***One of the very positive aspects of the Flood Action Flan (FAP)seems to have always been overlooked in the earlier discussions by different authors. This is the improved planning aspect through the technology transferred in the FAP process. This article is intended to touch upon a few points in this regard.***

FLOOD Action Plan has always been criticized by Its opponents for high cost incurred during the study phase. This statement can also be balanced by comparing the cost of study with the cost of the planned implementation programme, which Is reasonable. There is a Chinese saying that the water sector projects might take ten years to study and only one year to Implement. This is true because all the water sector projects intervene the natural eco-system. The importance of studying the effect of any intervention is more Important than the intervention Itself. Hence the criticism is partly nullified. The critiques also came up with the issues of lack of people's participation, poor environmental and socioeconomic consideration etc. Very little has been discussed or focused about one of the very positive aspect of FAP. which is Improved planning through the technology transferred in the FAP process.

It can be stated beyond doubt that technology transfer has significantly taken place in the FAP process. Before the inception of the FAP. water sector project planning would mainly mean flood control, Improved drainage and increased production through irrigation facilities. The approach has significantly changed with the In-troduction of FAP. Bangladeshi experts along with their foreign counter-

parts in the technically assisted donor-funded projects acknowledge the fact that the beneficiaries view should be taken into account throughout the project phase, which means during planning, design and Implementation. Accordingly. the Ministry of Water Resources has circulated the Guidelines for People's Participation in the Water Development Projects. In the planning process, there would be a budget for compensation for the project affected people Mitigation measure would also be considered in this process. Anticipated negative impact on the environment and on the fishery would also be minimised during the planning phase.

The issue of equity' would be given importance in terms of socio-economic viability. The long-term sustainability with regard to operation and maintenance would also be a burning issue in the planning process. Hence water sector planning would no longer be the isolated responsibility of the water resources engineers only, but the team work of the environmentalist, the so-cio-economlst. the fisheries expert, the agriculturist, the

agronomist and so on. Inclusion of all the other sectors during planning is the outcome of the FAP process. It is worth mentioning here that the aforesaid concept and approach had never been the part of the course work in ihe engineering degree. Recently. BUET has started a course along with the Delft University of technology (DUT) which Is called BUET-DUT programme under the technical assistance of the Government of Netherlands which covers these new issues in the field of integrated water resources management. This innovative course would broaden the view of the students of masters level in the water resources planning. The course also consists of one and two dimensional mathematical modelling which is a sophisticated tool for planning.

Contribution of FAP in the field of flood forecasting is praiseworthy. Flood forecasting method adopted in the past was old fashioned and was based on classical hydraulics. A modern technique has been introduced in the FAP process which makes use of the fully described computer based one dimen-

sional mathematical model for the major river system of Bangladesh. This is a major breakthrough in the field of flood forecasting and. more importantly. Bangladeshi engineers are capable of handling this new technique

Geographic Information System (G1S) technology has also been introduced in the FAP. In the modern world, no efficient planning can be conceived without the help of this new technology. GIS technology simplifies and saves lot of time in the planning exercise. This* technology also gives much better insight in to a particular scenario by distributing it over space and making an easily understandable presentation. In the traditional method, the area-elevation curve of a catchment could have consumed few days to compute. Whereas, in the new technology. it is a matter of few minutes with the help of computer. once the elevation data is fed into the system. A significant number of Bangladeshi engineers, socioeconomists and environmentalists can now handle the system on their own.

FAP technically improved the topographic mapping. It also introduced the most so-

phisticated equipment in the river survey which is of utmost importance in planning. This has enhanced the scope of the future work. It should be noted with appreciation that Bangladeshi engineers are actively involved in this process.

Flood Management Model (FMM) which is developed under the purview of FAP is very important tool to understand the flooding process and to find an optima) solution. Mathematical modelling and GIS technique ere coupled together to achieve this goal. The FMM has already been applied ’ in the flood impact assessment in the Compartmentalisation Pilot Project (CPP) in Tangail as a test case and may, in the long run. become a useful planning tool. It Is planned that the Flood Management Model would be coupled with the Flood Forecasting Model to further improve the forecasting. Local engineers are fully involved in all phases of its development.

In conclusion, it can be said with a note of appreciation that the Flood Action Plan (FAP) has successfully brought in new technologies and transferred the technology to our local staffs which is prerequisite to a sustainable development of any country.

The writer, a former consultant to SWMC, Is presently working as Programme Officer. Water Sector tn the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka. The views expressed are his personal.