Water for growth and development in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna basins: an economic perspective

Figures & data

Figure 1 Annual precipitation in the GBM region. Adapted from Bandyopadhyay (1995).

Table 1 Catchment area, population, and water resources in the GBM basins

				Hydropower potential^a (million kW)
Country	Drainage area (million hectare)	Population, 2010 (millions)	Arable land (million hectare)	Brahmaputra	Ganges
China (TAR)	32.6	1.8	Negligible	110
India	110.5	463.24	67.2	66	13
Bhutan	4.5	0.7	0.2	30
Nepal	14.0	30.05	2.6		83
Bangladesh	12.9	123	9.1	Negligible
Total	174.5	618.79	79.1	206	96

Sources: Rangachari and Verghese (2001), Brichieri-Colombi and Bradnock (2003), Rahaman (2009); population figures from FAO (2012).

^aHydropower potential in the Meghna basin is negligible.

Table 2 Socio-economic status of the GBM countries

Socio-economic features	Bhutan	Bangladesh	India	Nepal
Estimated population in millions, 2008	0.7	160	1140	28.8
Population annual growth rate, 2008 (2008)	1.6	1.6	1.4	1.7
Dietary energy consumption, 2006−2008 (kcal/person/day)		2270	2360	2340
Undernourishment in total population, 2006−2008 (%)	n/a	26	19	17
Life expectancy at birth (year) (2012)	67.6	69.2	65.4	69.1
Infant mortality rate, 2011 (per 1000 live births)	54	46	61	48
Maternal mortality rate, 2011 (per 100,000 live births)	180	240	200	170
Access to safe water, 2006 (%)	80	80	86	89
Access to sanitation, 2006 (%)	52	36	28	27
Prevalence of child malnutrition under age 5, 2004 (%)	40.0	43.0	44.9	50.5
Non-literate adults, 2007 (%)	n/a	53	66	57
Population below national poverty line (%)	23.2 (2010)	31.5 (2007)	29.8 (2006)	25.2 (2011)
Population below PPP USD 1.25 a day (%)	10.2 (2010)	43.3 (2007)	32.7 (2006)	24.8 (2011)
Per capita GDP PPS, 2008	1900	520	1040	400
Human development index, 2012	0.538	0.515	0.554	0.463
Gender inequality index, 2012	0.464	0.518	0.610	0.485
Access to electricity, 2010 (% of population)	n/a	46.5	70	76.3
Per capita electricity consumption, 2011 (kWh)	236	274	626	103
Energy use, 2010 (kilogram oil equivalent per capita)	n/a	205	575	381
Annual freshwater withdrawal for agriculture (% of total freshwater withdrawal)	94	88	90	98

Source: World Bank (2013) and UNDP (2013).

Note: PPP = purchasing power parity; GDP PPS = gross domestic product purchasing power standards.

Table 3 Water resources and their development in the GBM river system

River basin	Total renewable water resources (BCM)	Potentially usable water resources (BCM)	Per capita water availability (m^3)	Water withdrawals (BCM)	Sown area (million hectare)	Irrigated area (million hectare)	Water resources developed (%)	Surface storage potential (BCM)
Ganges	525.0	386.5	1039	266.8	44.99	22.41	44	94.35
Brahmaputra	585.6	77.9	11,782	9.9	3.50	0.85	11	52.94
Meghna	48.4	10.2	n/a	2.4	0.94	0.22	15	n/a

Source: Amarasinghe et al. (2005) and Gaur and Amarasinghe (2011).

Table 4 Hydropower potential and per cent exploited in South Asian countries

Country	Total hydropower potential (MW)	Economically feasible potential (MW)	Actual installed hydropower capacity (MW)	Currently exploited (% of total potential)	Currently exploited (% of economically feasible potential)
Nepal	83,280	43,000	658	0.8	1.5
India	149,000	84,000	24,630	16.5	29.3
Bhutan	50,000	23,760	1465	2.9	6.2
Bangladesh	800	n/a	180	22.5	n/a

Source: Pokharel (2010) and Vaidya (2012).

Table 5 Economic and social costs of natural disasters in the GBM countries

		People affected per annum on average			Economic loss (annual average from 1971 to 2008)
Country	Mortality 1971–2008 (average no. of people dying annually)	Drought (2000)	Floods and storms (2000)	Share of population (%)	Droughts (million USD)	Floods and storms (million USD)	Largest loss per event (% of GDP)
Bangladesh	5673	658	8751	9.1	0	445.6	9.8
India	2497	25,294	22,314	7.2	61.6	1055.4	2.5
Nepal	137	121	87	2.0	0.3	25.8	24.6

Source: World Bank (2010).

Figure 2 Population affected by floods in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal from 1950 to 2000.

Source: Based on data from Mirza et al. (2001).

Figure 3 India's National Waterway No. 1.

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