Water security is equated with prosperity and overall development, hence, the approach to water, especially amongst regions of differentiated accessibility, has always been that of contestation. The Brahmaputra river that originates in China, with its tributaries in Bhutan, runs downstream through India and Bangladesh, which has raised serious concerns for regional stability. On one hand, China and India are actively engaged in harnessing the potential of the river, while on the other hand, Bangladesh faces human security pressure likely to be magnified by practices on the upstream. In fact, a pioneering 2012 Intelligence Community Assessment by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, entitled Global Water Security, identified the Brahmaputra basin as having “inadequate” river basin management capacity. It forecasted that the basin will see ongoing discord among riparian nations concerning river development projects through 2040. This session “Politics around the Brahmaputra basin” is, therefore, an endeavour to understand the politics and power asymmetry around the Brahmaputra, in an attempt to also improve the quality of water diplomacy in the basin.

Guests:

Sumit Vij, Postdoctoral Researcher at Faculty of Sciences, Vrije University, Amsterdam & Public Administration and Policy Group, Wageningen University

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Lawyer at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Chief Executive at Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association

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