IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Bangladesh is a densely-populated, lower riparian deltaic country with extensive floodplains of the three greatest rivers of the world - the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. The floodplains of these rivers and their numerous tributaries and distributaries cover about four-fifths of the country. The rivers, the floodplains, the underlying aquifer, the Bay of Bengal and the estuaries form a composite hydraulic system which has many resources of ecological importance and also supports many functions. The annual phenomenon of flooding of the floodplains by overflowing rivers during monsoons, and the daily phenomenon of flooding and draining in tidal zones, play an important role in nourishing and maintaining the balance of the ecosystem.

From one-fifth to one-third of the country is flooded to varying degrees each year. The percentage of non-crop flood damage is much higher than crop damage. The total flood damage was US$ 774.68 million in 1988, which experienced extensive flooding, and US$ 8.42 million in 1994 when only minor flooding occurred. Loss, as a percentage of GDP, was 5.09 in 1988 and only 0.04 in 1994. Cyclonic storm surge flooding in coastal areas causes huge loss of human life in addition to extensive property damage. The 1991 cyclone caused the death of 140,000 people and the total loss to the economy was US$ 1,385 million.

The structural flood control measures for protection against river flooding is provided mainly by earthen embankments. Drainage facilities are provided to mitigate rainfall flooding. Non-structural measures include flood forecasting and warning, flood preparedness and flood proofing. Shelters are constructed to provide refuge to vulnerable segments of the population during cyclonic storm surge flooding.

Most of the flood control and drainage projects are designed to give protection to agricultural land. Over the last 30 years, flood control and drainage facilities have been provided to 60 per cent of the flood potential area. Individual projects, in general, have protected crops against flooding. However, the impact on net crop production remains uncertain.

The flood control projects have increased the risks of flooding downstream. The projects have also raised river-bed levels causing drainage congestion in many places. Many of the ecological resources, most notably fisheries, have been depleted. The importance of mitigating this loss is reflected in recent flood control projects where fish-friendly water-control structures have been constructed under pilot programmes. Quality of life has in general improved within project areas due to reduced flooding and increased employment opportunities. Loss of land to project works and consequent population displacement and inequitable distribution of project benefits and adverse effects have, however, given rise to social discontent in many project areas.

The broad lessons which can be drawn from the case studies of three successful and four unsuccessful projects are that projects are successful when

An analysis of successful and unsuccessful projects reveals that it is difficult to achieve the economic objectives of the projects without giving due consideration to the environment. All benefits, disadvantages and risks, including those from flood protection, should be appropriately quantified and priced as far as possible. In this respect, planning studies for future flood control projects need to ensure:

Realizing the far-reaching implications of the environmental impacts of flood control activities over the last 30 years, manuals for environmental impact assessment and people's participation and guidelines for project assessment have been put into practice in recent years. These manuals and guidelines have made the task of environmentally sustainable project planning easier to a large extent in respect of methodological posture and institutional procedure. However, the effectiveness of these manuals and guidelines will be fully apparent only after a number of years have passed. Modification through feed-back from the monitoring of programmes is desirable in order to increase and refine the effectiveness of the manuals and guidelines.

The policy of the government regarding flooding has gradually shifted from a narrow focus on flood control to flood management and further to water management over the years. The document on Bangladesh Water and Flood Management Strategy approved in 1995 reflects this shift. It has given a framework for incorporating cross-sectoral demands and environmental concerns, as well as public views and opinions. However, much remains to be done in terms of enhancing programme linkages for both on-site and off-site environmental impacts of flood mitigation measures. The commitment to preserve the environment is reflected in a law enacted in 1995 which stipulates the necessity for environmental clearance in the project approval process. Planning and implementation of environmentally sustainable flood loss-reduction measures will require the restructuring of existing macro planning organization, as well as reinforcement and readjustment of existing institutional linkages. There is a need for effective institutional arrangements for establishing linkages among various agencies so that the critical link between policy objectives and field level performance can be achieved.

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