Such canals, as we see in Hironpur, are vital resources in Bangladesh’s salt-prone deltaic coast. They store rainwater during the monsoon season, supporting food production and domestic water needs during the dry season. But they are also vital as drainage outlets after extreme rainfall events. Traditionally, these canals have been accessible to all, making them prime examples of common pool resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, many canals have been taken over<\/a> \u2013 and remain under control \u2013 by influential local figures, political party members, regional syndicates, or wealthy urban investors. Leased canals are typically<\/a> banked, enclosed, diverted, or even filled in to allow intensive and profitable<\/a> fish farming, shrimp ponds, or expanding farmland. Such mismanagement<\/a> and lease abuses by elites \u2013 in the coastal areas as in other regions<\/a> of Bangladesh \u2013 have far-reaching impacts on local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the 2009 Jalmahal Management Policy<\/a>, water bodies including canals are intended to be leased for 1\u20133 years to fishermen cooperative societies, local groups established to represent diverse, genuine fishing communities. However, those groups often remain<\/a> bureaucratic, hierarchical and dominated by influential members with vested interests. Unable to compete with more powerful community members, marginal fishers are effectively deprived of important income opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But canal leases also adversely affect farm-dependent households. Without access to sufficient water for dry season irrigation<\/a>, many leave their fields fallow. Moreover, canal blockages<\/a> undermine their drainage<\/a> function, heightening the risk of waterlogging<\/a> and crop losses after heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Limited access also means that households \u2013 especially women \u2013 struggle<\/a> to access water for domestic use, often having to pay<\/a> to fetch water from once freely accessible resources. And for local governments, illegal leases and corruption often also mean less revenues<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protests<\/a> against such malpractices often have little success. Policy interventions largely failed<\/a> to address these issues, hampered by persistent governance deficiencies \u2013 siloed decision-making, fragmented policies, inadequate oversight \u2013 and top-down development agendas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although regulations exempt<\/a> flowing water bodies from leasing, many canals \u2013 and even entire stretches of river<\/a> \u2013 remain under exploitative elite control. Additionally, long-term leases of up to 99 years \u2013 as we see in Hironpur \u2013 and subsequent profit-oriented sub-leasing<\/a> remain common, in clear contradiction to the intention of the khas<\/em> system to support those most in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is severe environmental impacts, with challenging social and economic consequences, particularly in light of intensifying climate change impacts in this highly vulnerable<\/a> region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet, while other exploitative practices, are well-documented<\/a>, such as the rapid expansion of shrimp farming, the ongoing elite capture of freshwater canals has received less attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hironpur is a small village of about 300 households in the south of Khulna division, close to the vast Sundarbans mangrove forest. In this tidal, saline delta, rain-fed rice grown from July to December is the main crop. But in the dry season, farming depends entirely on the availability of fresh water from the canals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The village sits along a canal that connects two rivers to the north and south, with five branches extending east and west. In the early 1990s, the community came together to dig and clear the canals\u2019 silt, hoping to increase water availability and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Villagers still recall the repeated promises made by the local administrative unit\u2019s (upazila) <\/em>chairperson to open the canals for community use. But they were ultimately leased to politically connected individuals, without community consultation. \u201cAn outsider leased the canal for 99 years and subleases it yearly to selected residents for a fee,\u201d explains Amal Mondal, a local farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, most of the canal system is leased or de facto controlled by a wealthy few, and has been converted into fish or shrimp farms. Only small sections are open to the community \u2013 far from enough to meet their water needs. \u201cAfter the aman [rice crop] season, there\u2019s hardly any water left,\u201d says Sadia Akter, another farmer. \u201cWhat little remains soon turns saline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During monsoons, poor drainage threatens many fields. \u201cWater drains only through this canal,\u201d explains Sujan, Umesh\u2019s wife. \u201cBut the leaseholders block it during the rainy season to protect their fish, causing crop losses each year.\u201d As opposed to the wealthier and more powerful leaseholder, the residents have no say in managing the canal. \u201cYou can\u2019t speak against the aquaculture owners,\u201d says Dinesh Roy, a neighbour. \u201cThey are rich and connected: if you speak out, your life is at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the dry season, residents face difficult choices. \u201cIt is better not to farm than to watch crops die,\u201d says Akter. With few income opportunities outside farming, many (mostly men) seek work in larger cities as rickshaw pullers and construction workers. \u201cWe have no choice,\u201d says another local, Nurjahan Begum. \u201cMy husband goes away to sell labour in Jessore, or else we will die without food. Only God knows how I survive with my children in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some families resort to migration: women seek work in garment factories or households, leaving fields fallow until they return for the aman season. But seasonal migration<\/a> is far from a panacea because people are under constant risk of becoming trapped in poverty by low-wage, unstable jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water issues are multifaceted and far-reaching, but the women of Bangladesh are on the front lines of escalating water insecurity. Studies and fieldwork conducted by CGIAR, a global food security research partnership, found approximately two-thirds<\/a> of the country\u2019s women experience acute water insecurity. This manifests as a larger domestic workload, economic losses, food poverty, physical strain and heightened stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wake up at dawn, clean the house, feed the cattle, care for my children and fetch water three times a day,\u201d says Akter. \u201cAfter cooking, I wash clothes in the pond and work in the fields with my husband. It\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While water-related gender issues are often perceived as domestic issues, such as women being forced to walk longer<\/a> distances to collect drinking water, CGIAR\u2019s work highlights how water insecurity is increasingly tied to food production. When men migrate<\/a> seasonally from Hironpur, the women\u2019s responsibilities extend beyond housework and family care to include farm management and food production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This reflects a broader \u201cfeminisation of agriculture\u201d trend observed<\/a> throughout the Global South. However, shifting responsibilities rarely lead to profound improvements in social equity or women\u2019s empowerment. This is because disadvantageous power dynamics remain in place and patriarchal social norms, values and practices persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen they enclosed the canal, we tried to resist,\u201d says Amal Mondal. \u201cThey said they had the papers. They have money \u2026 connections. After all, we are women \u2026 no one listens. If you say anything, you will be beaten.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This case study reflects the facets and intricacies of governing common-pool resources. It also underscores the risks of overlooking both community diversity and deeply rooted sociopolitical elements when trying to tackle these issues. Addressing them requires nuanced approaches that critically examine the underlying power structures at play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the ongoing challenges of elite capture in Hironpur and beyond, the CGIAR research has observed emerging efforts to improve water security and support marginalised livelihoods. Near Hironpur, the intervention of the Center for Natural Resource Studies, a regional NGO, led to the reclamation and rehabilitation<\/a> of several canal segments. This restored community access and enabled dry-season agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2022, the country\u2019s first women-led fishing cooperative was formed<\/a>. Meanwhile, communities are joining forces to challenge<\/a> illegal water capture, rehabilitate canals<\/a> and strengthen collective management of jalmahals<\/em>. To provide income and improve food security, rates of sustainable agriculture are increasing, shrimp farming is shrinking<\/a> and salt-tolerant, water-efficient crops are being promoted. Subsistence fish farming in household ponds is another solution. However, more government support is urgently needed to expand these initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building on existing successes, Bangladesh must prioritise localised, context-specific solutions to water management. The country must also amplify marginalised voices. These are key steps towards sustainable, equitable development in Bangladesh and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Names and locations have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy and security.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Legally available to all, freshwater canals are being appropriated by leaseholders for personal gain, argue three water analysts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60065386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[50039903],"tags":[50029567,20000253,50040749,607],"country":[20000116],"class_list":["post-60065367","opinion","type-opinion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water","tag-agroforestry","tag-gender","tag-livelihoods","tag-water-scarcity","country-bangladesh"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Leased](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241216_Leased-canals-used-for-aquaculture_Mou-Rani-Sarker.png\")
<\/div>![\"a](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241216_Illegal-appropriation-of-canals-increases-regional-water-scarcity_Center-for-Natural-Resource-Studies_v2.jpg\")
<\/div>Seasonal struggles in Hironpur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241216_Completely-dry-leased-canal-inaccessible-to-local-farmers_Center-for-Natural-Resource-Studies-e1734457898204.jpg\")
<\/div>![\"a](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241216_Rehabilitation-of-canals-restored-community-access-and-increased-water-storage_Center-for-Natural-Resource-Studies.jpg\")
<\/div>A gender issue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20241216_A-woman-growing-watermelons-on-the-banks-of-a-rehabilitated-canal-_Center-for-Natural-Resource-Studies_v2.jpg\")
<\/div>Social, ecological \u2013 and political?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n