Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
planning. The generally better performance of
small-scale interventions and private sector devel-
opment has seen the reduced importance of large-
scale government projects. Present integrated
water and land use planning is set to focus on the
development of floodplain zoning to accommo-
date necessary engineering measures and allocate
space for habitation patterns, economic activities
and environmental resources
fishermen. The inland open water fishery, which
is a common property open-access natural
resource available to the rural poor, and which
provided more than 70% of the country's fish
production only a couple of decades ago, is now
in serious decline. In most cases capture fisheries
losses were substantially greater than had been
anticipated (NWMPP 2000).
The flood protection schemes carried out under
the FCD projects brought about immediate re-
sults; however, later evaluations noted the rapid
rate of decline in performance, especially in terms
of operation and maintenance, of much of this
infrastructure. In particular the increases in agri-
cultural production (the main objective of the
interventions) failed to materialize as predicted
(Datta 1999). Inadequate operation and mainte-
nance (O&M) has been a universal problem on
virtually all public sector schemes evaluated, of-
ten hampering the sustainability of the schemes.
Its causes include inadequate government fund-
ing, poor cost recovery, lack of beneficiary partic-
ipation and technical difficulties.
Glossary
Aman
wet season rice crop
Aus
rice varieties grown during pre-wet
season
Baor
a floodplain depression of southwest
Bangladesh
Barsha
normal flooding of the rainy season
Beel
floodplain depression that may hold
water perennially or dry out during the
dry season
Bonna
infrequent, severe, hazardous flooding
Boro
dry season rice crop
Haor
saucer-shapeddepressionoffloodplain
located between two or more rivers
jalmahal a perennial closedwater body
Concluding Remarks
Land management in Bangladesh is determined
mainly by the monsoon rainfall and the seasonal
flooding, which affect the greater part of the coun-
try. Presently, these natural physical determi-
nants are reinforced by alterations to the natural
environment through flood protection, drainage
and irrigation interventions.
Over the past three decades flood and water
management in Bangladesh has gradually evolved
to its current stage with huge investments being
made in flood protection, drainage and irrigation
schemes to reclaim and develop floodplain and
coastal areas. Although these large projects still
dominate management practices, considerable
change and progress based on practical experience
and 'lessons learnt', can be seen in the planning
and implementation of these projects. Emphasis is
on a more comprehensive approach with multi-
objective and multi-sector planning, rather than
single-objective (e.g. food grain self-sufficiency)
Khal
canal
Kharif
either of two planting seasons: Kharif
I, pre-monsoon and early monsoon;
and Kharif II, late monsoon and early
post-monsoon
Rabi
dry season
Zamindar
local landlords with responsibility
for water resource management in-
itiatives
References
Abdullah, A.A., Alam, J., Haq, M.I. et al. (1991) Report
of the Task Forces on BangladeshDevelopment Strat-
egies for the 1990's. Managing the Development
Process. Vol. 2. University Press Limited.
Alam, M., Nishat, A.and Siddiqui, S.M. (1999) Water
resources vulneRability to climate change with
