Finance Minister Salfur Rahman's call at the 47th annual session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) for multilateral cooperation to develop the region's water resources, is a welcome one. Such a move, encompassing the establishment of a regional water transport centre in Dhaka, would benefit not only deltaic Bangladesh, but also upper riparian countries such as India and Nepal. Setting up of such a centre has been on ESCAP agenda for several years, but nothing concrete has come out of the discussion due to lack of consensus.

The case for a regional approach to development of water resources with financial, technical and managerial assistance from the United Nations, is a particularly strong one for the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent where two mighty river systems, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, flow through several countries. The Issue is a crucial one for Bangladesh where water (or the lack of it) can make or break people's lives.

The Mekong Regional Development programme involving four countries of South East Asia, is an example of how a Joint approach could work for the benefit of all.

In the context of the subcontinent, one of the main objections, raised by India, to the idea of a water transport centre is based on the lack of data. However, that is perhaps the reason why such a centre has become an urgent necessity. At present, hardly any mechanism exists to manage rivers and utilise water for development purposes. The lack of research has left all affected countries, and not Just Bangladesh, without any information on which to base future plans. It is vital, as ESCAP has recognised time and again in the past, to build institutions with the objective of research into and development of water resources.

Studies commissioned by ESCAP also show that if located in Bangladesh, the proposed centre would be able to meet all its objectives. Under the circumstances, it is not conducive to the interests of any country to delay commissioning of the centre.

This multilateralist approach need not be at the expense of any bilateral cooperation or negotiation pursued by countries of the region. The two approaches are quite compatible and can proceed simultaneously. The role of the UN or Its affiliated bodies is important because of the technical help and vital information the world body could provide.

Furthermore, the centre is not envisaged to be a political body: it will primarily be a vehicle for regional development with no secondary role. Because of the multi-national character of rivers, a regional approach would be an efficient one, and beneficial to all states concerned.