The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently launched a report and preliminary study on benefit sharing opportunities in the Meghna Basin for Bangladesh and India. Governance based on ‘benefit sharing’ is more holistic than traditional governance, which has historically been about allocating water. ‘Benefit sharing’ accounts for all ecosystem services the river basin provides. The report first consolidates information on the basin’s geophysical, ecological and cultural value to create a comprehensive profile of the basin. It then scopes out the variety of benefits provided by the basin and articulates the opportunities for these benefits to be maximised through joint development. In the Meghna Basin, these opportunities include improved resilience to flood and erosion, food self-sufficiency and security, conservation of the basin’s cultural and ecological diversity, and diversification of trade between Bangladesh and India.
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