III. INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS INTO DECISION- MAKING FOR FLOOD LOSS REDUCTION

[ III-A | III-B | III-C | III-D | III-E | III-F | III-G ]

C. Integration at the national level

[ C-1 | C-2 ]

2. Water sector plan

Formulation: The broad national objectives set out in the five-year plan need to be translated into a sector plan including specific output goals such as increases in irrigation and FCD coverage. The National Water Plan (NWP) of 1991 provided a 20-year plan (1991-2010) for the water sector where the plan is based on resource conditions and opportunities for development at a particular time and, in effect, clarifies the degree to which water development can contribute to the overall national objectives.

The measure of economic suitability used in the NWP is the net present value ratio (NPVR). The NPVR measures the net increase in national income (value added in agriculture) per unit of expenditure of the Bangladesh development budget. Ranking projects according to their NPVR serves the purpose of allocating the capital budget to those projects which will contribute the most to national income. The NWP used an Investment Analysis Model to schedule the investment programme for flood control, drainage and irrigation projects over the 20-year plan period.

The NWP recognized the heightened awareness of the Government regarding the importance of preserving the environment of Bangladesh as reflected in the fourth five-year plan. Although no specific environmental protection plan was developed in the NWP, concern for the environment was an important factor throughout the planning process.

Strategy: The Water and Flood Management Strategy (WFMS) of 1995 acknowledged that awareness of environmental issues has become more pronounced through studies under FAP and NEMAP. Consequently, a reformulation of the national water planning goals and objectives has now become necessary to guide future planning efforts and to produce an integrated national plan.

WFMS formulated short-term and long-term strategies in this regard. The short-term strategies (1995-2000) focus mainly on the preparation of an integrated national water management plan (NWMP) as mentioned in Sec. 4.1.5. A broad-based NWMP will be guided by the goals and objectives of the National Water Policy, which is yet to be formulated. The water management plan will cover many more aspects than just the issue of flooding.

The approach to long-term planning would involve; (a) formulating a comprehensive set of criteria and time horizons for specific application in water resource planning and management, using a fifty-year time horizon, (b) full accounting of social costs and externalities and linkages, and improving the quality and implementation speed of schemes; and (c) evolving policies that meet the time requirements and adjust to the need for decentralization, privatization, stakeholder participation, cost recovery, sustainablity and public accountability.

Institution: A macro-level planning exercise for long-term water resources development is carried out by the Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) under the Ministry of Water Resources. The WARPO came into being in 1991. WFMS observes that the national capacity for sectoral planning with inter-sectoral priorities, particularly at WARPO, is weak. It has also been suggested that it would be preferable for WARPO to be placed under the Ministry of Planning instead of the Ministry of Water Resources. This step would evidently minimize sectoral bias regarding development of water resources in favor of agricultural purposes only.

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