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HYDROLOGY

1.4 FAP: Flood Action Plan

1.4.1 Introduction

A number of studies were initiated and carried out under bilateral and multi-lateral arrangements
following the severe floods that hit Bangladesh in 1987 and 1988. It was evident from these studies
that much of the technical, economic and environmental information needed to make choices
between various options for addressing the flood problems were inadequate. The Government of
Bangladesh (GOB) requested the World Bank (WB) in June 1989 to coordinate the efforts and
prepare a programme of studies and pilot projects that would form a basis of a long term
comprehensive flood management plan. The WB convened a meeting in Washington in July 1989
which was attended by a delegation from the GOB and leading experts involved in the previous
studies. The participants represented a range of views on long-term objectives and strategies and
there was full agreement that before implementation of any measure for mitigating flood it would
require thorough and detailed studies. It was decided to concentrate on an Action Plan for the next
five years as the first step in formulating a long-term programme. A central feature of the plan was
a programme of regional studies that would recognize the wide regional differences in the nature of
flooding and the drainage problems in different areas of the country. It was also decided that some
of the studies would encompass project preparation works and a range of supporting technical,
socio-economic and environmental studies was also envisaged. Thus a programme for undertaking
11 main and 15 supporting activities was drafted. This programme became known as the Flood
Action Plan (FAP).

The draft of programme of FAP was presented at a meeting of the development partners in London
in December 1989. All the participants endorsed it and financing of approximately US$150 million
was committed for the various components of FAP, a major share (about $55 million) of which was
directed to pilot projects to test various innovative approaches, such as, controlled flooding,
compartmentalization, bank protection and active floodplain management.

The component studies under FAP are presented in Table A1.4-1 (Slightly different from the
original plan). These studies and pilot projects have been supported by UNDP, European Union,
Asian Development Bank, World Bank and eleven bilateral donors (UK, Japan, France, Canada,
Finland, Sweden, USA, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark).

The Flood Plan Coordination Organization (FPCO) was set up in 1990 under the Ministry of Water
Resources (MoWR) to coordinate, supervise and review the various activities and studies taken up
under FAP initiative. The FPCO has been supported on technical and coordination matters by a
Panel of Experts (POE) composed of national and international professionals of different
disciplines. UNDP financing has supported the FPCO since 1990 and UNDP and several
development partners have supported POE. The World Bank acted as coordinator of FAP activities
on behalf of the donors.

The projects and studies that constitute FAP were, with a few exceptions, initiated between 1990

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and 1991. The year 1990 was spent in formulating the Terms of References (TOR) and TAPP of
various studies, and finalizing the funding arrangements with the donors. There were some delay in
selection and fielding of study teams. By 1994, most of the studies were completed and FAP moved
to follow-up activities. Several Guidelines, namely the guidelines for project assessment,
environmental impact assessment and people's participation have been prepared under the aegis of
FAP. These guidelines, the lessons learnt from the supporting activities, evaluation of various pilot
projects, and the availability of updated database and hydrodynamic models facilitated the
preparation of comprehensive regional studies at prefeasibility level. Soon there was a shift in
policy as FAP moved from flood mitigation to flood management, this too shifted further to
integrated water management. FAP approach now effectively stands for round the year water
management.

During the past five years, many national and international seminars, symposia, conferences and
workshops were held on selected issues on the evolving approaches of FAP. This way the stage was
set to chart the course of the water development in Bangladesh and have the documents reviewed
and updated before the next phase of activities was taken up. An evaluation of the progress made it
possible to identify some of the issues and aspects that were not taken into consideration
appropriately and needed to be duly addressed. There were some other issues that were deferred for
consideration at a later stage.

FAP was planned as a five-year rolling plan to be updated every two years. The review of the first
phase set out the action plan for the next phase. The Summary Report, however, summarizes the
findings of the various FAP components upto 1995.

The aim of the Summary Report is to:

• summarize the findings of various studies and investigations carried out during
1990-1994;

• critically review the findings for developing the strategies of water management for future;

• develop the strategy for the country's integrated water management programme;

• identify future project proposals and further studies and investigations needed; and

• review environmental, participatory planning and institutional issues pertaining to water

sector activities.

1.4.2 Origin of the FAP

Bangladesh experienced one of the most catastrophic floods on record in 1988. It caused a major
setback to the economy which was still reeling under the shocks of the severe flood of 1987. There
was widespread damage to crops, property, human life and infrastructure and a great deal of the
rehabilitation and reconstruction work undertaken after 1987 flood was reduced to an exercise in

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futility.

Soon after, the Government of Bangladesh had a report prepared to tackle the problem of recurrent
floods in the country. A number of countries offered to help in finding ways to mitigate the effects
of natural disasters. Four major studies were initiated by bilateral and multilateral agencies to
examine options for flood mitigation. A UNDP-Bangladesh team carried out a flood policy study, a
team from Bangladesh and France prepared a pre-feasibility study of flood control, USAID
sponsored an eastern waters study and a team from Japan reviewed options for flood management.
It became evident from these studies that much of the technical, socio-economic and environmental
information needed to choose between options was missing. However, this in no way precluded the
scope for regional cooperation.

In June 1989, the government requested the World Bank to coordinate the various efforts and
prepare a programme of studies and pilot projects that would form a basis for addressing the flood
problem more fully. This approach was endorsed by the G-7 Summit in Paris in July 1989. Its
communique said:

"It is the matter of international concern that Bangladesh, one of the poorest and most densely
populated countries in the world, is periodically devastated by catastrophic floods.

"We stress the urgent need for effective, coordinated action by the international community, in
support of the Government of Bangladesh, in order to find solutions to this major problem
which are technically, financially, economically and environmentally sound. In that spirit, and
taking account of help already given, we take note of the different studies concerning flood
alleviation, initiated by France, Japan, the USA and the United Nations Development Program,
which have been reviewed by experts from all our countries. We welcome the World Bank's
agreement, following those studies, to coordinate the efforts of the international community so
that a sound basis for achieving a real improvement in alleviating the effects of flood can be
established."

As a first step the Bank convened a meeting in Washington in July 1989. This was attended by a
delegation from Bangladesh and by leading experts involved in the studies already made. The
participants represented a range of views on long-term objectives and strategies and there was full
agreement that any measure to mitigate flooding would require comprehensive studies before
implementation. It was decided to concentrate on an action plan for the next five years for
formulating a longer-term flood control (subsequently transformed into management) programme
within the territory of Bangladesh. A central feature of the plan was a programme of regional
studies that would recognize the wide regional differences in the nature of the flood and drainage
problems. It was also decided that the plan would encompass the ongoing project preparation and a
range of supporting technical, socio-economic and environmental studies. The key experts who had
been involved in the UNDP, USAID, French and Japanese studies participated in the preparation of
a framework document called the Bangladesh Action Plan for Flood Control. The eleven Guiding
Principles enunciated during the UNDP study provided an important basis for this document.

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This was presented at a meeting of the development partners at Lancaster House in London on
December 11-12, 1989 and all the participating countries and agencies endorsed the overall
framework and the proposals for the Flood Action Plan (FAP). The development partners agreed to
provide about $150 million for the FAP activities, of which over $55 million was directed to pilot
projects for testing approaches to river bank protection and floodplain management.

The projects and studies that constitute FAP were, with a few exceptions, actually initiated between
1990 and 1991. By 1994, most of the studies were completed and FAP moved to follow-up
activities and some pilot projects. FAP has also prepared guidelines for project assessment,
environmental impact assessment and participatory planning.

These guidelines and the lessons learnt from the supporting activities and evaluation of various
pilot projects as well as the availability of updated database and hydrodynamic models facilitated
the preparation of comprehensive feasibility studies. During the past four years, many national and
international seminars, symposia, conferences and workshops were held on selected technical
issues as well as on the evolving approaches of FAP. This way the stage has been set to chart the
course of the Flood Action Plan and have its documents reviewed and updated before the next
phase of activities is taken up. An evaluation of the progress make it possible to identify some of
the issues/aspects that were not taken into consideration appropriately and needs now to be duly
addressed. There were some other issues that were deferred for bringing into considerations at a
later stage. A major shift in policy was for FAP to move away from flood mitigation to flood
management. Soon, this too shifted further to integrated water management. FAP prove now
effectively stands for round-the-year water management.

This document sets out the future approaches of FAP as have emerged. Initially FAP was seeu as a
five-year rolling plan to be updated every two years. The year 1990 was spent in formulating the
terms of references (TOR) of various study and finalizing the funding arrangements with the donor
agencies. There was also some delay in the selection and fielding of study teams. The overall major
review of FAP was, therefore, deferred till 1995.

1.4.3 Northeast Regional Study

(1) Geography, Climate and Hydrology

The Northeast Region has an area of 24,200 sqkm and a population of 18 million (Map A1.4-1;
Map A1.4-2). The region has five main landforms: Sylhet Depression (25% of the region),
Lowland Floodplains (55%), Uplands (8%), Piedmont Floodplains (4%), Alluvial Fans (6%) and
Terraces (2%). About 50% of the region lies below 8 m elevation and 25% lies below 5 m.

Annual rainfall ranges from 2,200 mm to 5,800 mm, with the higher values in the northeast of the
region. Over 90% of the rainfall is produced by the southwest monsoon during March to October.
During the wet season, there is an enormous inflow of water from India. These rivers rise in areas
with the world's highest rainfall. As a result, between May and November, almost 60% of the

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region is flooded to depths exceeding I m. The deepest flooding, up to 5 m, is in the Sylhet

Depression. Flash floods can also occur in the pre-monsoon months of March and April.

The Sylhet Depression is a low-lying bowl-shaped basin covering 6,000 sqkm Virtually all of this
land is below 8 m and is flooded to a depth of 5 m and more during the monsoon. Saucer-shaped,
seasonally-flooded interfluvial areas called haors characterize this unit; the small permanent lakes
in the lowest pockets are called beels. The main rivers traversing the Depression include the Surma,
Kalni, Kushiyara, Baulai and Dhanu. These rivers have sinuous, meandering sand-bed channels
with cohesive banks. Channel shifting occurs erratically, and consequently the Depression is
covered by a maze of ancient channel scars, abandoned distributaries and oxbow lakes. During the
last two centuries, landuse has been altered to meet the needs of an ever-expanding human
population. The forest has been consumed and in its place dry-season rice (boro) is now being
cultivated. The beels and haors have been drained out for agriculture and submersible
embankments have been constructed in many places.

The lowland floodplains, created by deposition and erosion from the Surma, Kushiyara, Meghna,
Old Brahmaputra and Jamuna cover 13,260 sqkm. Land elevations typically range from 16 m to 9
m on the Surma/Kushiyara floodplain, from 22 m to 9 m on the Old Brahmaputra floodplain and
are less than 7 m on the Meghna floodplain. The main pattern within the Surma/Kushiyara
floodplain is at least one, and often two, rice crops annually. In the Old Brahmaputra and Meghna
floodplains, the dominant pattern is at least one rice crop in combination with a rabi crop.

Uplands occur as outliers extending into the region from the Tripura hills and cover 1970 sqkm.
These hills are composed of weathered sandstone, siltstone and conglomerate. Where the land has
been left in its natural state, it has a cover of upland forests, thickets or grasses. Cultivated areas are
predominantly used for tea, although there are some areas of rubber, pineapple and other citrus
fruits.

The piedmont floodplains are found along tributary streams rising in the Tripura hills that join the
larger mainstream rivers and cover 960 sqkm. Land elevations range from 24 m to 9 m. Gradients
of the streams are generally steeper than the mainstream rivers and they have meandering sand-bed
channels often with natural levees of sand and silt. The dominant cropping pattern is two-rice
annually.

The alluvial fans are found along the foot of the Meghalaya plateau and cover 1490 sqkm. The
fans are formed where steep mountain streams exit from their canyons and deposit sand and gravel.
Typically, elevations range from 16 m to 12 m in the west and from 11 m to 9 m in the east. The
dominant cropping pattern is two rice crops annually.

The terraces occur along the western edge of the region and confined portions of the Old
Brahmaputra and cover 500 sqkm. Elevations range from 10 m to 8 m. The dominant cropping
pattern is two rice crops followed by a rabi crop.

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(2) Existing Water Management Works (Figure 7.14)

Early efforts at water management, dating back more than a century, were mainly in the form of
low embankments to protect the dry-season rice crop from flash floods. These were private
ventures built by landowners. Public investment in water resources began in the 1970s and since
then about 30% of the agricultural land or 4,000 sqkm has works providing some degree of flood
management and irrigation. During this period there has been rapid growth in irrigation of the boro
crop using farmer-owned lowlift pumps. One of the main objectives of the public works has been to
protect this crop from early floods. The aim of these schemes was to increase rice production, but
these benefits, although substantial, have been somewhat offset by adverse impacts on fisheries,
wetland habitat and navigation. The current development status is summarized below.

Flood Control & Drainage

Project Type Number of Projects Benefit Area (ha)
Full flood control 27 96,000
Partial flood control 33 172,000
Drainage improvement 5 18,100

Surface Water Irrigation

Large (scale) irrigation 1 6,000
Water retention structure 66 4,200
Lowlift pumps 154,000
Manual lift 286,000

Ground Water Irrigation

Manually operated shallow tubewells 5,300
Shallow tubewells 126,000
Deep-set shallow tubewells 700
Deep tubewells 80,000

A total of 66 major surface water resource projects have been constructed or are nearing
completion. These include full flood control projects, partial flood control projects, drainage
improvement projects and major surface water irrigation projects. All are administered by BWDB
and are designed to serve 395,000 hectares. Nearly all were constructed during the past 20 years.
The regional planning team found that 80% of the projects had positive impacts.

Ground water is used for irrigation, potable water and industry in the region. Annual available
ground water rechargc is estimated at 3.2 billion cubic meters (bcm). At present, about 1.5 bcm is
being used annually to irrigate about 2,130 sqkm of land. A further 0.3 bcm is used annually for
potable water and industrial supply.

Water transport is essential to the region. Thirteen thana centres depend solely on waterway
communication and many of the rural market places have grown up along waterways. There are

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about 1,400 km of classified navigation routes which are used by passengers or freight boats.
Changes are taking place in the river network and sedimentation has reduced the navigability of
some of the main rivers and embankments and control structures have also obstructed navigation
routes. Sometimes this leads to public cutting of embankments.

Development Issues: The primary mode of water management for agriculture in the region is the
construction of submersible embankments around the haors. In general, these are high enough to
contain the early flash floods but low enough to be overtopped during the main monsoon. This
long-established practice has conferred considerable benefits on the region and is the only means
available to mitigate the effects of floods on agriculture. A conclusion of the regional study is that,
although these embankments have problems and inadequacies, there is no reason to abandon their
construction.

A basic problem facing the water resource planners is that the river system is unstable over much of
the region. The vast quantity of sediment that enters the system every year can lead to rapid shifts
in river courses, silting up of channels, depletion of natural waterbodies and maintenance problems
at existing projects. Silted up rivers lose flood capacity and their embankments no longer provide
early-season protection. Crops can be destroyed by floods and the land can be damaged by sand
deposition. Changes in river course lead to destruction of embankments and damage to towns and
villages.

The conflict between fishing and farming also presents a challenge for the planners. Embankments
and structures can impede movements of fish and disrupt their breeding habits. Also the lowlift
pumping depletes the beels which are the most productive sources of fish.

Planners also have to recognize that the region's wetlands support large natural plant communities
which are extensively exploited by the local people for food, fodder, fuel, building material and
medicine. The wetlands support an internationally significant population of migratory waterfowl
(nearly 400,000 birds were counted during the January 1993 migration peak). Populations of many
other terrestrial and semiaquatic wildlife species are also found. Stocks of both waterfowl and other
wildlife are declining generally. Hunting and habitat destruction are the main threats.

There are also many social issues that have a bearing on regional planning. In the past, planners
and designers of water management works had often not consulted those who would be, or might
be, affected by a project. Therefore, the regional plan involved a special effort to investigate the
social setting for development and much effort went into interviews and seminars.

Planning Approach: Unlike the other four regional studies, FAP-6 did not delineate planning units
for the northeast region. But geographic boundaries were defined to ensure that the entire region
was addressed. These boundaries were defined, on a preliminary basis, as physiographic units.
These were examined in some detail to define the major water management problems that existed
within each one and general boundaries were established which grouped areas with similar
problems. Subsequently, these were mapped in conformity with what were considered

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"appropriate" hydrological boundaries from the standpoint of physical as well as analytical and
impact considerations. FAP-6 basin boundaries did not necessarily conform to the planning areas
identified by the Master Planning Organization (MPO). While FAP-6 was concerned with
identifying and studying all manner of water resources projects, MPO was focusing more
extensively on dry season surface water resource estimates.

Northeast regional study used a strategic planning process in which the problem was defined in
terms of internal and external environments. The internal environment here is the water system and
the external environment consists of regional systems other than water, plus relevant national and
international systems. In addition, the strategic planning method stressed action, in particular action
focused on key points of intervention.

An interpretative description of the region was first prepared, to provide a profile of the region in
terms of what is most important - from a development perspective - to understand, rather than for
comprehensiveness of enumeration. The information base for this was the NERP specialist studies
which included review of the existing secondary data and documentation, meeting with key
informants, plus primary field-based research at NERP field stations and case study sites.

Major driving forces likely to be significant in shaping the region's future development were
identified. Some driving forces are internal to the regional water system; some are external; still
others are national or international in scope. This analysis relies on forecast data on regional,
national and international trends, content analysis of key media, interviews with influential and
informed persons, review of futurist media and modelling.

The regional analysis began with the formulation of two mission statements, one for regional
development and one for regional water management planning. These provided guidance during the
regional analysis, which looked at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the regional
development system and the regional water system. Strengths and weaknesses were derived from
the issues previously identified, covering the areas of perception and profile of issues (including
private and public commitment to addressing issues), policy frameworks, institutional form and
process, financial resources, natural resources, human resources, present trends and other aspects as
required. Opportunities and threats, again of the regional development system and the regional
water system, were analyzed. These were derived from the driving forces and include competitors,
environmental forces, international trading and business environments, international commodity
markets, trends in future development aid flows, the region's likely role in Bangladesh and
internationally and other aspects as required.

The regional water management strategy starts with objectives for overall regional development
and the regional water management plan. These were tentatively formulated as a first step in
developing the strategy to provide guidance; once the strategy was finalized, these were revised to
reflect the likely achievements and impacts. The strategy was prepared as a set of interventions
cross-referenced by strategic thrusts (key action).

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The strategy is based on three key tenets: a mix of structural and non-structural measures is
required since there are limits to which nature can be controlled; a development-oriented stance is
sought since it promises higher benefits than a defensive stance; and, recognizing that most people
of the region are poor, the strategy should impact a large number of people.

(3) Strategy

Eight strategic thrusts considered in the regional study are presented below:

Protect Urban Centres and Infrastructure from Flood and Improve the Urban Environment -
It is expected that most of the region's economic output by 2015 will be produced in urban centres
and that these centres will contain about nine million people (34% of the region's population). This
shift in economic and demographic structures within the region should be facilitated by:

• Encouraging improved urban landuse planning and setting of future development on

higher ground to reduce flood risks;

• Promoting urban flood preparedness;

• Providing full flood protection or raising existing embankments where technically feasible
and where there are large numbers of people and significant economic output, combining
this with erosion control and afforestation to emphasize multiple use of embankments;

• Using river diversions to re-route flood water away from urban centres;

• Implementing erosion protection for Bhairab Bazar;

• Developing waste water systems using appropriate technologies; and

• Enforcing regulations pertaining to industrial pollution.

The expected benefits would include protected and drained land for secondary and tertiary sector
uses. The urban environment would become more attractive with better amenities such as domestic
water supply and improved security from natural hazards. This would result in healthier and
longer-living urban populations. It would promote urban industries dependent on clean water such
as electronic, biotechnology, beverage and food industries.

Intensive Agriculture for Urban Consumption - Intensive agriculture for urban consumption will
be promoted by providing flood protection and drainage to seasonally flooded areas adjacent to
large urban markets. This is of particular relevance to the area around Dhaka since by 2015 it is
expected to contain approximately 20 to 25 million people and an intensive agricultural belt
extending from Dhaka to the north of Narsinghdi. This thrust will result in more productive high
value agriculture and improved nutrition in urban centres leading to more balanced diets.

Enhanced Production Systems on Seasonally Flooded Areas - Continued increase in rice

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production is desirable. Improvements in monsoon season rice production will facilitate shifts in
dry season production on seasonally flooded land to more intensive higher value agricultural crops.
Increased agricultural productivity would result from more intensive use of irrigated land and
increases in irrigated area. Both private and public investment in agriculture is desirable and the
primary focus should be on the seasonally flooded eastern and western areas and the intensive
agriculture belt around Dhaka since these have the highest growth potential.

Effective implementation of this strategic thrust is expected to provide increased standards of living
for farm householes since they will be involved in more productive agriculture. This will further
result in crop diversification in the dry season leading to more balanced diets, improved nutrition
and in alleviation of the severe poverty in the far northwestern portion of the region. It should result
in management of ground and surface water resources on a sustainable basis and higher agricultural
productivity, consistent with sustainable management of highland ecosystems.

Integrated Development of Deeply Flooded Areas - There are at present as many as 4.8 million
people (likely to increase to 6.1 million by 2015) dependent on the deeply flooded haor areas in the
region for their livelihood. The haor agricultural system is coming under increasing pressure due
mainly to a combination of increased population and reduced drainage effectiveness. The former
results in increased demand for food and other basic needs while the latter constraints production.
The current economic system offers very limited potential in terms of poverty alleviation unless
changes occur. These changes are reflected in the following:

• to increase fisheries productivity;

• to identify and adopt improved farming systems and increased production of livestock,
farmable reptiles, amphibian species and wetland plants;

• to improve drainage by re-excavating channels and effective dredging of the Kushiyara

and the Baulai; and

• protection from early pre-monsoon floods to ensure harvests.

The main benefits would relate to increased value of agricultural, forestry and fisheries production.
This would foster increased monetization of local economies leading to higher standards of living
for haor residents.

Biodiversity Enhancement and Sustainable Management - Freshwater wetland biodiversity of

Bangladesh, once characteristic of much of the country, is concentrated now in the region. Efforts
to preserve this important aspect of the nation's natural heritage should, therefore, focus on this
region. Bangladesh's commitment to wetland conservation and improved management was
expressed by its accession in 1992 to the Ramsar Convention, the main international agreement
addressing wetland conservation and improved management.

The benefits flowing to local people from preserving natural systems - fish, fuel, building material,

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marketable products, employment, earnings - would increase and the long-term management of
biodiversity and surface water quality would be strengthened.

Improve Liveability of Rural Settlements - Even in 2015, the majority of the region's residents
(approximately 66%) will live in rural settlements. It is not and will not be possible to protect
extended areas of settlement from flooding. Village homesteads provide for essential needs such as
sanitation, flood storage, privacy, work, fuel, food and drinking water. Homesteads are high
productivity areas and many of these functions are the responsibility of women and in some cases
of direct benefit to them. In areas where flooding occurs, in the approximately 30% of the region's
land area subject to deep flooding and the 40% subject to seasonal flooding in a typical year,
homesteads are especially important for production and human welfare. Many homesteads in the
deeply flooded areas are experiencing increasing flood and wave erosion as swamp forest and other
wetland vegetation, which act as wave energy dissipators, have gradually disappeared. The
homesteads represent a high proportion of assets of poorer families and accelerated erosion can be
a source of severe stress. A strong rationale exists for a strategy thrust to improve the standard and
quality of life in rural settlements. To this end, the following mix of measures would be
implemented as appropriate:

• raising homestead platforms;

• extending the areal extent of homestead platforms;

• protecting homesteads against erosion;

• undertaking afforestation at the settlement scale;

• increasing accessibility to safe potable water; and

• improving drainage and sanitation at the village scale.

Implementation of this thrust will result in better protection of human property and improvement in
living conditions, particularly during flood periods. Women will be particularly benefited. Also
protected will be areas for human resource development activities, rural industry and commerce,
rice storage and drying, homestead gardens, livestock and leisure activities. It would further lead to
improvements in water quality in and around settlements. Flood response will improve since there
would be protected base areas for storage of emergency commodities.

Improve Water Transport in the Region - This thrust involves the following elements:

• incorporation of water transportation needs in the design of all water management

projects;

• selective channel improvement, often utilizing dredging, to improve navigation;

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• a navigational aids programme for better marked channels;

• a programme to improve facilities for docking, loading and unloading, boat construction
and repair, water transport and industrial sites; and

• a programme supportive of local countryboat operators to upgrade their boats, usually

through motorization, to increase their efficiency and capacity.

This thrust would result in increased efficiency in the shipment of bulk construction materials from
the alluvial fans in the north of the region to markets in Dhaka and other key centres of Bangladesh.
The livelihood of a large number of people who work in this sector would be protected. Benefits
from mechanization would include lower tariffs, higher wages and increased speed of
transportation but total employment may not increase significantly.

Institutional Strengthening and Development - Evaluation and assessment of water sector

programmes by a variety of agencies have indicated that past water sector planning and
management tended to be too centralized, a top down approach dominated by the GOB personnel
and had not adequately involved local people in project development, implementation or operation.
Many water projects and programmes have considerable potential but are not operating or are
performing considerably below potential. The govemment has indicated a desire to make the
developmental process more decentralized and participatory in nature. The following would
support this intent:

• promote increased public participation in the design, construction, operation, maintenance

and rehabilitation of water sector projects thereby improving rural planning to avoid
investments at cross-purposes (such as rural roads obstructing drainage);

• increase the range and depth of expertise in govemment water sector agencies;

• improve systems for monitoring the quantity of ground water reserves and surface water;

• improve operations and maintenance of the existing projects;

• develop methods for more appropriate flood waming; and

• create a regional institution for environmental management, research and education.

Implementation of this thrust is expected to result in improved technical quality of projects. There
would also be increased support by local people which should lead to increased effectiveness and a
reduction in damage to projects.

(4) Regional Plan

The northeast regional water management plan proposed 45 initiatives - the term used to include
projects, programmes, actions and policy. The proposed initiatives fall into two categories: flood

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control drainage and non-flood control drainage.

Non-flood control drainage initiatives were identified following a process which began with the
preparation of sectoral specialist studies. The list of initiatives was refined further during
subsequent steps in the planning process. This included the development of an interpretive
description of the region, identification of driving forces, regional analysis and, most important,
strategy formulation.

The flood control drainage initiatives generally followed a similar approach to that described in the
previous paragraph but, in addition, required the identification of geographical boundaries to ensure
that water management concerns were addressed throughout the region. The analysis of initiatives
was undertaken in sequence leading from upstream to downstream to ensure that the downstream
impacts of water management interventions were not overlooked. The list of initiatives was then
finalized in conformity with the strategy.

The recommendation of projects is based on the general prioritization of strategic thrusts and on
considerations related to rational sequencing of initiatives. (For example, upstream to downstream
for flood control, downstream for flood control, downstream to upstream for drainage
interventions). The results of the multi-criteria analysis were not used to determine phasing,
because the proper basis for phasing relates to the considerations noted above, not to the slight
difference in indicators such as the Economic Rate of Return.

For the purpose of establishing a tentative scheduling of projects, the initiatives have been grouped
into the following four categories:

Non-structural initiatives of a remedial nature (Group N). Generally, these are initiatives for
which implementation is overdue and is independent of other internal or external actions being
carried out, and for which processing has some urgency.

Structural initiatives that are independent of other structural plan initiatives of external
development (Group SI). Implementation of these initiatives will not be affected by other plan
initiatives or upstream development. These include:

• drainage improvement schemes having a large impact on the region and on subsequent
initiatives;

• initiatives not substantially affected by Tipaimukh dam;

• projects in the upper catchments that are isolated from other recommended initiatives; and

• projects requiring immediate action to avoid further deterioration of existing

infrastructure.

Structural initiatives that are internally dependent (Group SID). Structural projects that are

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A. HYDROLOGY

highly dependent on other plan initiatives and that cannot be implemented in isolation. These need
to consider the impacts of other initiatives during feasibility analysis, planning and design.

Structural initiatives that are externally dependent (Group SED). These initiatives will be
strongly affected by future developments outside the region which are largely beyond the control of
the Government of Bangladesh (such as Tipaimukh dam in India). Ideally, these initiatives should
incorporate the expected impacts from Tipaimukh dam into their planning, design and schedule for
implementation. However, given the present level of uncertainty associated with Tipaimukh, this
can only be done in a very preliminary fashion. Therefore, in the implementation schedule for the
initiatives this group of projects has been shown as commencing in the fourth year of the plan to
allow additional time for resolution of the Tipaimukh dam issue.

(5) Project Assessment

Following Guidelines for Project Assessment (GPA) and the Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA), economic, social and environmental assessments of the proposed projects in the North-East
Region were carried out at pre-feasibility level, where impacts could not be quantified or valued,
qualitative assessments were made of the project outcomes or impacts. The summary of these
results in a framework of multicriteria analysis is presented in the Summary Report. The summary
of the results of socio economic and environmental impact analysis containing changes in
agricultural production, fishery, employment, resettlement, regional biodiversity, road
transportation, navigation, socio-economic equity, gender equity, public concerns, etc., is shown in
the Summary Report.

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 (FAP 1)

(FAP 2)
NORTHEAST
(FAP 6)

(FAP 3)

(FAP 5)
(FAP 4)

Map A1.4-1: Location Map of FAP Regions

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