Crafting a Regulatory Framework for Groundwater Irrigation in Bangladesh : From Regression to Innovation

Bangladesh, a small country with a large population, has achieved near self-sufficiency in food at a huge cost to groundwater resources. Indiscriminate installation of deep and shallow tubewells to lift groundwater for irrigated agriculture is posing a serious threat to this precious resource. Regulatory mechanisms, like licensing, are ineffective, and therefore largely fail to curb the unsustainable withdrawal of groundwater. The result is significant depletion of the water table. Drawing on interviews with responsible government officials, scholars, and groundwater irrigators, this paper examines the successes and weaknesses of the current regulation of groundwater irrigation in Bangladesh. It finds that the regulation of groundwater irrigation is insufficient as the legal rules are not effectively implemented. In particular, compliance and enforcement of the governing laws is very poor, exemplifying the dichotomy between policy and legal objectives and actual practice. Interviews suggest that this regulatory failure can be attributed in part to the inefficiency of law itself, and in part to dysfunctional monitoring arrangements. This paper provides insights into designing more effective and efficient regulatory regimes for groundwater irrigation across the country. It makes recommendations for law reforms, enhancing education and community involvement, and for monitoring and management strategies