Water and sanitation highlights
Bangladesh is a tropical country in South Asia and the home of some 159 million people, making it the eighth most populous country in the world, and the second most densely populated. The country is covered by the world’s largest delta, the Bengal delta, and receives about 200 mm of rain every year as well as stream flow from some 700 rivers, mostly originating outside of the country. As such, Bangladesh is a water-rich country, but challenged by water-related disasters such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes and tidal bores.
Almost all inhabitants have access to basic drinking water, but especially in rural areas, the quality is compromised by arsenic contamination in groundwater. During the MDG period, many gained access to basic sanitation, although the lack of wastewater treatment remains a concern for health and environment.
The foremost challenge for secure water and sanitation is the dense population. Other challenges include water pollution, the absence of a wastewater management strategy and the enforcement of existing laws and regulations.
Work on SDG 6 and monitoring
Bangladesh has started their SDG work by mapping the ministries responsible for implementing individual SDGs, data gap analysis in SDGs, a needs assessment to identify challenges and opportunities for implementing different targets and formulating an Action Plan for achieving SDGs.
Bangladesh have also included the SDG targets in its Annual Performance Agreement, and developed a web portal for reporting on progress towards them. In terms of water and sanitation, they have aligned their national development plan with SDG 6. Collected water and sanitation data are used for policy formulation and decision-making.
Involved institutions
Several Ministries and Institution are involved in the management of water resources in Bangladesh. Ministry of Water Resource is the principal water regulator, whilst the Ministry of Environment and Forests acts as the principal water pollution monitor, with the authority to take legal measures against various polluters, particularly the industrial ones. Other Ministries involved include Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Local Government and Cooperatives, Ministry of Jute and Textile, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock etc. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is authorized to collect all types of data including on SDG 6.
