ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has warned that the Indus Basin lacks an appropriate flood policy, comprehensive laws and adequate flood-control infrastructure and because of this Pakistan suffered cumulative flood damage of $20 billion from 1950 to 2010.

According to the bank’s report entitled “Indus Basin Floods: Mechanisms, Impacts and Management”, there is an urgent need to assess technological, institutional and policy options, and develop an integrated water resources management framework and a flood plan.

There is also need for rationalisation of organisational roles and for institutional reforms; development and enforcement of a land-use policy; setting up of short-, medium-, and long-term goals; identification and involvement of all the stakeholders in the process; and increase in revenue for the maintenance and management of flood protection infrastructure.

The flood management policy should address the specific issues and challenges of flood-related risks, with its vision centred on preventing the loss of lives and livelihoods, preserving natural resources, and furthering economic development.

The policy objectives should be clearly defined so as to avoid mixing the policy and planning aspects.

Policy may be used on the principles of managing the water cycle as a whole; integrating water and land use management; managing risks and uncertainties; protecting catchments, water courses, and floodplains from encroachment and degradation; allowing the equitable and reasonable exploitation of catchments and flood-points; making beneficial use of floodwater; protecting the ecosystem; and ensuring institutional integrity and financial sustainability.

To date, no approved national water and flood policy exists, and too many institutions are involved when disasters occur. Considering the large basin area and scale of flooding, rescue and relief operations have been inadequate.

During the 2010 flood, there were also problems in operational decision-making at the field level, the report points out.

Pakistan suffered from 21 major floods between 1950 and 2011 — almost one flood every three years. These floods killed a total of 8,887 people, damaged or destroyed 109,822 villages, and caused economic losses amounting to $19bn. On an average, the annual flood damage from 1960 to 2011 was about one per cent of the mean annual GDP. The devastating 2010 flood caused the highest damage in terms of economic costs of about $10bn.

Pakistan did not include large dams in its priority agenda in the past. However, recent water and energy crises have demonstrated the need for large reservoirs, and the government is considering building large reservoirs as one solution. It is highly desirable that any effort to build large reservoirs be linked to flood management.

In the Indus Basin, many challenges exist at the operational level that can only be overcome through better governance, effective institutions, and necessary legislation. Good governance should effectively implement socially acceptable regulations, ensure that there are no conflicts of interest, and assign responsibility.

Legislation on flood management should, thus define institutional roles and responsibilities, determine and protect rights and obligations, and provide a mechanism for dispute management.

Indus Basin floods contain large volumes of freshwater that, if properly managed, could be used beneficially. Pakistan is a water-scarce country in the midst of an energy crisis, and is potentially facing a food crisis as well. It should, therefore, not allow such a precious resource to be wasted, the report notes.

The report suggests that while Pakistan’s flood forecasting and early warning system has demonstrated its usefulness, it does not currently cover the entire basin. As a result, the system’s predictive capacity is limited. There is an urgent need to extend the system’s coverage to the upper Indus reach, to the Swat and Kabul rivers, and to the major hill torrents.

Pakistan currently has a water storage capacity equal to about 30 days of mean annual discharge, and this water would be mostly used for irrigation and energy generation. Moreover, the government places limits on the reservoirs’ flood management operations. New reservoirs are, thus crucial, especially given the looming water and energy crises, as well as such change drivers as urbanisation; population growth; the doubling of the food requirement by 2050; increasing water demand for environmental, industrial, and economic development; and variability due to climate change and flood management requirements.

A large part of the total investment of $1.2 billion in flood management between 1950 and 2010 was spent on repairing flood damage, developing a flood-forecasting system, and building new levees at various locations. This reactive approach to flood management has led to high recovery costs, and to ad hoc measures that are not sustainable.