Funded by The Asia Foundation and Oxfam's TROSA Programme, the BRIDGE Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (BRIDGE GBM) project started in July 2016 and is now entering its second phase. The overall objective of the programme is to build the capacity of CSOs to catalyse cooperative water governance, long-term economic growth and livelihood security in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin shared by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal. The BRIDGE GBM project falls under the umbrella of the global Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) programme.
News stories
Meghna Knowledge Forum (MKF) 2021
MKF 2021 will support the identification of key knowledge gaps, and the development of potential partnerships to address these gaps. High-level government representatives will be invited to attend the event. The learning outcomes of the forum will be consolidated in a Symposium Book with abstracts and summaries for wider dissemination. Local media organisations will also be invited to help disseminate the knowledge presented at the forum.
A network of Civil Society Organisations reports on the application of Nature-based Solutions in the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna River Basin
May 2021: Working closely with ten organisations in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, the Building River Dialogue and Governance for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins (BRIDGE GBM) project, facilitated by IUCN, has documented case studies and lessons learned on Nature-Based Solutions (NbS).
Meghna Conversations webinar demonstrates the cultural and economic diversity of the Meghna River Basin
On 3 September 2020 — IUCN and Asian Confluence jointly hosted a webinar on “Celebrating the Meghna River- A Shared Heritage,” the first of three webinars in the Meghna Conversations series. The series aims to raise awareness of the cultural, social, and ecological values of the Meghna River and the need for cooperation among stakeholders to protect this diversity. More than 40 participants from Bangladesh and India joined the conversation online.
World Water Day: Applying nature-based solutions to improve water management in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna region
From 19 to 21 March 2019, the BRIDGE GBM Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Network, through the BRIDGE Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) programme facilitated by IUCN, organised a workshop in Sreemangal, Bangladesh, on the week of World Water Day. The workshop aimed to enhance CSO understanding of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), and help CSOs better document NbS best practices related to water management in the basin.
Civil Society Organisations: a catalyst for enhanced shared water governance in the GBM
January 2019: To emphasise the value of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) engagement in water governance and to promote the work of the GBM CSO Network, a setup of around thirty CSOs working in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, IUCN supported the development of several studies and stakeholders surveys in 2018.
New report lays groundwork for benefit sharing in Meghna River Basin
November 2018 - IUCN’s Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) project has developed a profile and preliminary scoping study on Benefit sharing opportunities in the Meghna Basin for Bangladesh and India. The document is the first of its kind to address the lack of literature and dialogue on cooperative governance using a ‘benefit sharing’ approach in the Meghna Basin.
Mekong and Brahmaputra-Meghna Basins: Opportunity to collaborate and improve transboundary water management.
November 2018: 20 representatives from civil society, government, and the academic sector, representing seven countries which are part of the Mekong and Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basins, met in Bangkok to identify cross-basin learning and collaboration opportunities. The event was co-organised by the IUCN BRIDGE Programme and the Asian Confluence, India.
Media and CSOs: Collaboration for the future of Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins
August 2018: Conservation and governance practitioners are often so focussed on implementing their projects that they sometimes forget about the importance of integrating strategic communications into their projects to help them achieve their goals. To reinforce this point, IUCN Asia and the BRIDGE Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) programme organised a learning exchange event on media engagement in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 29 June.
Civil Society Organisations launch vision for cooperative governance of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basins
October 2017: Cooperative governance of the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna Basins (GBM) region was strengthened through the recent launch of a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) vision for improved transboundary water management. The vision, which was developed by a network of over 25 CSOs from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, China and Nepal, was launched at the NADI 2 Friendship Forum Dialogue in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 10 October.
IUCN video highlights key success factors for sustainable shared water resources management
March 2017: A new video on the importance of transboundary cooperation for equitable and sustainable water resources development was launched today by IUCN, on the occasion of World Water Day.
BRIDGE Meghna in the news
Reports and other documents
- BRIDGE GBM Overview
- BRIDGE GBM Flyer
- Video: Meghna Knowledge Forum 2021: The Call for Transboundary Cooperation (2022)
- Operationalising IWRM through multi-level cooperation and benefit sharing in the Meghna River Basin (2022)
- Key messages and recommendations from the Meghna Knowledge Forum (2021)
- GBM CSO Survey Report
- Strengthening CSO engagement - Summary Report
- GBM CSO Ntework - M&E Framework
- Governance of the Ganges River Basin
- Nature-based Solutions in the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna (GBM) river basin
Latest news stories
The River Game: Connecting Children and Youth to River through Edutainment
October 2021: It has often been discussed that children and youth need to be connected to nature for restoring the degraded river ecosystems meaningfully and sustainably. However, the ways of connecting them are sometimes designed without their participation. Experience shows that if adult learning methods are used for children and youth, it becomes difficult to create awareness among them.