By David Mornout, Alamgir Chowdhury, and Enamul Huda
Greater Rajshahi – also known as a major mango-producing area of Bangladesh – lies in the Barind region of Bangladesh. The Barind region, located in the northwestern part of Bangladesh is characterized by its vast stretches of barren lands, frequent droughts, and limited availability of water resources. Rainfall is unevenly distributed and mostly comes during the monsoon season, from June to September. While the landscape bursts with green during the monsoon season from June to September, water scarcity dominates the rest of the year.
Mango trees in Godagari Upazila, Rajshai (photo: David Mornout, MetaMeta)
In response, the “Green Roads for Water” concept proposes an innovative solution: using road infrastructure not just for transport, but as tools for harvesting and storing water. Rather than allowing rainwater to rush off into canals and rivers, it can be redirected, stored, and used to recharge depleted aquifers
The challenge is thus not only to capture the rainfall runoff but also to store it for later use. Runoff in the landscape that is guided by road infrastructure can be stored in three different ways:
- In surface storage structures such as ponds and converted borrow pits.
- Spread over land areas and used to replenish soil moisture, for example, as rain-fed cultivation or rangeland improvement, or retained by bunds, terraces, or micro-basins.
- Routed to recharge areas where it will replenish shallow aquifers; water can be pumped up from shallow aquifers for later use.
By systematically using the extensive road infrastructure for water harvesting and supporting groundwater recharge the drought crisis in the Barind can be addressed.
Bridge for cross-drainage on a road in Godigari Upazila, with potential to be re-purposed for water retention functions.
To read and watch more about Green Roads for Water in Bangladesh, please take a look at our webpage on this topic: Bangladesh | Green Roads for Water – Green Roads for Water.
