Innovative adaptations for flood management

Beginning with the current year, the official flood season in Assam will span from May 1 to October 31, in accordance with the revised guidelines approved by the State Cabinet last year. The flood season expanded due to climate impact, which prompted the government to revise the official season to provide ample space and time to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority for preparation and response. For lakhs of flood- and erosion-hit families in the state, a durable solution to the recurring problem is not yet in sight, as long-term flood and erosion management projects initiated cannot bring immediate respite. The challenge is to increase their resilience against multiple waves of annual flooding and unabated riverbank erosion until such projects are completed. One such project is the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB)-financed Climate Resilient Brahmaputra Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Project. The Central government and the ADB signed the 200-million-dollar loan agreement in February for strengthening flood and riverbank erosion risk management along the main stem of the Brahmaputra River. The objective of the project is to enhance climate-resilient flood and riverbank erosion mitigation systems in the Brahmaputra River. The project component includes the construction of 60 km of riverbank protection structures, 14 km of climate adaptation and emergency works to stabilise and improve its navigability, the installation of 32 km of pro-siltation measures to induce sediment deposition, the construction of 4 km of climate-resilient flood embankments, including sluice gates, fish passes, and drainage structures, and other measures such as reducing rain cuts on embankment slopes. Another crucial output of the project includes strengthening flood forecasting and early warning systems. People living in flood-prone areas can take adequate precautions to reduce the destruction of their personal belongings and prevent the loss of lives if they are warned of flood occurrences through early warning systems in place. The project envisages undertaking flood mapping to identify people and infrastructure at risk of flooding and enable better land use planning and management on risk-sensitive land. The notification of flood plain zones is long overdue and must be followed immediately once the project completes flood mapping. It will also provide the required legal framework for project execution and better land use planning in risk-prone areas. The project also seeks to strengthen the existing guidelines for flood and riverbank protection design to address climate impacts, update the river stabilisation principle, and develop nature-based solutions. The existing embankments provide protection to about 52% of the total flood-prone areas in the state, but most of the embankments have outlived their span and are prone to breaches. Flood intensity and damage cannot be expected to reduce if the embankments are constructed with a new design to withstand the fury of the Brahmaputra in spate during the flood season. The third most important output of the project is improving the livelihoods and resilience of vulnerable people living within the project areas. The project is targeted to be completed by September 30, 2029, and this component will be crucial to building the resilience of the people in the the people in the project area. Activities planned under this component include the establishment of eight modern weaving centres, increasing vegetable production by providing climate-resilient seeds, promoting improved agricultural practices, and extending marketing support. Marketing support is the most crucial sub-component, as failure to tap the market due to a dearth of adequate marketing facilities closer to their weaving clusters or farm fields posed hurdles before many such livelihood interventions in the past. The large-scale migration of youth from flood-affected households in search of green pastures after their farming activities turned non-remunerative and looms stopped spinning enough money for weavers’ households has many lessons for project-implementing authorities and other stakeholders. The real challenge is to provide an innovative livelihood support system during the long flood season of six months. Ideally, the remaining six months of the non-flood season need to be leveraged more to improve preparedness for the flood season. Providing adequate flood shelters for people and their livestock alone is not going to bring much change. Such shelters should be designed in such a manner that some of their income-generating activities, such as weaving, tailoring, milk production, food processing, etc., can be continued even during the flood season. Investment in building such structures will be huge, but the long-term gain from continued economic activities will justify the quantum of allocation. Introducing flood- and climate-resilient houses can be another effective intervention to prevent household economic activities from coming to a complete halt during the flood season. Construction of dwelling houses, educational institutions, and government offices on raised platforms modelled on the traditional houses of the Mising community built on bamboo stilts can be explored for adaptation. The advantage of such a living and working space on a raised platform is that flood water will flow with less resistance, and the requirement for flood shelter will be less. Innovative adaptation remains the cornerstone of flood management.