Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Common law, common property, and common enemy: Notes on the political geography of water resources management for the Sundarbans area of Bangladesh

  • Published:
Agriculture and Human Values Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water has a dual role in the Sundarbans area of southwestern Bangladesh. Hydrologic processes are vital to the ecological functioning and cultural identity of the mangrove ecosystem. But at the same time, large scale water development creates external forces that threaten the Sundarbans environment. Water is managed to a limited degree as a common property resource, both in the Sundarbans and in larger regions. It is also managed as private property, a public good, a state-controlled resource, an open access resource, and a natural hazard. And to a large degree, it is not managed at all. By focussing on water, we begin to understand the linkages between the Sundarbans area and larger regional contexts; and between common property resource systems and the broader array of institutional, political, and property relations. Section one of this paper provides an overview of the role of water in the Sundarbans, including modern human modifications of deltaic hydrology. Section two surveys water management issues and institutions at six geographical scales: the International Basin; 2) India and Bangladesh; 3) Greater Bengal; 4) Bangladesh; 5) southwestern Bangladesh; and 6) Khulna district. The conclusion stresses the role that the political geography of water will play both within and outside the Sundarbans ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbas, B. M. “Control of Floods in East Pakistan.”Oriental Geographer (1959).

  • Abbas, B. M.The Ganges Water Dispute. Dacca: University Press Limited, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abbas, B. M. “Agreement on the Ganges.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 517–40. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, Nafiz.A New Economic Geography of Bangladesh. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, Nafiz and Khan, Fazle Karim. “The Sundarban Forests of East Pakistan.”The Oriental Geographer [Dacca] 3(1959):13–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, T. “Waging War on the Rice Pests in Bangladesh.”Ambio 16 (1987): 287–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alcoli, F. A.A Revenue History of the Sundarbans from 1870 to 1920.

  • Ali, A. M. M. Shawkut. “Ground Water Policies: Options in Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 313–34. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baden-Powell, B. H.Land Systems of British India. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1892.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bangladesh.Deadlock on the Ganges. 1976a.

  • Bangladesh.White Paper on the Ganges Water Dispute. 1976b.

  • Bangladesh. Bureau of Statistics.Report on the Bangladesh Pilot Agricultural Census, 1982. Dhaka, 1983.

  • Bangladesh. Planning Commission.The Second Five Year Plan, 1980–85. Dhaka, 1983.

  • Bangladesh.Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh. Dhaka, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982.

  • Bangladesh.District Census Reports. Dhaka, 1974. [esp. Khulna district].

  • Bangladesh. Bureau of Statistics.Khulna District Statistics, 1983. Dhaka.

  • Bangladesh. Bureau of Statistics.Thana Statistics. Vol. 1: “Basic Information, Land Utilization, and Irrigation (1974–75 to 1978–79).” Dhaka, 1981.

  • Bangladesh.Monthly Statistical Bulletin of Bangladesh. Dhaka, 1973–1986.

  • Bangladesh. Water Development Board.Water Resources Development in Bangladesh. Dhaka, 1979.

  • Bangladesh in International Affairs. “The 24th River Joint Commission Meeting.” 6:(1983):39–40.

  • Bangladesh in International Affairs. “28th Meeting of JRC.” 8:6(1985):7–8.

  • Bangladesh in International Affairs. “New arrangement on the Ganges.” 8:10/II(1985b):20–5.

  • Bhatt, S.Environmental Laws and Water Resources Management. New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya, Amitabha.Historical Geography of Ancient and Early Medieval Bengal. Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, James K.Agrarian Impasse in Bengal: Institutional Constraints to Technological Change. Oxford University Press, 1987. Ch. 6, “Water control: the leading input.” pp. 62–200.

  • Burger, J. W. and Smith, E. C. “Closure of Tidal Channels in Bangladesh (IV).”Land & Water International 55(1985):29–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton, Ian; Kates, Robert W.; and White, Gilbert F.The Environment as Hazard. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caponera, Dante. “Patterns of Cooperation in International Water Law: Principles and Institutions,”Natural Resources Journal 25(1985):583.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caponera, Dante.Water Laws in Moslem Countries. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Irrigation and Drainage Paper no. 20. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization, 1973, [unfortunately, no separate chapter on Bangladesh].

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Study of Man and Environment [Calcutta].Comprehensive Pollution Survey and Studies of Ganga River in West Bengal. New Delhi: Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaphekar, S. B. and Mhatre, G. N.Human Impact on Ganga River Ecosystem. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Co., 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudury, M. and Siddiqi, M. H. “Toward a National Water Plan in Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 549–80. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudhury, A. K. M. Kamaluddin. “Land Use in Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 203–17. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crow, B. “The Making and Breaking of Agreement on the Ganges,” InStrategies for River Basin Management. ed. J. Lundquistet al. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing Co., 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruz, Ma. Concepcion; Briones, Nicomedes D.; and Hufschmidt, M. M.Water Resources Management in Asia: A Selective Bibliography with Introductory Essays. Honolulu: East-West Center, 1984; and “Supplementary References,” 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, J. C.,et al. “River Basin Development.” InGeography, Resources and Environment. v. 2., pp. 116–52. Ed. Robert W. Kates and Ian Burton. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dayal, P. “River Valley Development,” pp. 134–44. InA Survey of Research in Geography. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  • East Pakistan.Statistical Abstract of East Pakistan, 1947–1953. 5 vols. Dacca.

  • East Pakistan.Statistical Digest of East Pakistan, 1964–71. [name changes toStatistical Digest of Bangladesh in 1972–4].

  • Farouk, A.Irrigation in a Monsoon Land: Economics of Farming in the Ganges-Kobadak. Dacca: Bureau of Economic Research, University of Dacca, 1968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasser, William R.Survey of Irrigation in Eight Asian Nations: India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Korea, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. 1977.

  • Gupta, R. M. N.Land System of Bengal. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1940.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, Lawrence S. “What are the Impacts of Himalayan Deforestation on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Lowlands and Delta? Assumptions and Facts.”Mountain Research and Development 7(1987): 256–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herring, Ron. “Rethinking the Commons.” Paper presented to the Smithsonian Conference on the Sundarbans as a Common Property Resource. 1987.

  • Hossain, Mahabub “Agro-socio-economic Conditions in Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 183–202. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huq, Mazharul.The East India Company's Land Policy and Commerce in Bengal, 1698–1784. Publication no. 14. Dacca: Asiatic Society of Pakistan, 1964.

    Google Scholar 

  • India. Central Board of Irrigation and Power.Irriation Map of India, 1984.

  • India. Irrigation Commission.Irrigation Atlas of India. New Delhi, 1972.

  • India. Central Board of Irrigation and Power.Water Resources Research in India. Publication no. 78. New Delhi, 1979.

  • International Law Association.Helsinki Rules on the Use of the Waters of International Rivers. London: 1966.

  • Islam, M. Aminul. “Human Adjustment to Cyclone Hazards: A Case Study of Char Jabbar.” Natural Hazards Research Working Paper, no. 18, University of Toronto, 1971.

  • Ives, Jack and Messerli, Bruno.The Himalayan Dilemma: Reconciling Development and Conservation. London: Routledge, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, A. A.Land Laws of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Khoshroz Kitab Mahal, 1983. Sections on “The State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1951,” and “The Tenancy Rules, 1954.”

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Akbar Ali. “Economic Considerations and Alternatives in Water Policy Formulation for Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 459–84. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Hamidur Rahman. “Water Resource Development in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 165–82. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M. Amjad; and Khan, Akbar Ali. “Surface Water Strategy: Policies and Laws in Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 267–84. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Tauhidul Anwar. “The Water Resources Situation in Bangladesh.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 139–65. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Humayun. “The Sundarbans.”Bangladesh Quarterly 4(1983):36–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Z. A.Basic Documents on Farakka Conspiracy from 1951 to 1976. Dacca: Khoshroz Kitab Mahal, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michel, Aloys.The Indus Rivers: A Study of the Effects of Partition. New Haven: Yale Uiversty Press, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, J. P. and W. G. McIntire. “Geological Studies in the Bengal Delta.”Research Reviews. Office of Naval Research, pp. 1–7. 1957.

  • Morgan, J. P. and W. G. McIntire. “Quaternary Geology of the Bengal Basin, East Pakistan and India.Bull Geol. Soc. Amer. 70(1959): 319–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, Barrie M.Political Centers and Culture Regions in Early Bengal. Association for Asian Studies Monographs and Papers. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee, Rahdakamal.The Changing Face of Bengal: A Study in Riverine Economy. Calcutta, 1938.

  • National Research Council.Common Property Resource Management. Washington, DC: 1986.

  • Nishat, Ainun and Chowdury, Shahjahan Kabir. “Water Quality: Problems and Needs for Integrated Control.” InWater Resources Policy for Asia, pp. 349–63. Ed. Mohammed Ali, George E. Radosevich, and Akbar Ali Khan. Boston: A. A. Balkema, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pakistan.District Census Reports. Dhaka, 1961. [esp. Khulna district].

  • Pargiter, Frederick E.A Revenue History of the Sundarbans from 1765 to 1870. Alipore: Bengal Government Press, 1934.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, Mohammad Gaziur. “Reducing the Flow of the Ganges: The Consequences for Agriculture in Bangladesh.” InEnvironmental and Social Effects of Large Dams, vol. 2. Pp. 267–75. 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, K. L.India's Water Wealth. New Delhi: Orient Longman Ltd., 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid, Haroun Er.Geography of Bangladesh. Boulder: Westview Press, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, Nicholas A. “Marshalling Environmental Law to Resolve the Himalaya-Ganges Problem.”Mountain Research and Development 7(1987): 305–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, Peter. “Models to Analyze Conflicts Arising from Water Resource Development: The Case of Bengal.” InPrelude to Crisis: Bengal and Bengal Studies in 1970, pp. 33–64 [incl. comment by Mohiuddin Alamgir]. Ed. Peter Bertocci. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Asian Studies Center, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, Peter; Lydon, Peter; and Seckler, David.Eastern Waters Study: Strategies to Manage Flood and Drought in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin. ISPAN. Washington DC: USAID, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, Nirmal Kumar.The Land Laws of Bengal. Calcutta: Eastern Law House Private Ltd., 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samad, M. A.Cyclone of 1970 and Agricultural Rehabilitation. Dacca: Agriculture Informaiton Service, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidensticker, John and Hai, Md Abdul.The Sundarbans Wildlife Management Plan: Conservation in the Bangladesh Coastal Zone. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, Chandra K.Water and Energy Resources of the Himalayan Block: Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Kathmandu: Sangeeta Sharma, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shibusawa, A. H. “Cooperation in Water Resources Development in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basins.”Mountain Research and Development 7(1987): 319–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqui, M. F. A. “Management of River Systems in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Basin for Development of Water Resources,” InRiver Basin Development, ed. Munir Zamen. (1981).

  • Singh, Jasbir.An Agricultural Atlas of India: A Geographical Analysis. Kurukshetra: Vishal Publications, 1974, ch. 2 “Water Supply.”

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, Upendra Kumar.Ganga Pollution and Health Hazard. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoddart, David and Pethick, John S. “Environmental Hazard and Coastal Reclamation: Problems and Prospects in Bangladesh.” pp. 339–61. InUnderstanding Green Revolutions. Ed. Tim Bayliss-Smith and Sudhir Wanmali. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.Proceedings of the Third Regional Symposium on the Development of Deltaic Areas. New York: United Nations, 1978. [Articles on Bangladesh, pp. 155–68.]

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. Water Control Mission to Pakistan.Water and Power Development in East Pakistan. New York, 1959.

  • United Nations Development Programme and World Health Organization.Survey of Water Supply Resources of Greater Calcutta. Geneva, 1969.

  • United States Agency for International Development.Country Development Strategy Statement, FY 1986: Bangladesh. Washington, D.C., 1984.

  • Van Duivendijk, J. “Bangladesh: Polders in a Flood Plain.”Land & Water International 53(1984):20–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wade, R. “Common Property Resource Management in South Indian Villages,” pp. 231–58. National Research Council.Common Property Resource Management. Washington, DC: 1986.

  • Wescoat, James L. Jr.Integrated Water Development: Water Use and Conservation Practice in Western Colorado. Research paper no. 210. Chicago: University of Chicago, Dept. of Geography, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • —— “Expanding the Range of Choice in Water Management: An Evaluation of Policy Approaches.”U.N. Natural Resources Forum 10(1986): 239–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, Gilbert F. “A Perspective of River Basin Development.”Law and Contemporary Problems 22 (1957): 157–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——Environmental Effects of Complex River Development. Boulder: Westview Press, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willcocks, Sir William.Ancient System of Irrigation in Bengal and Its Application to Modern Problems. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1930.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, A. V. “Irrigation in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.”Geographical Journal 65 (1925):141–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitcombe, Elizabeth. “Irrigation.” InThe Cambridge Economic History of India, vol. 2, pp. 677–737. Ed. Dharma Kumar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. James L. Wescoat Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

James Wescoat is Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Colorado—Boulder. His research deals with the historical geography of water development in South Asia and the United States. He is currently working on a three year study of the effects of global climate change in the Indus River basin with the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wescoat, J.L. Common law, common property, and common enemy: Notes on the political geography of water resources management for the Sundarbans area of Bangladesh. Agric Hum Values 7, 73–87 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01530438

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01530438

Keywords

Search

Navigation