Need visionary, adaptive delta management to tackle urban flooding: Experts
Jointly organised by RedOrange, the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) and The Business Standard, the dialogue brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss integrated approaches to urban flooding, WASH, waste management and urban planning
A roundtable titled "Urban Flood Resilience and WASH Integration: Policy Action and Inter-agency Synergies" was held on 10 September in Dhaka.
Jointly organised by RedOrange, the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) and The Business Standard, the dialogue brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss integrated approaches to urban flooding, WASH, waste management and urban planning.
Experts called for long-term and adaptive planning, stronger inter-agency coordination and greater community, research and private-sector engagement, stressing the need to regularly review strategies in response to changing climate and development conditions.
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Dr Md Saimum Parvez
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Environment, Forestry and Climate Change
As a delta country, Bangladesh has always lived with floods, water and sediment. Therefore, WASH and flood management cannot be addressed separately. Nature-based solutions such as river restoration, canal excavation, waterbody conservation and natural drainage can provide sustainable solutions.
The needs of the marginalised and low-income communities must remain at the centre of policies and infrastructure planning.
Dr SM Zobaidul Kabir
Joint Secretary, General Economics Division, Bangladesh Planning Commission
Multi-sectoral integration and integrated governance are essential to implementing the Bangladesh Delta Plan.
The Delta Wing serves as a strategic platform for adaptive delta management, while eight studies have identified regional investment priorities. Development projects are now screened through the Delta Appraisal Framework to assess their compatibility with adaptive delta management and their contribution to the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 goals.
Cumulative environmental and social impacts should be assessed during the feasibility study of every plan or project under Adaptive Delta Management.
Dr Mashfiqus Salehin
Professor, Institute of Water and Flood Management, BUET
I believe urban flooding, drainage, solid waste, wastewater, and WASH should be treated as one integrated social-ecological system.
Fragmented planning has failed to deliver lasting solutions. Urban flooding differs from river flooding. Authorities, instead of infrastructure development, must focus on operation and maintenance, regular monitoring, and coordinated action before, during and after disasters.
The Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 should maintain its long-term vision and adaptive approach, allowing strategies to change based on new information, risks and changing circumstances.
Dr Md Shibly Sadik
Senior Policy Adviser, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Dhaka
Urban Flood problems are complex in nature and cannot be solved through engineering solutions only. It is connected with spatial planning, drainage, migration, rural livelihoods, and city governance. We need long-term, adaptive management, equipped with societal and organizational learning mechanisms.
Such an approach brings flexibility for future adjustments as per socio-political and economic reality. Financing is a major challenge, but the Bangladesh Delta Plan offers principles to manage complexity and uncertainty while creating opportunities for private-sector involvement.
Arnob Chakrabarty
Founder and Managing Director, RedOrange Limited
We need to move away from fragmented and short-term approaches towards long-term, integrated and adaptive delta management.
Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 provides a foundation for such an approach. Successful implementation requires coordination among ministries and agencies and alignment of day-to-day development activities with long-term national strategies. Water, sanitation, waste, and urban management should be addressed together.
Md Motaleb Hossain Sarker
Executive Director (Acting), CEGIS
WASH challenges vary regionally. Therefore, solutions should be tailored to geographical and socio-economic context. Initiatives of different development partners and agencies should be brought under an integrated framework. Technology alone is not enough; solutions must also be sustainable, accepted by communities and scalable.
Lessons from communities should be incorporated into national strategies to strengthen implementation of the Delta Plan.
Dr Md Akter Mahmud
Professor, Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Jahangirnagar University
Waterlogging has become a major problem in cities across Bangladesh. Filling water bodies and poor waste management block drainage and worsen waterlogging, so cleaning drains alone cannot solve the problem. City corporations and municipalities therefore need stronger manpower, equipment and financial capacity.
While RAJUK, the Urban Development Directorate and city corporations are preparing separate master plans, the lack of coordination is preventing many projects from delivering expected results.
Mahfuja Aktar
Town Planner, RAJUK
RAJUK seeks to coordinate different agencies through its planning process, but coordination often breaks down during implementation.
The Hatirjheel project showed that coordinated action among several agencies can produce positive results. Wastewater is still discharged directly into water bodies, contributing to pollution. Complete infrastructure and connectivity must therefore be ensured from the planning stage.
Community participation is also necessary to protect water bodies and open spaces.
Md Monowar-ul-Haq
Associate Specialist, Water Resources Management Division, CEGIS
Chattogram's drainage problem is not simply a lack of infrastructure; coordination is a major challenge. The city receives almost twice as much rainfall as Dhaka, has a steep gradient from the hills to the sea, and is affected by tides.
Three mega projects based on the 2016 drainage master plan are being implemented in a fragmented manner rather than through a catchment-based approach. The biggest missing component is solid waste management.
Professor Dr Hamidul Huq
Director, IDSS, United International University
Urban waterlogging should not be viewed only as an engineering problem. People experience its impacts differently: some lose businesses, others face transport difficulties, while children may be unable to attend school.
Planners often focus mainly on drainage capacity and water flow. We need to identify the root causes of waterlogging and incorporate community experiences into planning rather than simply undertaking new projects.
Shaikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan
Vice President, Bangladesh Institute of Planners
Urban management faces two major gaps: a knowledge gap and institutional fragmentation. Knowledge and data sharing among universities, WASA, city corporations, RAJUK and BWDB should be strengthened.
Before implementing any project, its consistency with the relevant master plan should be assessed. Operation and maintenance must also receive greater attention.
AHM Khaleque Rahman
Superintending Engineer, Department of Public Health Engineering
Financing and long-term planning are the biggest challenges to developing climate-resilient infrastructure.
Climate-resilient designs often cost more because structures need to be elevated, strengthened and protected. We need to incorporate resilience into projects from the beginning rather than focusing only on rehabilitation after disasters.
Uday Sankar Das
Senior Planner, Urban Development Directorate
Land-use planning should cover not only cities but also upazilas, municipalities, city corporations and rural areas. The recently enacted Spatial Planning Act provides a legal basis for nationwide land-use planning.
We follow a bottom-up approach by incorporating the views of local governments and other stakeholders.
However, implementation remains difficult because different ministries and agencies often undertake projects using their own financing without sufficient alignment with national plans.
Partha Hefaz Shaikh
Director, Programme and Policy Advocacy, WaterAid Bangladesh
We need an effective leadership and monitoring structure for urban water, waste, drainage and sanitation management. Dhaka and Chattogram have separate master plans, but the key question is who will coordinate and implement them.
Where sewerage pipelines are unavailable, vacuum trucks may be necessary for faecal sludge management.
Md Maruf Mohaimen
Research Officer, Department of Environment
Weak enforcement of laws and regulations and limited institutional capacity are major challenges in environmental protection. Although the Department of Environment has relevant laws and rules, coordination among agencies and projects remains inadequate.
Many meetings and roundtables have been held over the years, but recommendations often fail to reach the implementation stage.
Dr Naeema Jahan Zinia
Co-Founder, Director, Business Development and Operations Environmental Management Solutions (EnvSoL)
Urban waterlogging is not simply a drainage problem. It is closely linked to solid waste, sewerage, faecal sludge, water and sanitation. The adaptive and integrated principles of Delta Plan 2100 therefore need to be translated into action.
Mohammad Zobair Hasan
Deputy Executive Director, Development Organisation of the Rural Poor
Water, sanitation and hygiene cannot be separated. Since many ministries and agencies are involved in water and urban management, coordination remains a major challenge.
Urban planning must also consider population growth and migration to Dhaka. Rather than concentrating infrastructure only in Dhaka, we should plan for future population growth and land requirements across the country.
Saddam Hossain
Executive Engineer, Dhaka WASA
Dhaka WASA is implementing an integrated sewerage master plan to prevent sewage from mixing with drainage and stormwater.
Dhaka has been divided into five catchments, with five sewage treatment plants planned. The Dasherkandi Sewerage Treatment Plant has been completed, while work on the Pagla plant is ongoing.
it is expected that by 2035, sewage, drainage and rainwater will be managed separately, making the city's drainage system more effective and sustainable.
Engr Md Shahadat Hossain
Chief Executive Officer, Onushandhani Creeds Ltd
Sustainable waste management cannot depend solely on government agencies. Behavioural change and community responsibility are equally important.
Examples from Mawlynnong in Meghalaya and Japan show how cleanliness can become part of community and school culture. Families and educational institutions should help develop these habits from an early age.
Dr Farhana Ahmed
Adaptive Delta Management Expert and Principal Specialist, CEGIS
Climate change and unplanned development are creating increasing pressure on water, flood and waste-management systems.
An integrated scenario-based spatial planning following the Adaptive Delta Management principles, as suggested in the BDP 2100, is needed instead of fragmented plans for dealing with the uncertainties of climate change and socio-economic development.
Despite different agencies having separate master plans, better coordination, regular monitoring, and clear accountability across all levels are needed to ensure plan-based development.
Alok Kumar Majumder
Director, Programme and Operations, RedOrange Limited
The Adaptive Delta Management and holistic approach is required to tackle urban flooding.
Thanks to all experts for their recommendations. These recommendations will be reviewed and shared with the policymakers to incorporate into future policy and planning processes.
Recommendations
- Integrate urban flooding, drainage, sewerage, water supply, solid waste and sanitation into one system.
- Establish clear leadership, coordination and monitoring among RAJUK, city corporations, WASA, BWDB, DoE, DPHE and health agencies.
- Follow an adaptive management approach and establish strong monitoring and iterative learning mechanisms, as well as incorporating local knowledge
- Plan and implement development projects with the principle of Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and relevant master plans, with regular reviews and scope for adjustment.
- Transition from reactive investment and maintenance to proactive and planned investment and maintenance.
- Protect and restore canals, rivers and water bodies by preventing encroachment and pollution, keeping sewage and stormwater systems separate, restoring natural flows and using nature-based solutions.
- Promote behavioural change and encourage shared responsibility for protecting drainage systems, water bodies and public spaces.
