Source: DTE
Context: Bangladesh became the first South Asian country to accede to the UN Water Convention (2025), aiming to strengthen transboundary water governance.
About Bangladesh Join UN Water Convention:
What it is?
- The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) is a legally binding international framework promoting equitable and sustainable management of shared water resources and preventing water-related conflicts among riparian nations.
Established in:
- Adopted in Helsinki in 1992, the Convention entered into force in 1996 under the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe). Initially regional, it became open to all UN member states from 2016.
Key Features:
- Cooperative Framework: Mandates nations sharing transboundary waters to cooperate through agreements and joint bodies for sustainable management.
- Equitable Use Principle: Ensures reasonable and fair utilization of shared water resources while preventing significant transboundary harm.
- Conflict Prevention: Serves as a mechanism for peaceful resolution of water-related disputes and strengthening regional stability.
- Alignment with SDGs: Supports SDG 6.5 on integrated water resource management, and indirectly furthers SDGs 2 (food security), 7 (energy), 13 (climate), and 16 (peace, institutions).
- Global Expansion: Since 2018, several non-European countries—Chad, Ghana, Iraq, Nigeria, The Gambia, Namibia, and Panama—have joined, expanding its global reach.
India and the UN Water Convention:
- India is not a signatory to the Convention, preferring bilateral and basin-level treaties such as the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) and the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty (1996).
- India views multilateral mechanisms like the Water Convention cautiously, citing concerns about externalizing bilateral water issues and losing negotiation flexibility.
- Bangladesh’s accession, therefore, could reshape regional water diplomacy, giving it an international legal platform to press for fairer water-sharing agreements with India, especially regarding the Teesta and Ganga rivers.
