River training and accreting new lands
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Habibul Bashar
BANGLADESH needs better water management. In order to do so, the country needs stronger planning and implementation agencies and capacities. But relevant organisations in Bangladesh are struggling due to lack of manpower and lack of resources. This needs to be addressed.
Food security and climate change are staring us in the face. Bangladesh needs to be much more actively engaged in a framework of cooperation with countries like the Netherlands that have had the most success in training rivers and accreting lands from the seas. Significant allocations will have to be made in the national budgets progressively from now on to spend on river training and land accretion.
The Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna and their tributaries do devour every year a considerable area of land in Bangladesh. River erosion affects vast tracts of this land-scarce country, having one of the highest densities of population in the world. But the rivers flowing through Bangladesh can be 'trained' to prevent this considerably. Plans can be implemented to check the spread of the rivers. Also, the experiences of other countries which have addressed similar problems show that it is not always the best policy to only fight against nature. In order to be successful, it is imperative also to 'Build with Nature'. And that principle needs to be applied vigorously in Bangladesh more than in other countries.
This approach, Building with Nature, has huge potential for river management, as well as for the formation of new lands in Bangladesh. One may cite here the case of two cross dams that were constructed near Noakhali in the 1960s. Today, these dams have led to the creation of over 100,000 hectares of new land. If this principle of Building with Nature is applied actively and consistently, Bangladesh can gain new land every year. By harnessing the sediments carried by the rivers, it can outpace sea-level rise.
In this context, the relevant plans in Bangladesh should be framed urgently to facilitate financing for a comprehensive 20- or 30-year development vision for its water resources sector. For their effectiveness, such plans will have to be financed domestically and also with external aid. And these should provide for comprehensive and not stand-alone projects.
The plans will need to be targeted for implementation over a period of decades. This means that consecutive governments must commit to them. This also means that the political parties of today must commit themselves to its principle. Parties, having long-term vision and a strong will among their core leaders to translate the same into action, is needed for the purpose. The country's political leadership must think beyond typical party boundaries to deliver results. And there is no denying that such parties will be in a comfortable position to count on the continued support of the people.
BANGLADESH needs better water management. In order to do so, the country needs stronger planning and implementation agencies and capacities. But relevant organisations in Bangladesh are struggling due to lack of manpower and lack of resources. This needs to be addressed.
Food security and climate change are staring us in the face. Bangladesh needs to be much more actively engaged in a framework of cooperation with countries like the Netherlands that have had the most success in training rivers and accreting lands from the seas. Significant allocations will have to be made in the national budgets progressively from now on to spend on river training and land accretion.
The Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna and their tributaries do devour every year a considerable area of land in Bangladesh. River erosion affects vast tracts of this land-scarce country, having one of the highest densities of population in the world. But the rivers flowing through Bangladesh can be 'trained' to prevent this considerably. Plans can be implemented to check the spread of the rivers. Also, the experiences of other countries which have addressed similar problems show that it is not always the best policy to only fight against nature. In order to be successful, it is imperative also to 'Build with Nature'. And that principle needs to be applied vigorously in Bangladesh more than in other countries.
This approach, Building with Nature, has huge potential for river management, as well as for the formation of new lands in Bangladesh. One may cite here the case of two cross dams that were constructed near Noakhali in the 1960s. Today, these dams have led to the creation of over 100,000 hectares of new land. If this principle of Building with Nature is applied actively and consistently, Bangladesh can gain new land every year. By harnessing the sediments carried by the rivers, it can outpace sea-level rise.
In this context, the relevant plans in Bangladesh should be framed urgently to facilitate financing for a comprehensive 20- or 30-year development vision for its water resources sector. For their effectiveness, such plans will have to be financed domestically and also with external aid. And these should provide for comprehensive and not stand-alone projects.
The plans will need to be targeted for implementation over a period of decades. This means that consecutive governments must commit to them. This also means that the political parties of today must commit themselves to its principle. Parties, having long-term vision and a strong will among their core leaders to translate the same into action, is needed for the purpose. The country's political leadership must think beyond typical party boundaries to deliver results. And there is no denying that such parties will be in a comfortable position to count on the continued support of the people.