Press Release No. G/38/00
22 September 2000
OF THE CAUSES OF FLOODS IN THE REGION
Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) --- Deforestation may be one of the principal causes of floods in the Greater Mekong Subregion, experts at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) say.
Forests have reduced in most countries from 70 per cent of land area in 1945 to about 25 per cent in 1995, ESCAP states. The other causes: reduction in river channels and drainage system, reclamation of floodplains and wetlands, rapid expansion of urban and residential areas and frequent occurrence of extreme weather conditions and unusual rainfall patterns.
"Floods continue to be one of the most severe annual disasters in Asia. The intensity of flood disasters appears to have increased in the region in the past decade, especially during the past few years. These annual flood disasters have caused increasingly serious social and economic impacts in the developing countries and aggravated poverty in the region," said ESCAP's Executive Secretary Mr Kim Hak-Su. "In recognition of the serious impacts of flood on the process of economic and social development of the countries in the region, ESCAP recently implemented a project to promote regional cooperation in flood control and management in Asia and the Pacific. And we hope this will be useful for the communities."
Efforts have been made by ESCAP and other international organizations to strengthen regional cooperation on flood control and management within the framework of a strategic planning and management process for regional development: vision building, priority setting and common-goal setting. This was the first such initiative of its kind to review and publish, in a recent special publication, experiences in regional cooperation in flood control and management at the regional, national and basin levels.
Because of the financial and resource constraints Governments should consider realistic targets to reduce damage, increase disaster awareness and improve forecasting systems, the ESCAP report states. "Realistic targets, for example, are provision of infrastructure for 100 per cent protection of residential areas by 2010 or the improvement of flood forecasting by 50 per cent for agricultural areas by 2005," said an ESCAP flood expert.
In appreciation of the initiative of His Majesty the King of Thailand in promoting regional cooperation on flood control and management, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, presented this special publication, containing ideas and strategies for further strengthening regional cooperation, to His Majesty in February 2000.
A 1998 ESCAP regional survey identified floods as the most common disaster experienced practically in all the countries surveyed. The floods in 1998 caused nearly 7,000 deaths, more than 6 million houses were damaged and nearly 25 million hectares of crops were destroyed in Bangladesh, China, India and Viet Nam. The total economic damage was estimated at US$23 billion.