Flood management disaster

While the damage is not as severe as it was back in 2010, floods this year have also wreaked havoc on the lives of around two million people in our country, especially in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and the situation is not yet under control.

Climate change has demonstrably increased the severity and frequency of flooding, making it imperative for policymakers to give much more serious thought to the need for floodplains management. Creation of disaster management entities is not enough. There is need for a much more comprehensive approach, which can not only minimise destruction caused by flooding, but also harness floodwaters for environmental restoration.

Proper management of our rivers is necessary to achieve these goals. Environmental experts have been warning that agricultural and residential encroachment on floodplains is a major reason for the increasing devastation being caused by the heavy monsoon rains. Not much has been done to address this problem.

After the floods of 2010, the Ministry of Climate Change asked the intergovernmental Ramsar Convention on Wetlands to send an expert team to the wetlands alongside the Indus to devise a strategy to benefit from the floodwaters. The need for a much more integrated approach to floodplain management was emphasised. But again, there is little effort to rehabilitate wetlands wildlife sanctuaries, and for restoration and management of ponds and lakes, which could help conserve biodiversity and also help protect the environment.

A judicial inquiry had been set up to probe the cause of extensive damages caused by the 2010 floods as well. This inquiry commission published a report entitled A Rude Awakening which cited instances of grave mismanagement of the barrages and embankments by the irrigation and power department. It particularly criticised visits of the Punjab chief minister and other VIPs as counterproductive to the flood relief activities. However, our decision-makers remain content to rely on reactionary and tokenistic measures in response to natural disasters.

The judicial commission had proposed a ban on construction in areas close to the rivers and to particularly put an end to ‘landlord dams’ which powerful landowners build according to their liking. It recommended the creation of an effective early flood warning system and a modern forecast capacity. However, steps taken by the government to address these concerns are hard to see. Officials that the judicial commission declared responsible for the flood chaos, including the then provincial secretary for irrigation in Punjab and two of its chief engineers, were given promotions instead of punishments.

Boastful claims about us possessing the world’s best contiguous irrigation network are undermined by the glaring lack of institutional capacity to manage our freshwater resources. Our policymakers have not adequately been able to contend with the inevitable challenges of climate change or climate variability in their flood fighting strategy or in water management strategies.

If the government departments concerned remain unable to develop an integrated flood management plan, monsoon rains, coupled with Himalayan glacial melt, will continue causing destruction before this freshwater makes its way to the sea, while we lack the capacity to store this water for use in times of drought and for alleviating the growing water scarcity across our rural areas, which urgently need more freshwater to increase farm productivity.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2014.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.