months and irrigation is essential during other eight
months of the year.
Water conservation and management strategy
of Bangladesh should be based on water availability
conditions and improvement potential of different
regions of the country and integrated management
of flood control, drainage and irrigation (FCDI)
infrastructure. The country may be divided into four
zones depending on water availability, land
capability, subject to annual flooding and
agricultural practices. These are; Northwest, Coastal
area, Central Flood plain and Hilly area. The specific
areas considered under different zones in this paper
are; (i) Northwest which includes area under present
Rajshahi division and greater Kushtia and Jessore
districts, (ii) coastal area, (iii) central flood plain
which includes most part of central flood plain and
remaining area of coastal belt where saline water
inundation is rare, and (iv) hilly area of Chittagong,
Sylhet, Comilla and Chittagong Hill tract.
Development options through integrated land and
water resources of these zones and FCDI
infrastructure are explored and implementation