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FAP: Euro Parliament suggests more studies

By Masud Hasan Khan
The European Parliament has called for suspending all major construction works tn the rural areas of Bangladesh un der the multi-billion dollar Flood Action Ilan (FAJ1 for environmental reasons.
The Parliament also called for "a guaranteed Institutional framework" for the FAP and suggested more studies on the socio-economic. technical and environmental aspects before taking up any major construe tkn in the country, according to ,i docume nt made available to The Daily Star
The Parliament adopted the resolution on June 24 at Strasbourg. France, one day af ter seven parliamentarians rep resenting various "pro-Green"
groups motioned the resolution for adoption.
"The Greens" in the European Parliament organised a two day conference on the FAP on May 27 and May 28 in which some 200 participants, including about 20 European MPs, took part.
A group of Bangladeshi par ticlpants, representing different NGOs and resource persons, were also present at the scs
The outcome of the confer race. considered to be the off! cial launching of the anti FAP movement in Europe, has made the advocates uncomforKlile and Dhaka has taken it with due importance, sources irxll rated
The FAP is a massive flood control programme Initialed by the government following the severe Roods of 1987 and 1988
The programme Is financially and technically supported by the International donors includ Ing the USA. UK. France, the Netherlands and Japan.
The initial cost of Implementation of the FAP is estimated al between US dollar 10 and 15 billion.
At the study level, the FAP Is divided into 26 components, and its objective is to formulate an Integrated national watci miinagciiKiit policy by perrua nenlly controlling floods in the
Critics fear that physical
under the FAP would cause ir revocable environmental haz ards. displace an unspccillcd number of people and, above all. re mould the lives of mil lions of people living on the floodplains.
The resolution of the European Parliament called upon the members of the European Community to "reconsider” their involvement In the FAP after a coin-rent and consistent plan of action is chalked out in 1995
It criticised the "inadequate preliminary studies' under the FAP and observed that the post live effects of the plan on agri cultural production and coverage l maintenance costs were 'unclear'.
The resolution criticises the fact that the preliminary studies (of the FAP) have not sufficiently taken into account the full extent of the harm caused by previous attempts to contro floods by constructing embankments and positive role of annual river flooding for soil enrichment, navigation, groundwater exchange, biodiversity and wetlands, agricultural production and floodplain fisheries".
"The construction work (under the FAP) will have enormous impact on the lives of millions of people in Bangladesh," it added.
Besides, changing the FAP's classification within the -World Bank's project scheme from Category B to Category A was also suggested by the European Parliament, which observed that the FAP projects "appear to have significant adverse effects on the environment."
The World Bank's A-grade projects require elaborate environmental assessment before implementation.
The Parliament observed that main threats to the Bangladeshi people are cyclonic storm surges along the coasts of the Bay of Bengal.
ft demanded that the highest priority'be given to increasing the capacity of the country to cope with cyclone disasters — building shelters, coastal afforestation and improved warning and evacuation programme.
Irrigation Secy's views
When contacted. Irrigation Secretary M Asafuddowlah brushed aside the allegations of inadequate studies" for the FAP and said that its aim was to permanently mitigate the flood hazard.
Justifying the structural
works proposed under the FAP. he said that embankments were the only way to effectively control the floods:
"If there were more effective techniques to combat floods, we surely would have gone for them", the Secretary said.
Strongly refuting charges that the FAP was ''anti-people'', Asafuddowlah commented. "It is preposterous to think that a democratic government would lake up any programme which hurts the people and the country's interests".
Elaborating, he said: "The people are the centre of all our planning. We want to assure the flood-affected people that floods won't keep recurring."
"Some 22 thousand people are now affected by floods in greater Sylhct and many of them have been living with snakes on their roof-tops.
"Do you think their present predicament is belter?" he asked.