Riverbank erosion is a major problem caused by the large rivers in Bangladesh. The hazard has severe consequences for the livelihood of those living on nearby floodplains. While normal floods are considered beneficial to agriculture and fisheries, erosion and continuous river-widening cause the loss of important infrastructure as well as highly productive agricultural land, and it threatens settlements. Erosion will continue to impact on those living on the increasingly densely populated floodplains, and is likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Uncontrolled and increased riverbank erosion increases the risk of flood damage, apart from the loss of vital infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, further investments are deferred and the full agricultural potential of the fertile floodplains cannot be tapped. As a consequence, crop production tends to remain below the average in some of the most fertile parts of the country, and poverty remains an unavoidable problem.
A survey shows that about 1 million people are annually affected and displaced by riverbank erosion. Of them, about 0.3 million are homeless people and those without resources take shelter in shanty dwellings on river embankments, government 'khas' land or roads; the rest try to settle in different cities or again in their villages. It is difficult, indeed, to reduce poverty in a country, where every year 1 million people i.e. 0.63 per cent of the population now standing at 160 million, lose shelter and resources anew.
According to the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) forecasts, the value of 4000 hectares of land and dwelling houses is about Tk 15 billion. In addition, the 14.5-kilometre roads, educational institutions, mosques, marketplaces, offices etc are worth another Tk 15 billion. Apart from the instantaneous value of arable land and homesteads of 1 million people, the value loss for their agricultural and other products may amount to another Tk 10 million due to riverbank erosion. So, the annual total financial loss stands at about Tk 40 billion, which is 2 per cent of the estimated national budget.
Up to May 18 last more than five hundred homesteads and 2,500 acres of cropland in 10 villages under four unions in Daulatpur Upazila in Munshiganj district disappeared into the River Jamuna due to riverbank erosion. Apart from this, there are many large and small rivers to wreak similar devastations. This happens just before the beginning of the monsoon.
Even though a large amount of money is earmarked every year in the national budget for poverty eradication, the fact is if 1 million people become destitute and poor every year, it will be impossible to wipe out poverty in the 100 years to come. The problems that crop up from riverbank erosion are not akin to diseases which can be cured by applying medicines. The problem lies with addressing the difficulties such as want of food and shelters, about which the affected had not have to bother before. A large amount of money is required to be spent to rehabilitate the shelter-less people anew who need food aid also.
Moreover, apart from food and shelter, they become deprived of fundamental and social advantages and services such as education, healthcare etc. Even though they are initially provided with food, such as rice and pulses, it is not easy to provide them with agricultural land and homesteads. Land is required to meet the demands for homesteads for the people displaced by riverbank erosion. It is not possible to provide 1 million people with lands from the government's khas land every year to build dwellings since this volume of land is not there in the possession of the government. As a consequence, the only way to protect 1 million people from falling into the trap of poverty every year anew is to prevent riverbank erosion. Since fighting the loss caused by riverbank erosion is difficult, the only alternative solution to the problem is to prevent it.
It is necessary to apply modern technology to prevent riverbank erosion by modernising the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). Though the responsibility of the BWDB is to supervise the construction of embankments, hard points etc and to take measures so that riverbank erosion may be prevented throughout the year, the organisation remains active mainly during the monsoon only. It is necessary to construct permanent and durable R.C.C. embankments with the help of, if necessary, foreign aid since the construction of permanent embankments requires a large amount of money, instead of taking temporary measures to that end. The country may be saved from the loss caused by riverbank erosion by constructing 50 kilometres of permanent and durable embankments every year, instead of constructing 100 kilometres of temporary embankments.
Such embankments will have to be built with the help of expert engineers, either local or foreign, by earmarking at least Tk 25 billion every year under the Annual Development Programme (ADP). From the viewpoint of expenditures for this purpose, the equation stands that if the country is to be saved from a loss of Tk 40 billion per year, an allotment of at least half the amount should be made. This will enable the country to construct permanent embankments, about 2 per cent of the rivers on both sides each year, so that 100 per cent riverbank erosion control is possible within 50 years.
Appropriate planning is necessary for providing permanent solution to the riverbank erosion problem by considering it as a serious catastrophe, and an impediment to poverty alleviation in the country. On the other hand, measures need to be taken to distribute and allot the char lands emerging through riverbank erosion among the affected people in due course of time. Equitable distribution of the char lands among the erosion-affected people will be hampered if they are occupied by land grabbers, and in that case it will never be possible to eradicate poverty from the country.
Some measures to solve the problem of riverbank erosion in Bangladesh are already continuing with external assistance at low costs. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) teamed up in riverbank protection from 2001, and recently the World Bank expressed its interest. The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) finance supporting components, focusing on biodiversity and erosion prediction and warning. Specifically, the ADB initiative of the Jamuna-Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project is strongly based on the experience gained through the KfW-supported FAP 21/22. Continued systematic development of technologies piloted under FAP 21/22 has reduced the cost to US$ 2.5 million per kilometre, and as such allows the stabilisation of longer reaches for predominantly agricultural areas to be economically viable. As a consequence, the limited "Hard Point" approach has been largely abandoned, and the protection and stabilisation of longer reaches is now envisaged.
The outcome of the ADB-financed project is an approved "Guideline for Riverbank Protection", and helps provide regular annual erosion prediction for the major rivers of Bangladesh, both building on earlier work initiated by German consultants. The ADB presently plans to continue and expand the Jamuna-Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project with developments towards flood and riverbank erosion risk management in order to arrive at a more predictable river behaviour and stability for the sustainable development, as well as poverty eradication of the ever-increasing population living on the fertile floodplains.
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The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre
Email: [email protected]
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