About the Coastal Water Convention

Life in coastal Bangladesh is changing. Rivers, ponds, and canals that once carried fresh water are turning salty. Fields remain waterlogged for months. Cyclones, tidal surges, and creeping sea-level rise are reshaping where and how people live. For millions in the southwest coastal belt, water is no longer just a resource — it is the frontline of the climate crisis.

The Coastal Water Convention (CWC) is a platform born from this reality. It brings together communities, local and national government, civil society, researchers, and development partners to protect coastal water ecosystems and ensure that people living closest to the coast are not left behind.

Why Coastal Water Matters

The southwest coastal region of Bangladesh spans six districts, covering 15,000 square kilometres and home to nearly 13 million people. Their culture, livelihoods and daily life are deeply tied to rivers, canals, wetlands, and the Sundarbans mangrove forest.

These water-dependent ecosystems are under severe stress due to:

• Salinity intrusion
• Siltation and waterlogging
• Pollution and unplanned embankments
• Upstream river diversions
• Growing climate impacts

As ecosystems degrade, poverty deepens, safe drinking water becomes harder to access, farming and fishing become more uncertain, and climate-induced displacement accelerates.

The Coastal Water Convention exists to confront these interconnected problems and turn local realities into national and global action.

A Platform Rooted in Justice and Rights

From its beginning, CWC has carried a clear message:

“Water is not only an economic commodity; it is a right and a shared responsibility.”

1st Convention (2011)

Theme: “Water is not a commercial product; it is a right.”

It drew national attention to the unique ecology of the southwest coast, local dependence on water, and rising climate-related disaster risks.

2nd Convention (2019)

Theme: “Water Justice in Development Progress.”

It deepened debates on governance, equity, private sector roles, technology for vulnerable groups, and conservation of water ecology.

Together, these conventions elevated coastal water issues nationally and internationally and created a rare space where coastal communities could speak directly to policy makers, experts, and development partners.

CWC 2026: Conserve Water Ecosystems Towards Sustainable Development

The 3rd Coastal Water Convention will take place on 24–26 January 2026 in Khulna, Bangladesh, under the working theme:

“Conserve Water Ecosystems Towards Sustainable Development”

CWC 2026 is designed as a problem-driven, solution-focused gathering. It will examine:

• Degrading water ecosystems
• Fragmented and inequitable water governance
• Climate risks that exceed local capacity
• Exclusion of women, youth, and marginalized groups from water-related decision-making

It will also highlight what is working:

• Community innovation
• Nature-based solutions
• Local leadership
• Youth action
• Partnerships that put ecosystems and people first

How CWC Connects to the SDGs

The Convention directly links with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by advancing:

SDG 6 — Clean Water and Sanitation

• Rights-based and ecosystem-sensitive water governance
• Coastal WASH challenges
• Protection of water-related ecosystems

SDG 13 — Climate Action

• Climate-resilient water systems
• Locally led adaptation
• Loss and damage, and climate finance for coastal communities

SDG 14 & 15 — Life Below Water & Life on Land

• Coastal and marine ecosystem health
• River and canal restoration
• Nature-based solutions including mangrove and wetland conservation

Cross-cutting SDGs (1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 16, 17)

• Poverty and food security
• Gender and social inclusion
• Resilient settlements
• Strong, participatory institutions
• Partnerships for sustainable development

CWC uses water ecosystems as a lens to bring these SDGs together in one place: the coast.

Thematic Areas of CWC 2026

The 2026 Convention is organised around four interlinked thematic areas:

1. Water & Climate Change

Understanding how salinity, cyclones, storm surges, waterlogging, and sea-level rise are transforming coastal life — and identifying nature-based and climate-resilient solutions.

2. Water Governance

Exploring how decisions about water are made, who is included or excluded, and how to build accountable, transparent, and participatory governance systems.

3. Water Ecosystems & the SDGs

Ensuring that development, infrastructure, and the “blue economy” do not undermine ecosystem health, biodiversity, or livelihoods.

4. Adaptive & Transformative Learning — Lives & Livelihoods

Highlighting locally led adaptation, community innovations, social protection, youth and women-led enterprises, fisher and farmer safety, and digital tools for long-term change.

Cross-cutting themes: gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), disability inclusion, indigenous knowledge, conflict sensitivity, human rights, and climate finance.

Who Comes to the Coastal Water Convention?

CWC brings together actors who rarely meet in the same space:

• Coastal communities
• Local government and national policy makers
• NGOs, CSOs, and social movements
• Researchers, academics and technical experts
• Media and storytellers
• Private sector actors and development partners

Women, youth, people with disabilities, indigenous and marginalized groups are placed at the centre, not the margins. Their lived experience grounds discussions on policy, finance, and technology.

What We Aim to Achieve

The Coastal Water Convention is not only an event — it is a process and a platform.

With CWC 2026, we aim to:

• Turn local realities and evidence into clear policy messages and practical recommendations
• Scale locally led, climate-smart water and livelihood solutions
• Strengthen partnerships that mobilise resources and political will
• Build long-term learning spaces that continue beyond the event

Above all, CWC seeks to ensure that conserving coastal water ecosystems and securing people’s rights to water move forward together.

In doing so, the Convention supports Bangladesh’s progress toward the SDGs and a more just, climate-resilient future for its coastal people.