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The management of water resources has become a critical need in Bangladesh because of growing demand for water and increasing conflict over its alternative uses.As populations expand and make various uses of water, its growing scarcity becomes a serious issue in developing countries such as Bangladesh. Water can no longer be considered a totally free resource, and plans must be developed for its efficient use through better management and rules that preserve everybody's access to it and interest in its development. Because it is a common resource, its development and management should involve all beneficiaries.The government's role in this process is to establish the ground rules for water use and conservation through a policy and legal framework and a monitoring system that ensure its continued safety of supply to --- and responsible use of water by --- every sector and user in the economy. National water policy must set the ground rules for allocation to different users, water rights, pricing, and environmental safety.Bangladesh's water strategy should start with a national water policy that spells out key objectives such as priority of use by critical economic sectors, approaches to water pricing and cost recovery for development, and shared public and private sector water management. An apex public planning organization is needed to perform overall planning for water resources and to advise the National Water Counsel on policy and legislation. Also needed are agencies to implement public water plans for the development of infrastructure, the monitoring of water regimes, and the enforcement of regulations.This paper --- a product of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Division, South Asia, Country Department I --- is part of a larger effort in the department to analyze the major issues in managing land and water resources and developing a strategy to improve the management of these vital resources of the economy. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the conference on Bangladesh Agriculture in the 21st Century held in Dhaka on November 6 and 8, 1995. Copies of this paper are available free from the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433. Please contact Clydina Anbiah, room T7020, telephone 2024581275, fax 2025221778, Internet address canbiah@worldbank.org. (42 pages)The full report is available on the World Bank FTP server
