Greater Mekong Subregion

Going with the Flow

Strategies for dealing with flooding have evolved away from structural solutions toward management programs that address the way communities live near rivers

By Floyd Whaley, (fwhaley@adb.org)
External Relations Specialist

Throughout Asia, the frequency of floods has doubled since 1978

Flooding has traditionally been seen as a problem to be fixed with engineering or relocation. After major floods, political leaders and the media frequently call for a greater emphasis on fighting floods.

“One often hears the expression ‘fighting floods’ in the context of flood control,” says Ian Fox, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) Principal Project Specialist (Natural Resources). “Flood control is a structural means of keeping a river within its channel. The thinking is that floods are bad and have to be fought with the whole armory of modern engineering capability.”

On the Mekong River, which flows for 4,800 kilometers through six countries, Mr. Fox and other experts on flooding have found that spending more money on flood control is not the answer. “Floods are often made worse by human interventions, especially flood control, as well as the expansion of human settlements into flood-affected areas,” says Mr. Fox.

Throughout Asia, the frequency of floods has doubled since 1978, according to a report by the International Center for Urban Safety Engineering at the University of Tokyo. On the Mekong, the floods last for months and are sometimes too heavy and quick for villagers to cope.

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Poor People Hardest Hit by Flooding

The people who are hit hardest are those who are least equipped to deal with the onslaught of the waters. Poor people living on river banks and flood-plains and in low-lying coastal areas will most likely lose their crops, livestock, possessions, and even their lives when rivers overflow.

Yet, despite the devastation, floods can serve an important function in the lives of people residing near the river. “In the Mekong River Basin, the annual flood cycle creates the conditions for an extremely productive fishing industry on which millions of people depend for their livelihood,” says Mr. Fox.

Flooding is a source of livelihood and food. The floods feed the wetlands, which are breeding areas for aquatic plants, fish, and animals. They also enrich the soil with sediment and nutrients brought from upstream, and replenish groundwater that is desperately needed during the dry season.

“Floods are essential for the communities living on the floodplains, as they nurture the fisheries and maintain the agricultural sectors,” says Olivier Cogels, Chief Executive Officer of the Mekong River Commission (MRC). “People very much depend on the positive aspects of flooding. For them, we need to maintain the flooding, but we need to ensure there is the right amount of water at the right times. It is a very difficult and complex problem.”

To respond to the flooding, ADB is working with MRC and the Government of the Netherlands to provide technical assistance to help develop a basin-wide flood management and mitigation program for the Mekong River.

The technical assistance will support MRC’s Flood Management and Mitigation Program to study the potential flood control benefits of structural measures, the effect on flooding of the rapidly proliferating infrastructure within the basin, and the use of flood-proofing measures as a cost-effective means of mitigating floods at the local level. The technical assistance will also provide floodmanagement training for those tasked with managing floods at both the basin and country levels.

MRC is also coordinating the sharing of flood and river information among its members and with the Mekong upstream countries, the People’s Republic of China and Myanmar.

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Benefits in a Basin-Wide Approach

“Our member countries are not just looking at their own interests. They are approaching the issue in terms of the effects on the entire basin,” says Mr. Cogels. “The countries realize that cooperation in the management of water resources will help them avoid the catastrophes flooding can bring. They are aware that the impact of one project or one action by one area may have disastrous effects on another area.”

The goal of the program is to prevent, minimize, or mitigate people’s suffering and economic losses due to floods, while preserving the environmental benefits. But it will also have the overall impact of helping the countries in the region build ties and solidify relationships.

“Countries are working together to manage this important resource,” says Mr. Cogels. “The cooperative efforts in flood management are a key aspect of regional cooperation as a whole.”

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