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INTRODUCTION
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A. Flood control in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a lower riparian country of the three greatest rivers of
the world - the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. The total catchment
area of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system stands at 1.74 million
km2 covering areas of China, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh
of which only 8 per cent lies within Bangladesh (Figure 1). The floodplain
of these rivers and their numerous tributaries and distributaries covers
about four-fifths of the country. The major part of Bangladesh is deltaic
which was built up and gradually raised through several million years by
the silt carried by the rivers from the mountains on the three sides of
the Bengal Basin, and mainly from the Himalayas. As a result of flat topography
of the floodplain, one-fifth to one-third of the country is annually flooded
by overflowing rivers during monsoon when the rainfall within the country
is also very high. This annual phenomenon of river flooding plays a vital
role in the floodplain eco-system. For generations, floodplain inhabitants
of Bangladesh have adapted to the annual floods through numerous indigenous
strategies in order to reap benefit from this recurring natural phenomenon.
It becomes a major public concern when their adjustment ability is surpassed
by occasional large floods which cause damage to the marginal resources.
With the increase in population and growth of physical infrastructure,
vulnerability of the society to such floods has also grown considerably.
Figure 1. Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins
Large scale investment in flood control projects began with the adoption
of a Master Plan in 1964 with the single
objective of increasing agricultural production to meet the increasing
demand of rice by a rapidly growing population. There are histories of
both success and failure with these projects. Several studies highlighting
the experiences of flood control interventions have proved that it is difficult
to achieve the economic objectives of the projects without giving due consideration
to hydraulic, social and environmental impacts of the project. This realization
has brought changes in the policy of the Government in recent years. Environmental
impact assessment and people's participation are now considered as essential
components of the project planning process.
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