Bangladesh becomes first South Asian nation to join UN Water Convention

Bangladesh, a delta country characterized by its extensive transboundary river systems, has become on 23 June 2025 the first South Asian country, and 56th overall, to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UN Water Convention).

For Bangladesh, a country defined by its rivers and situated in a complex geopolitical region on the frontlines of global climate change, transboundary water management is a lifeline to peace and prosperity.

Fifty-seven transboundary rivers flow through the country, including the vast Ganges (Padma)-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river system spanning China, Nepal, Bhutan, India and emptying into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh, where it forms one of the largest and most intricate deltas in the world.

Hence why Bangladesh understands the critical need for effective cooperation and dialogue with neighboring countries to ensure sustainable and equitable water management at national and transboundary scales.

This imperative is heightened by severe climate change impacts exacerbating droughts in summer and flooding during monsoon season, and increasingly unpredictable water flows. Sea-level rise and salt-water intrusion in the Delta further compound impacts on lives and livelihoods.

Bangladesh, one of the world’s 44 Least Developed Countries with a population of over 170 million people, faces significant water-related challenges. Nearly 60% of Bangladesh’s population is exposed to high flood risk, more than any other country in the world except the Netherlands. Some 45% are exposed to high fluvial flood risk, the highest proportion in the world.

Floods submerge 20–25% of Bangladesh’s land area every year on average, and when extreme flood events occur they submerge 55–60% of the country. More than 65 million people still lack access to safely managed sanitation.

UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean stated “I welcome Bangladesh as the first country in South Asia to join the UN Water Convention. Faced with climate change impacts and increasing pressure on water resources, more and more states around the world are harnessing the UN Water Convention to strengthen cross-border cooperation. I encourage all governments to make the most of this global treaty and participate in its work”.

Bangladesh’s Adviser for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ms Syeda Rizwana Hasan, highlighted this milestone for the country and the region, “Climate change, population growth, and increasing demand for water highlights the urgency of responsible and cooperative transboundary water management. By learning from international best practices and the UN Water Convention, we can develop policies and strategies that can ensure water security for our people.”

The UN Water Convention is an effective global legal and intergovernmental framework and a unique platform within the UN system to support cooperation and sustainable management of shared surface and ground waters. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called upon all UN member states to join and implement the Convention.

Bangladesh’s accession follows a National Workshop on the UN Water Convention on the 24 March held in Dhaka, the capital.

The national workshop was one in a series of events and meetings attended by the Convention Secretariat in South Asia to showcase the Convention during March 2025. The South Asia region possesses tremendous potential for mutual benefit through collaboration in transboundary rivers.

Advisor Hasan added “We recognize that sustainable water management is not only a national concern but a regional and global issue.” Bangladesh has existing transboundary water agreements and institutions, notably the Joint Rivers Commission with India.

Bangladesh has been participating in Convention activities since 2012 and participated in the 10th Meeting of the Parties to the Convention in Slovenia in October 2024.

Sonja Koeppel, Secretary to the UN Water Convention, congratulated Bangladesh on its accession and encouraged other South Asian countries and UN Member States globally “to engage in the future meetings and events of the Convention, to see how they can benefit from the only intergovernmental platform for transboundary water in the UN system.”

“The UN system stands ready to support you- in line with the UN system-wide strategy on Water and Sanitation and in the run-up to the next UN Water conference, scheduled for 2 to 4 December 2026 in the United Arab Emirates.”