“There Is No Governance”: Drinking Water Governance in Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

Most empirical research on drinking water governance and regional transformations in Bangladesh has focused on developed and urban regions. We focus on coastal rural areas to address this gap and employ a three-step methodology for the systematic analysis of the broader and site-specific drinking water landscape, involving (i) stakeholder analysis and mapping to identify key actors and characteristics, (ii) field work to identify case study sites, meet stakeholders and identify local water technologies, and (iii) in-depth analysis, triangulating stakeholders, drinking water technologies and governance structures, to identify synergies, differences, gaps and overlaps within them. Taking four different but illustrative case study areas in the Southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh, we identify key stakeholders and capture the multiplicity and dynamism of governance models. We provide the first in-depth mapping of the drinking water landscape in coastal rural Bangladesh. Results reveal a fragmented rural water governance landscape, marked by failed or non-functional technologies due to disputes, poor maintenance, high costs, and lack of accountability after project completion, leaving communities to seek alternative water resources for themselves. We argue that informal water provision currently needs to exist beyond well-known governance models due to system inefficiencies and short legacies of implemented technologies. As the water deficit is predicted to increase, it is imperative to identify the complexities and inefficiencies in governance structures to construct collaborative, sustainable approaches to ensuring drinking water security.