Rivers must flow freely
Bangladesh as an active delta must have navigable and freely flowing rivers with all the canals and wetlands being conserved for a sustainable economy and ecological balance, said experts at a seminar in the capital yesterday.
For example, reclamation of dying canals is a must for preventing urban flooding, said Prof Shamsul Alam, member of General Economics Division (GED) of Bangladesh Planning Commission.
Prof Alam in his keynote on the draft, “Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100”, said the country's water bodies -- canals, ponds, haor, baor and beels -- must be excavated and preserved for sustainable economic development.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) organised the seminar on Bangladesh Delta Plan, prepared by the Bangladesh Planning Commission since 2014, at its premises.
The world's largest dynamic delta, Bangladesh, lies in the confluence of three mighty rivers -- the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. The country is crisscrossed by around 700 rivers of which 57 are trans-boundary ones -- 54 with India and the rest with Myanmar, he said.
The rivers cover around 4.7 million hectares area, said Prof Alam. Nearly 6,000km inland river transport route is the easiest, environment-friendly and cheapest mode of transportation.
With only seven percent of the river catchment areas within its territory, Bangladesh receives 1 to 1.4 billion tonnes of river sediment annually, he said. The delta offers immense economic opportunities with 65 percent agricultural land, 17 percent forest land, eight percent urban areas and 10 percent water bodies and wetlands.
The delta plan aims at long-term water and food security, economic growth and sustainable environment while coping with natural disasters, climate change through adaptive and integrated strategies, said Prof Alam.
Through optimal uses of land and water resources, the plan aims at achieving its goal through conservation and judicious use of water, wetlands and ecosystem, and efficient management of rivers.
With the protection of vital economic strongholds like Chandpur and Sirajganj as the fundamental goal, the draft delta plan identifies shipping, marine fisheries, coastal tourism, ocean energy (blue economy) and renewable energy as the priorities for future development.
Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud said the land-starved Bangladesh loses 5,000 hectares of land to river erosion annually rendering 50,000 families landless or homeless, and 70 percent of them end up in the capital for livelihood.
With 93 percent river catchment areas lying outside Bangladesh territory, the experts underscored the need for basin-wide management of rivers through negotiations with India.
State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan and Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud pointed out that people were not fully aware of the delta plan.
Citing the fate of Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of Dhaka city and Strategic Transport Plan (STP) of greater Dhaka city, noted civil engineer Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, who chaired the seminar's concluding session, said implementing the delta plan would be a herculean task.
Spearheaded by the planning commission, the delta plan is being prepared in collaboration with the Netherlands. It will soon be approved by the government and implemented by a commission. It will be revised every five years.
BIISS Chairman Munshi Faiz Ahmad, its Director General Maj Gen AKM Abdur Rahman and Director General of Bangladesh Water Development Board Md Mahfuzur Rahman also spoke.
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