Global Climate Change and Its Effects on the Water Resources of Bangladesh

Abstract

Climate change will likely affect fundamental drivers of the hydrologic cycle, and will impact water resources availability and management in the future. Most of the impacts of climate change are connected to hydrometeorological shocks, including the changing patterns in precipitation, flood and flash floods, droughts, cyclone and storm surges, melting of glaciers, and decline in water availability during the lean season in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basins. The changes in various components of the hydrologic cycle are likely to have severe consequences on planning and managing of water resources in transboundary rivers, at both local and region scales, leading to conflicts among stakeholders. The future success of water resources management in Bangladesh will depend on the adaptation of an ecological approach to rivers and water resources in the face of climate change, guaranteeing of fair share in transboundary river flows in the GBM basins, and assurance of good governance in the water resources planning and management within the country. This chapter discusses the state of both surface water and groundwater in the GBM basins, and proposes a framework for solutions to the existing problems in water resources management in the face of current and future climate change.