By Bushra Humaira Sadaf
In Bangladesh’s coastal districts, millions of people depend on a network of polders, embankments, canals, and sluice gates to protect their homes, farms, and livelihoods. These structures, built in the 1960s, cover over 1.2 million hectares and are crucial for agriculture, fisheries, and rural life. Yet, many canals have silted up, sluice gates are damaged, and water levels fluctuate unpredictably, leaving farmers struggling to manage crops and water.
Climate-related risks further complicate the situation. Erratic rainfall, salinity intrusion, waterlogging, drought, and rising sea levels increasingly threaten crop production and rural livelihoods. Crops critical to local food security, like rice, watermelon, mustard, mung bean, and potato, are highly vulnerable to these changes.
Farmers like Monowar Haldar in Noyaltala report, “These canals are not active. They have created various fish farm projects here, so there is no proper system for the water to flow.”
“During summer, we can’t get water even from tubewells. We have to suffer terribly,” says Jesmin Begum, a farmer in Noyaltala, Batiaghata, Khulna. “The water in the tube well has high salinity, which makes things very difficult. We must bring water from far away for drinking, and it also causes problems for cooking and daily use.”
Farmers and local water management groups emphasize the breakdown of once-functioning support systems. Management groups overseen by donor-funded projects would often cease to function once the project closes.
“When Blue Gold project was active, they held regular meetings, and we worked closely together with good coordination. After they left, that coordination fell apart,” recalls Md. Jamal Faruque, Executive Engineer at BADC, Khulna. “WMOs (Water Management Organizations) have been mostly managed by the Water Board in the polders, but the mechanisms and objectives set up for this have not been effective. Without regular oversight, these groups become inactive, and the communities lose vital guidance.”
A recent study conducted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) confirmed what local communities have long experienced: water management in coastal areas faces systemic challenges. Aging infrastructure, erratic water flows, and weak institutional coordination prevent polders from delivering their full potential. Participatory water management mechanisms, such as WMOs, often collapse after donor-funded projects end.
Finding consensus and a way forward
To address these challenges, IRRI has worked closely with government agencies, local authorities, and communities to identify technical and institutional gaps. Through extensive interviews, assessments, and workshops at upazila, district, and national levels, a consensus has emerged: the current water management system needs urgent reform.
“Proper coordination involving all departments, like the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), local government engineering departments (LGED), the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Department of Fisheries (DOF), and local stakeholders, would make the system work smoothly,” says Goutom Kumar Mondal, Upazila Engineer, LGED, Batiaghata.
Mahfuz Ahamad, former Chief Water Management at BWDB, emphasizes, “If the DAE takes responsibility for overseeing this, it could ensure sustainability in in-polder water management.”
IRRI’s research and consultations underline key policy recommendations to strengthen coastal water management:
- Strengthening and empowering of WMOs
- Polders and its sub-catchments should be considered as the development unit
- BWDB to continue to provide engineering support, and other agencies should complement with their water management related supports
- Deciding a lead agency, preferably the DAE or DoF to oversee and support WMOs based on the importance of primary livelihood sources of a polder
- Innovative approaches should be used for adaptation planning towards dynamic polder water management and impactful interventions
- Existing rules and guidelines need to be adjusted
Md. Rafiqul Islam, Additional Director of DAE, Khulna, stresses, “Farmers are appropriate committee members for WMOs. If our officers and staff are given an active role, then our problems can be minimized.”
Md. Masud Karim, Chief of Water Management at BWDB, notes, “Regular support is needed for WMOs. After the project ends, coordination falls apart, and groups become inactive.”
BWDB Executive Engineer from Khulna, Md. Asraful Alam adds, “When we hand over our duties, there are always challenges. Financial approvals and coordination need ministry-level clearance. We can try a pilot first, and if it works, then scale it up. The goal is to create a sustainable system where WMOs and farmers remain empowered, even after projects end.”
Polders have safeguarded Bangladesh’s coastal regions for more than 50 years. By empowering WMOs, realigning institutional roles, and instituting dynamic planning, these structures can further protect lives, support agriculture, and enhance climate resilience. Communities, government agencies, and researchers all agree: change is needed but the path forward needs to be determined.
