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Water Policy 16 (2014) 264–279

Historical analysis of rationalizing South West coastal poldersof Bangladesh

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Sara Nowreen*, Mohammad Rashed Jalal and M. Shah Alam Khan
Institute of Water and Flood Management, B.U.E.T., Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract

After more than a decade of meeting the designated objective of increasing productivity in agriculture, theSouth West coastal polders of Bangladesh have ended up as different man-made disasters. The failure of thepolders to deliver the intended outcome is basically attributed to the lack of understanding of their hydro-mor-phological characteristics, inadequacy in their operation and maintenance, and failure to take into account theirsocial relationship and culture roles. Changes in socioeconomic settings have also forced changes in the desig-nated functions of the polders, but now the emerging context of climate change has become a major issue inrationalizing the coastal polders. In this context, this study is an attempt to review the historical and ongoingprocess of rationalization of the South West coastal polders, revealing that it is essential to take an integratedview of the hydrologic cycle and the interactions of human interventions. Finally, this paper recommendsthat an extended cost–benefit analysis with a multi-objective focus or a multi-criteria analysis, if monetizingis not possible, should be an option in rationalizing this multi-functional infrastructure. Proper macro-planningwould require development of an institution capable of dealing with a task which is multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary in nature.

Keywords: Community participation; Cost–benefit analysis; Multi-criteria analysis; Rationalize polder;Tidal River Management

1. Introduction

The South West region of Bangladesh is a unique brackish water ecosystem interspersed with sensi-tive tide-dominated rivers, streams and water-filled depressions. The river system is highly active,carrying large concentrations of sediment. Prior to the 1960s, local communities would build temporaryearthen embankments for 8 months to prevent saline water intrusion. Water was only permitted to enterthe depressions during the monsoon when salinity in the rivers was low. Natural silt was depositedduring ebb tides (Nishat et al., 2010). But after three devastating floods in the 1950s, the Krug Mission

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Report in 1957 suggested a structural solution called a polder (circular embankment). Massive polder-ization in the 1960s through a centralized approach by professional engineers saw an increase inagricultural productivity for 10–15 years. However, since the 1980s, the polders have become asource of major environmental concern (Chowdhury et al., 1996; Mirza & Ericksen, 1996). A gradualreduction in floodplain storage has been identified with the trend of increasingly high tide levels anddecreasing levels at low tide (WARPO, 2001). The polders have caused a siltation in the channelbeds which, in turn, has resulted in serious waterlogging (FAP 4, 1993). Continued waterlogginghas brought serious damage to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, livestock and physical infrastructures.This man-made disaster has forced many people to abandon their ancestral homesteads and livelihoodactivities and, as a result, generated widespread discontent (Rahman, 1995). Even with drainageimprovement and river training works throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the polders did not yield theexpected outcome. Subsequently, strong public protests practically forced the authorities to adopttheir suggested solution of ‘public cuts’ of the polders to relieve drainage congestion. Institutionallyit was termed ‘Tidal River Management’ (TRM) (CEGIS, 2003), but there was a significant gapbetween the engineering-based TRM implementation and the original plan. As a result, TRMimplementation was not completely successful (Uttaran, 2006; ADB, 2007). On the one hand, itwould appear that the functionality of the polders has changed with time and land use. For example,around the 1990s with the increased demand and prices for shrimps on the international market, thepriorities shifted from agriculture and mangroves to shrimp farming in the empoldered area. As aresult, saline water was freely allowed in, rather than prevented, thus widespread land usage conflicthas been reported (Islam, 2006). However, in the context of climate change, the coastal polders are con-sidered to provide first-order protection against climate change-induced sea level rises and storm surges(CEGIS, 2006).In this context, recognizing the importance of a more comprehensive approach with multi-objective

and multi-sectoral planning, rather than single-objective planning (e.g. food grain self-sufficiency), thispaper focuses on synthesizing the rationalization of the polders as viewed differently over time. In thefollowing, Section 2 provides an overview of the South West coastal region; Section 3 analyzes thehistorical development of the rationalization of the coastal polders and its consequences; Section 4reveals the recent state of polders from different perspectives; and finally, based on the criticalstudy and analysis of this research work, the paper concludes with a number of recommendationsin Section 5.

2. Study area

The South West coastal region encompasses about 65% (exposed and interior zones constitute 25 and40% respectively) of 26,000 km2 (Figure 1) (PDO-ICZMP, 2003). It is characterized by an extensivesystem of tidal-dominated rivers (distributaries of the Ganges), streams and water-filled depressions(actually ox-bow lakes). If not obstructed, the river waters are carried into the depressions by hightides with large concentrations of sediment. Widespread salinity in the surface-water and shallowgroundwater aquifers places severe constraints on both domestic water supplies and irrigation. Thethird-largest city, Khulna, and the second-largest seaport of the country, Mongla, are situated in thiscoastal region. The region also hosts the world-famous mangrove area known as the Sundarbans – aUNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Fig. 1. South West coastal region of Bangladesh with polder system.

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3. Historical practice and development

About one-fifth of this hydro-dynamically active coastal delta region was brought under the poldersystem in the 1960s, excluding the Sundarbans, and the proportion has now risen to one-quarter. Drai-nage congestion in the coastal polder zone is one of the major problems in the area. The extensivedevelopment of brackish water ‘bagda’ (tiger shrimp) farming brought about severe social conflictsand environmental problems. In addition, the emerging sea-level rise induced by climate change isalso threatening inundation of vast areas of relatively flat land of the region. The institutions thathave been actively involved in governing these polder functionalities are shown in Table 1. Addition-ally, the way that this unique brackish water ecosystem has historically been adapted at both local andnational levels at different times is described in the following sections.

3.1. Indigenous method of water management before 1960

Water was allowed to enter the depressions only during the monsoon when salinity in the rivers waslow. After the monsoon, local people would build temporary earthen embankments, low dykes andwooden sluice gates around the area to protect the arable land from saline water intrusion. Thus theyenjoyed good harvests in the dry period and a variety of fish in the monsoon. Local communities fol-lowed this unique system of water and river basin management adapted to the natural process of the tidalflooding. It was based on a local practice called ‘doser badh’ (embankment construction by the commu-nity) or ‘ostomashi badh’ (embankment for 8 months). The silt carried with the water was dispersed in

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Table 1. Chronological functionalities of the South West polders and institutional involvement.

Before 1960 1960 to 1980 1980 to 2000 2000 to date

Temporary structure (Oct–May) for T-Aman (rice)production and salinityprevention

Permanent structure forT-Aman (rice) production,salinity prevention, andconsidered as protectionfrom natural calamities andtidal surges

Agricultural production,commercial shrimpfarming, and as protectionfrom natural calamities andtidal surges

Agricultural production,culture fisheries mainlyshrimp farming, andconsidered as protectionfrom natural calamities,tidal surges and sea levelrise caused by climatechange

Note: Institutions outside the circle denote disconnections from the polder management system whereas attachments withinthe circles represent their connectivity (or linkage) with each other, where LGI¼ Local Government Institution, BWDB¼Bangladesh Water Development Board, WMO¼Water Management Organization, LGED¼ Local Government EngineeringDepartment, WMA¼Water Management Association.



the depressions and was deposited during the ebb tide (Nishat et al., 2010). Deposited sediment raisedthe land level of the wetland. Due to this traditional community-based practice there was a balancebetween sedimentation and land subsidence in the area. It was a unique system of land–water interfacedeveloped over hundreds of years of experience and practice to evolve the equilibrium ecology (Uttaran,2006).

3.2. The advent of water management in the 1960s and its effect up to the 1980s

In the 1960s a centralized state water bureaucracy was established following the report of the KrugMission (set up by the United Nations in 1957 after the severe floods in 1954, 1955 and 1956). It intro-duced the ‘polder’ enclosure system, a Dutch term, in the South West tidal areas. Large-scale investmentin Flood Control Drainage (FCD) projects began with the adoption of a 20-year water Master Plan(1964) recommending 58 large-scale Flood Control Drainage and Irrigation (FCDI) projects. Thepolder/enclosure system was developed and implemented in line with the ‘green revolution’ paradigmsto ‘grow more food’ which continued until the 1990s (Figure 2). The government’s strategy was toincrease monsoon season rice crops, particularly ‘aman’ rice. This single objective was focused on satis-fying increasing national demand (Chowdhury et al., 1996). Under the Coastal Embankment Project(CEP) high earthen embankments were constructed to protect the land from the daily tidal inundationof saline water as well as to protect it from the monsoon rains and storm floods. The upstream areawas further subdivided into smaller polders with earthen embankments (ADB, 2007).


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Fig. 2. Increase of FCD coverage in two greater coastal districts in the South West region.



Sluices were built to remove accumulated rainfall from the polders by gravity flow during the periodsof low tide level. Drainage was easy during that time because the water level inside the polders wasmuch higher than the channels outside. Almost all of these projects were undertaken with financeand policy ‘advice’ from aid agencies and international financial institutions such as the USAID-funded CEP, the ADB-funded CEP-2 (CEP-2) and the Khulna Coastal Embankment RehabilitationProject.The polder system worked well (primarily by denying entry of saline or brackish water to the land

within the polders) for 10–15 years, as the land was developed intensively and gave significant increasesin agricultural production until the mid-1980s. So, it seemed evident that empoldering increased thescale of production. The yields in certain places were increased by as much as 200–300% (Nishat,1988).

3.3. Polder performance 1980–2000

Within 10 years of implementation, the ill effects of the polder surfaced in massive areas. Many drain-age canals became inoperative due to siltation, rendering vast tracts of lands waterlogged all year round(IWM, 2007). The situation was further exacerbated by the absence of any provision for regular androutine maintenance dredging in the CEP. The polders and other structures impeded vast volumes ofsediment-laden monsoon flood flows. The floodwaters started to accumulate upstream of the polderembankments and the drainage structures. This caused widespread flooding and consequently depositedsilt and sediment in the riverbeds and channels. The effect caused a reduction in the bulk-carryingcapacity of the water by the rivers and channels, leading to further flooding due to severe congestionof drainage, which progressively became worse. This was classed as a man-made disaster. The cumu-lative impact was felt in terms of an increase in salinity (due to capillary action), loss of soil fertility, adecrease in income, worsening of sanitation conditions, loss of livelihood, and problems in gainingaccess to residents’ homes, agricultural land, and infrastructure facilities. Many people moved ontoembankments and roadsides. Educational institutions were severely damaged and children wereforced to discontinue education. Biodiversity and livestock were adversely affected. Firewood and


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pure drinking water became scarce. Waterborne diseases like diarrhea and scabies became epidemic(EGIS, 1998). Moreover, unemployment forced many people to migrate to urban areas in search of alivelihood (Rahman, 1995). Strong competition for the rapidly diminishing resource base heightenedtensions and conflicts between sectors of society and created a volatile social situation. In 1984 the Gov-ernment requested the Asian Development Bank to investigate the investment possibilities forrehabilitating the land. The Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project (KJDRP) was conceived,with an emphasis on structural solutions, including the construction of large regulators.At that time Rahman & Chowdhury (1999) questioned the efficacy of FCD projects for increasing

aman production, which was the primary objective of the intervention, as they could not establishany relationship between the extent of FCD and coverage of the high-yielding variety of aman,which did not show any apparent increase after completion of the FCD projects under consideration(Figure 3). Their research also pointed out the external impact of FCD projects, in the form ofhigher water levels and flood damage, among other effects.

3.4. Change in the functionality of the South West polders

Around the same time, increased demand and high prices for shrimps on the international marketmotivated people to switch to intensive shrimp farming. Many coastal polders which had been con-structed to protect agricultural land from inundation of salt-water were turned into large shrimp ghers(modified rice fields with high, broad peripheral dykes). The priority was reversed and salt-waterwas freely allowed into the ghers in order to raise shrimp numbers. Land previously used for agricultureand mangroves was transformed, often forcibly, for shrimp farming. This particularly affected paddyfarmers, who tend to be poor. Shrimp farmers, on the other hand, tend to be wealthy and, indeed,many of them are absentee-landlords and industrialists who have leased land from local farmers forshrimp cultivation. As a result, the extensive development of shrimp farming (as shown in Figure 4)caused severe social conflict and environmental problems. Since then planned management, throughzoning of diverse, competitive and conflicting land uses (including agriculture, salt production, forestry,

Fig. 3. Scatter plot of FCD coverage and rice production in Khulna for 1957–1993.


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Fig. 4. Shrimp farm area coverage and production in Bangladesh of which the South West region is dominant (Rahman et al.,2006).



ship-breaking yards, ports, industry settlements and wetlands apart from shrimp farming), has been rec-ommended (Islam, 2006).

3.5. Rejecting the old rehabilitation approach and introducing TRM

The repeated failure of the ‘system rehabilitation approach’ throughout the 1980s and 1990s led topublic protests during the implementation of the KJDRP (Figure 5). Defying army deployment, localpeople took civil action that included cutting of the embankment to release the stagnant floodwatersand at the same time permitting tidal inflows to allow natural circulation of the water. In 1992, water-logged-affected people formed committees and decided to reintroduce tidal flows and drainage. Within2 years more than 1,000 ha of ‘char’ (newly raised lands) emerged and once again rice cultivationbecame possible. In 1997 locals cut another polder at Keshabpur, Jessore, allowing water from theHari River to inundate Beel Bhaina. By 1999, the land levels of Beel Bhaina had been raised andthe Hari River, which had been heavily silted up previously, had become wider – triple its originalwidth – and deeper (e.g. 10 m deep near Sholgati Bazaar). It became clear that the free movement oftides kept the river channels open for drainage. The general land level within this beel rose by an averageof 1 m due to tidal sediment deposition. Lands close to the opening rose by around 2 m.In the late 1990s, local people demanded that their idea of TRM should be included in the project.

The idea of TRM is to allow tidal flow in the basin, which increases tidal volume, stores floodwaterduring the flood current and traps sediment during long storage periods of sedimentation (IWM,2005). But at the beginning, project authorities were not interested in including TRM. This is a remark-able example of engineers’ and water experts’ unwillingness to understand indigenous knowledge,vocabulary and paradigms in water and river basin management. Finally, in 2000 the BangladeshWater Development Board (BWDB) accepted TRM as a method of river management, although the pro-ject authorities noted in their report that the local people could not articulate the exact location where theTRM should be introduced. When one TRM beel has achieved the required raising of the land, thenanother TRM beel will take the sediment load that comes in with the tide. It is imperative that a new


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Fig. 5. KJDRP project area as implemented (ADB, 2007).


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beel is prepared to receive the tidal inflows. This preparation has to be done while the first TRM basin isbeing operated, so that as soon as the completed basin is closed off, the new basin will become the newoperational TRM beel/basin. It follows that the new beel must be adjacent to or near the recently com-pleted beel. However, depending on the location of the river channels and the distance from the Bay ofBengal, the volume of sediment that comes with the tides varies considerably. Therefore, it is difficult tomake a list of likely beels. If this conventional rotation of TRM beels is not carried out systematically,then the oncoming tides are very likely to drop their sediments in the river channels themselves, whichwill further accelerate such deposition and will hamper the drainage ability of the rivers, to the detrimentof all. On coastal zones the National Water Management Plan (NWMP) (MPO, 1991) states ‘ … thesituation is further complicated by an observed trend of increased tidal amplitude associated withreduction of tidal flows due to empolderment in the South West Region’.According to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the donor agencies ignored these above-mentioned

alternatives suggested by local people and opted for an engineering-based solution for the project. Full useof computer modeling was carried out by the Institute of Water Modeling (IWM) which began studies onthe traditional method at Beel Kedaria in 2002 and East Beel Khukshia in 2006. The IWM report toBWDB referred to East Beel Khukshia as being ‘technically feasible and socially acceptable’ forTRM. It also noted that the Beel Kedaria tidal basin had become functional in 2002–2004 with depositiontaking place over almost the whole 5.24 square kilometer area. Lack of ownership of the process caused asignificant gap in the outcomes of this project/TRM and the one originally suggested by the local people.The KJDRP partly implemented TRM in Beel Kedaria in the Hari River basin but it was not implementedin its truest sense. It was not adopted until 1999 even after completion of the feasibility study and 5 yearsafter project approval. Although the KJDRP established a permanent tidal basin in Beel Kedaria the localcommunities demanded rotational TRM in the beels or wetlands of the region. Non-government organ-izations (NGOs) claimed that the project authorities implemented TRM through the use of existingregulators, not by cutting the embankments or allowing the open flow of tide in the wetland as demandedby the local communities, and thus created a permanent wetland. According to CSOs, the project resultedin more waterlogging in the North West area (Jessore) of the project, worsening the existing drainage pro-blem, and, as a consequence, the Hamkura River dried up. They also claimed that the KJDRP contributedto the extinction of local fisheries and loss of livelihood for local fisherfolk. Even in the Project Com-pletion Report, it is mentioned that project implementation negligence could have been reducedconsiderably if the beneficiaries’ demands regarding the TRM system had been appreciated earlier.

4. State of polders since 2000

Despite the ill effects of polders, since 2000 the project authorities have perceived the need for newconstructions as well as raising of the existing ones, fearing the increase of future storm surge heightsand a rise in the sea level due to the impact of climate change (CEGIS, 2006; Dasgupta et al., 2010). Thefollowing sections discuss in brief the recent state of existing polders.

4.1. Institutional policy and practices

Water interventions or irrigation projects focusing on higher rice-production may not be the most suit-able development option for coastal communities, especially when these are threatening the existing


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conventional, sustainable structure of ecological resource-dependent livelihoods. So there has been ashift in water policy concepts from single-objective to multiple-objective. The South West Area Inte-grated Water Resources Management Project (SWAIWRMP, 2004) highlighted the impacts thatbrought drastic changes to the natural water regime, resulting in an imbalance in the aquatic environmentand ecosystem. National studies such as those by the Department of Fisheries (DoF, 2000), the Bangla-desh Center for Advanced Studies and Caritas Development Institute (BCAS & CDI, 2006), theBangladesh Water Development Board and the Water Resources Planning Organization (BWDB &WARPO, 2005), and the Fourth Fisheries Project (FFP, 2004) have identified issues such as structuralinterventions disrupting the free-flowing environment of the floodplains, continued stagnation prevent-ing natural flushing and leading to the spreading of water-borne diseases, and polderization preventingthe entry of fingerlings into the floodplains, etc.Shifting the concept towards multiple objectives however still fails in terms of considering the total

ecosystem. Many infrastructural developments without due consideration of the environmental flowhave led to environmental degradation (Mirza & Ericksen, 1996; Nazimuddin, 2005; Sanwar, 2010).Hence, the developments lack long-term vision, boosting economic activity in a region temporarilybut ending up making its supposed beneficiaries more vulnerable in the long run.Meanwhile, institutional weaknesses in the public sector have been a major constraint on the effec-

tiveness of any project because of improper implementation, overrunning costs and inadequate operationand maintenance (O&M). A summary of the role of various institutions actively involved at each stageof the project cycle is given in Table 2, with the last stage (2000 to date) showing both the theoretical(i.e. legal) and practical frameworks. As shown in Table 2, inadequate consultation with stakeholdersand the lack of people’s participation have been the main shortcomings at all stages of the projectcycle – from initial planning through to O&M (Nowreen et al., 2011). Other common shortcomingsare a lack of consideration of the external impacts (such as higher flood levels outside polders), theadverse internal impacts (e.g. siltation) and inadequate monitoring of project performance (with correc-tive action to rectify the problems) (Hashem, 2006). Additionally, a lack of understanding of localindigenous production systems and a failure to consider social relationships and the role of cultureare reasons for the failure of most FCDI projects. On average, agencies other than the BWDB seemto perform better even with low-level local participation (Chowdhury et al., 1996). Even the Govern-ment’s Coastal Development Strategy (MOWR, 2006) agreed that once a coastal water managementinfrastructure is created, its operation and maintenance becomes the main concern for optimal and equi-table use of the coastal lands, in particular, coastal polders. So, a system of embankment maintenancewith foreshore afforestation, fisheries and agricultural development has been proposed in differenthydrological regimes where the BWDB (leading agency), DAE (Department of Agricultural Extension),DoF (Department of Fisheries), FD (Forest Department) and LGED (Local Government EngineeringDepartment) are involved.

4.2. Polder and climate change adaptation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report (IPCC, 2007) predictsthat global warming will result in a sea level rise between 0.18 and 0.79 m by the mid-century, spellingdisaster for the Bangladesh coast, even though most of the area is protected by polders. Althoughpolders have created an environmental disaster in the region, the authorities still see the need tobuild more to combat the sea level rise. Climate scientists worldwide see the possibility of a 1 m rise


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Table 2. Historical settings of institutions at different stages of polderization.

2000 to date

Stages/TimeFrame Before 1960 1960 to 1980 1980 to 2000 Legal Framework Framework in Practice

Planning anddesign

Local community,LGIs

BWDB, Donor BWDB, Donor BWDB, Donor BWDB, Donor

Construction Local community,LGIs

BWDB, Donor BWDB, Donor BWDB, Donor BWDB, Donor

Operation Local community,LGIs

BWDB WMOs (mainly run by localpowerful elite groups).

Mainly BWDB’s WMOs,and in some places BWDBhanded them over toLGED’s WMAs

Over 10,000 hectares: periodicallyby WMOs (mainly local elite)Less than 10,000 hectares:Regularly by WMAs (most oftenrun by the representatives of localpeople)

Maintenance Local community,LGIs

BWDB Periodically: BWDBRegularly: Formation ofLGED’s WMAs to handover

Over 10,000 hectares:periodically by BWDBLess than 10,000 hectares:Regularly by LGED’sWMAs

Over 10,000 hectares: periodicallyby BWDBLess than 10,000 hectares:Regularly by WMAs (most oftenrun by the representatives of localpeople)

Note: LGI¼ Local Government Institution, BWDB¼ Bangladesh Water Development Board, WMO¼Water Management Organization, LGED¼ LocalGovernment Engineering Department, WMA¼Water Management Association.

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in sea levels by 2050, which would inundate 15–20% of Bangladesh’s coastal belt including the SouthWest and create millions of environmental refugees. Sarkar (2011) assessed the hydrological hazard-based risks associated with the storm surge due to the increase in Sea Surface Temperature (SST)and Sea Level Rise (SLR) in the coastal area of Bangladesh. The study illustrated that surge heightwould increase by about 13 or 33% for 2 and 4 °C increases of SST, respectively, for the entire coastalzone of Bangladesh. The sea level rise would cause drainage congestion inside the polders because ofreduced drainage periods and head differences. The Center for Environmental and Geographic Infor-mation Services (CEGIS, 2006) conducted a study on the possible adaptation costs for submergencedue to sea level rises, priority drainage improvements, etc. (Figure 6). In addition, the ClimateChange Cell (CCC, 2009) at the Department of Environment developed an economic model for thewater management infrastructural needs for the coast of Bangladesh, which is especially vulnerableto the predicted sea level rise resulting from climate change. The study considered the raising of 138existing polders for primary defense against storm surges as the key adaptation option, and the costof this option was compared with the expected benefits, i.e. preventing the expected damage toagricultural crops. An initial estimation revealed that about 20 of the polders would require improvementof the drainage system, and about 970 km of the 2,050 km of embankments would need to be raised.Maintaining existing flood management units, raising embankments to prevent overtopping, andrehabilitation of drainage systems are seen to be essential for the preservation and enhancement ofthe development achievements of the projects (NAPA, 2002). However, all of these studies require a

Fig. 6. (a) Submerged polder due to SLR. (b) Polder drainage improvement priority (CEGIS, 2006).


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more integrated approach to assessing the impacts of climate change. In addition, the key issue stillremains of how to develop a sustainable process of operation and maintenance. According to theWater Resources Planning Organization (WARPO, 2001), the present dykes were not originally builtto resist storm surges. The tide levels have also increased compared with those of the 1960s. The repair-ing of the dykes is a complex and technical matter but so far the BWDB has not given it seriousattention in practice. A polder system alone cannot completely prevent disaster and therefore thedevelopment of a strong green belt with trees and the installation of cyclone centers, etc. should alsobe given due importance.

5. Conclusions and recommendations

This study has attempted to review the historical and ongoing process of rationalization of the SouthWest coastal polders on the basis of environmental auditing along with national priorities and people’sperceptions. Priorities were given to the various aspects of targeted and achieved objectives followingthe functionalities of polderization. The conclusions and findings arising out of this interdisciplinaryreview work are summarized below.

1. With the objective of preventing inundation of agricultural land by saline water during high tide, andmaterializing the notion of a ‘Green Revolution’ calling for more intensive rice cultivation, theCoastal Embankment Project (CEP) in the 1960s introduced the Dutch term ‘polder’ for designatedareas surrounded by dykes or embankments separating them hydrologically from the river system.This resulted in good crop production until the 1980s in the South West coastal region ofBangladesh.

2. However, the presence of the polder system restricted tidal flow into the ‘beel’ (a local term referringto a natural depression) areas preventing sedimentation in the low-lying areas. Siltation of drainagechannels began to occur and by the 1980s many drainage canals had become inoperative due to thesiltation rendering vast tracts of land waterlogged all year round. After more than a decade ofincreased productivity in agriculture, the adverse impacts of polders gradually became apparentdue to the continued waterlogging resulting in serious damage to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, live-stock and physical infrastructures.

3. System rehabilitation schemes, initiated in the 1990s, also failed to improve the situation. Concernsover environmental sustainability and people’s participation in the whole planning process emerged.Chronological summaries of various functionalities of the polders with their institutional involve-ment, and institutional settings at the different stages governing these polders are presented inTables 1 and 2, respectively. Prior to the 1960s a bottom-up approach had been followed locallybut subsequently a top-down approach was practiced in the planning, design and constructionstages, with public participation only invited during the operation and maintenance stages. Conse-quently, top-down engineering solutions resulted in conflicts between the BWDB and localcommunities, or powerful groups taking control of the projects sometimes also bringing them intoconflict with the local people over water management decisions.

4. Although all the national policies, planning and strategies addressed the side effects of the poldersystem especially in terms of poor drainage, the authorities saw the need to raise the existing poldersas well as build more new ones in anticipation of an increase in future storm surge heights and sea level


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rises through the impact of climate change. Here, polders have been viewed as the primary defenseagainst the abovementioned physical vulnerabilities. However, the Climate Change Cell’s 2009report did not include detail of the drainage system and structural operation of the polders in theirmodel when estimating future adaptation costs. Even if raising the height of the polders could meetthe single objective of protection during extreme events, this could permanently block the internal drai-nage system. Therefore the coastal zone embankments have to be reviewed in an integrated manner.

5.1. Recommendations

It is apparent from the above discussions that prevention of flood in a floodplain country like Ban-gladesh has enormous environmental consequences. However, the population generally demandprotection against flood damage and it is therefore essential to take an integrated view of the hydrologiccycle and the interactions of human interventions. Implemented polder systems have previously failed toperform as intended due to a lack of understanding of the local indigenous production system, socialrelationships and the role of culture. Accordingly, local initiatives were found to be sustainable andeffective in the local social reality. Negative impacts on fishing and navigation were identified as thepotential adverse ecosystem effects where such initiatives were not followed. This reflected the needto include the interests of all water resources stakeholders in future projects and to seriously considerthe local people’s participation in planning and management as essential input for both efficiencyand solutions of water development projects. A multi-objective water resource planning approach isrequired to optimize the water needs of agriculture, public health, fisheries, ecology, navigation andindustries. Moreover, proper macro-planning of water resources projects requires development of aninstitution capable of dealing with a task which is multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary in nature.Therefore, this paper recommends that an extended cost–benefit analysis with a multi-objectivefocus, or a multi-criteria analysis, if monetizing is not possible, should be an option for rationalizingthis multi-functional infrastructure. Ensuring community participation while doing so would alsoresult in public acceptance of the decisions taken subsequently (e.g. raising the height of polders).Additionally, a balanced approach requiring a shift of policy from flood control to flood managementunder a broader framework of round-the-year water management with effective implementation has nowbecome a common demand of people at both the local and national levels. Therefore, public discussionsin the intended project area and obtaining consent from the elected Local Government body should bepart of any study of a water project. Some social conflicts could be effectively resolved by involving theLocal Government body in the formulation of projects, and in the planning decisions and theirimplementation. Moreover, handing over the water projects to the locally elected government bodyinstead of local institutions such as the Water Management Organizations (WMO) of the BWDB andthe Water Management Associations (WMA) of the LGED, etc. could be an option for sustainable oper-ation and maintenance of water development projects, which will be essential for the success of thepolders.

References

ADB (Asian Development Bank) (2007). Performance Evaluation Report: Bangladesh: Khulna-Jessore Drainage RehabilitationProject, Project Number: PPE: Ban 21087, Loan Number: 1289-Ban(Sf), Manila.


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Received 4 November 2012; accepted in revised form 23 August 2013. Available online 19 October 2013


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historical analysis of rationalizing south west coastal ......flooding. it was based on a local...

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