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Summary of Regional Technical Assistance(RETA) Supporting IWRM (Bangladesh) |
Water
The water policy of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), approved in January 2001, promotes national water sector reforms, integrated water resources management (IWRM), and improved water services for the poor. In addition, the policy commits ADB to regional and sub regional cooperation by helping to assess the water sector and to exchange data, enhancing awareness and understanding of water sector issues, and supporting water partnerships in ADBs developing member countries. In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) called for all countries to develop IWRM and water efficiency plans by the end of 2005.During the summit a number of governments and financing institutions including the ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, committed financial assistance to encourage institutionalization of changes designed to promote more strategic and coordinated decision-making. These commitments included that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands to make an initial contribution to ADB, through a separate technical assistance (TA) arrangement, for the purpose of supporting the process of developing IWRM plans in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Viet Nam. The specific outputs of the project were to (i) contribute to an IWRM Implementation Plan, (ii) support specific actions (in the context of the plan) that promote IWRM and improved service delivery, and (iii) conduct stakeholder workshops to disseminate information and solicit feedback.
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| The followings are the main output of the Project: |
| i) Enabling Environment | Draft Bangladesh Water Act. The proposed Act would translate the National Water Policy into law and thereby ensure integrated management, development, and equitable utilization of the countries water resources. The available draft has undergone an extensive review process and is considered ready for submission to Parliament. Water Resources Planning Act. The Act (1992) simply announced the creation of a new organization describing its mandate in general terms but without a set of rules to make it effective. The Act requires amendment to ensure functioning of WARPO as per directives of NWPo (1999), NWMP (2004) and CZPo (2005) and staff composition consistent with evolving requirements of the sector. It is expected to be completed by Oct 2010. A National Water Code. The latter term has frequently been used interchangeably with the Bangladesh Water Act but is considerably different in purpose. A code, covering the complete system of law within the water sector would assemble all of the various pieces of legislation to ensure consistency and synergy in application. No work has yet been initiated to this end. It is expected to be completed by January 2011. |
| ii)Institutional Framework |
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). The TA Team worked with the Government of the Netherlands financed Twinning Mission to provide input for strengthening day-to-day management of the Board Two workshops were held jointly with the Twinning Mission, and also a separate workshop that addressed management issues within BWDB. Interagency Coordination. The efficacy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a commonly used tool to promote data sharing, was reviewed through two workshops and it was concluded that the MOUs need to also incorporate WARPO's role to coordinate activities of Water Sector in macro planning and as to acting as a clearing house. Water Resources Planning Organization. WARPOs Organizational Development Plan to support WARPO in promoting and performing day to day activities is under process of approval with the Ministry. It is expected to be approved by December 2009. |
| iii)Management Instrument Related |
Data Management Systems. The TA Team reviewed the steps being undertaken by the Water Management Improvement Project (WMIP) to improve management of data systems. Through discussions with various agencies involved in collecting and managing data, modernization of these systems was explored. It is expected to be completed by December 2010. National Water Management Plan (NWMP). The NWMP was prepared in 2001 and approved in 2004. It was envisaged that the Plan would be updated every five years to reflect social, physical, and political change. The TA Team worked with WARPO to develop an updating process. It is expected to be completed by July 2010. Water Tariff and Cost Recovery. The existing system was analyzed and, based on discussions with WARPO, suggestions and amendments were proposed. The Road Map. The purpose of the IWRM road map is to propose a set of actions that strengthen IWRM in Bangladesh and which can realistically be taken up within the proposed time frame. |