During Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus’ recent visit to China (March 26-29, 2025) he emphasized fostering greater collaboration between the two nations, with a special focus on river management. Bangladesh has invited Chinese companies to participate in the Teesta River Restoration Project and emphasized cooperation in hydrological data sharing. Furthermore, in his meeting with China’s minister of water resources, Yunus extended a request for China to design a comprehensive 50-year master plan tailored to Bangladesh’s unique river management needs.
Bangladesh’s river systems are facing a dire and alarming crisis. Many rivers have already vanished from the nation’s landscape, while the remaining ones teeter on the brink of collapse. The challenges are multifaceted—on one side, riverbeds have become choked with silt and debris, reducing the flow and vitality of these water bodies. On the other side, the critical floodplains that support ecosystems, agriculture, and livelihoods have deteriorated drastically, further compounding the problem.
Adding to this predicament is the detrimental impact of past river management strategies. Many rivers have been effectively “strangled” by encasing them entirely within embankments. While such measures may have been implemented with the intention of controlling floods, they have often had the opposite effect. These embankments disrupt the natural dynamics of rivers, leading to water stagnation and hindering the movement of sediments. One of the most pervasive consequences of this approach has been the increasing prevalence of waterlogging.
The possibility of leveraging China’s renowned expertise in water resource management offers promising prospects. However, this proposal warrants thoughtful deliberation, especially in light of Bangladesh’s past experiences with foreign governments and international companies spearheading master plans for its river systems. Previous Chinese efforts have often fallen short of expectations, either due to a lack of alignment with local realities, or incomplete implementation. These experiences underline the importance of a nuanced and meticulously crafted approach to collaboration with China, ensuring that proposed solutions are not only technologically advanced but also sustainable, adaptable, and rooted in local needs and priorities, adapting Bangladesh’s specific geographical and socioeconomic contexts.
The Yangtze’s flow of approximately 27,500 cubic meters per second at the Datong survey station is somewhat comparable to Bangladesh’s Brahmaputra River, which has an average annual flow of about 22,000 cubic meters per second at Bahadurabad. However, when considering the combined flow of Bangladesh’s Ganges and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers, which surpasses the Yangtze’s flow, notable differences emerge. Not only is the combined discharge of the Ganges-Jamuna system significantly higher, but the sediment transport dynamics between these river systems differ markedly.
The Ganges-Jamuna system carries a staggering amount of sediment, far exceeding the sediment load of the Yangtze River. This sediment influx by the Ganges, Jamuna, and other rivers, combined with the dynamic nature of the river systems and the country’s flat deltaic geography, creates a complex set of challenges. These include riverbank erosion, frequent channel shifting, and the formation of new char lands, all of which demand unique and region-specific solutions. While China’s river management expertise, particularly in flood control and waterway development, is notable, sediment management in Bangladesh presents a significantly different and more intricate issue. A direct application of strategies from the Yangtze River to Bangladesh’s river systems may not yield the desired outcomes without substantial adaptation to the local sedimentary and hydrological context.
The contrast between the realities of rivers in Bangladesh and China illustrates the complexities of large-scale river management. While engineering interventions can bring substantial benefits, they often come with unintended environmental and social consequences.
China has undertaken extensive river management efforts, including the construction of numerous large dams on the Yangtze River, with the “Three Gorges Dam” being the largest dam in the world. While these dams have played a critical role in flood control, hydropower production, and water resource management, they have also brought significant environmental consequences. One notable impact is the dramatic reduction in sediment flow in the post-dam sections of the Yangtze River. Studies suggest that sediment transport has decreased by as much as 93 per cent in some areas.
In addition, China has built approximately 20 major dams in the mountainous areas of the Yellow River’s basin. Along the Yangtze and the Yellow River China has implemented extensive engineering interventions including the construction of an astonishing 4,850 kilometers of dams along both banks of the river. These dams have profoundly altered the river’s characteristics, raising the riverbed height by up to 30 feet in certain areas. These interventions have come with environmental consequences. The construction of these dams has drastically reduced the volume of water that flows downstream, with much of the river’s discharge no longer reaching the sea. A sharp decline in sediment levels has had cascading effects downstream, accelerating erosion on riverbanks and floodplains, and contributing to the degradation of estuaries and deltas.
Stretching for 3,915 miles and 3,395 miles, respectively the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers are entirely situated within China’s borders. This geographical advantage has allowed China to exercise comprehensive control over these rivers, enabling large-scale projects such as dams, reservoirs, and channelization initiatives. In contrast, Bangladesh faces significant limitations in managing its major rivers, such as the Ganges, Jamuna, and Meghna. Unlike China’s situation, these rivers flow through multiple countries, necessitating cross-border cooperation and agreements. This lack of unilateral control poses challenges for Bangladesh in implementing large-scale river management interventions akin to those seen in China.
China’s approach to river management significantly contrasts with Bangladesh’s practices, as it is rooted in an assertive, commercially driven model. While this strategy has enabled China to execute ambitious engineering feats, including large-scale dam construction, channelization, and hydropower projects, it has often faced criticism for its ecological and social repercussions. In recent years, dissent within China has been growing over the long-term sustainability and environmental impact of this approach, particularly concerning issues like sediment depletion, delta degradation, and downstream erosion.
This aggressive commercial perspective appears to be mirrored in the master plan for Bangladesh’s Teesta River, which was developed by Power China. The plan proposes to reduce the average width of the Teesta—a braided river characterized by its intricate network of channels—from approximately 3,000 meters to just 816 meters. Such a drastic narrowing raises serious questions about the river’s natural hydrological functions, ecological balance, and long-term viability. Braided rivers rely on their wide and dynamic nature to distribute sediment, manage flow during floods, and maintain their unique ecosystems. Constricting the Teesta could disrupt these essential processes, potentially exacerbating issues like waterlogging, erosion, and habitat loss.
Another critical concern is the lack of transparency surrounding the project. Neither Power China nor the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has publicly released a “feasibility report” that examines the technical, environmental, and socio-economic implications of this plan. This lack of information makes it challenging to assess the project’s practicality or predict its potential outcomes. The absence of such vital documentation casts a shadow of uncertainty over the objectives and motivations behind the recent public hearings on Power China’s Teesta proposal held in five districts.
In the past European experts have struggled to fully grasp Bangladesh’s unique environmental and socio-economic conditions. It is indeed unfortunate that, even after five decades of independence, Bangladesh continues to seek external assistance for essential planning in critical sectors such as river management. The Teesta project developed by Power China further underscores that initiatives heavily reliant on foreign companies are unlikely to achieve lasting success in managing Bangladesh’s rivers.