Water as Leverage- Setting the scene for a call for action

Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia
Khulna
Water Oriented
Infrastructure and
Development
[6]
Khulna was originally built on
the intersection of the Rupsa
and the Bhairab rivers. Scattered
over multiple locations, the early
settlements were mainly situated
on the western shore of the rivers,
where the slightly elevated ground
offered protection from flooding
and water logging.[1] Today, the
waterways remain a backbone for
development and the proximity of
water is both a necessity and a
threat. Throughout the entire city,
from the southern central area to
the northern periphery, informal
settlements are built on municipal
grounds close to the rivers. About
40% of these slum dwellers are
climate refugees who had to leave
their flooded homes and arable land
in the rural areas around the city of
Khulna.[2]
To reduce the impact of tidal cyclone
floods, existing embankments
are fortified and new ones are
erected. To make room for these
embankments, several informal
settlements are upgraded by
displacing them further away from
the river.[3] Unfortunately, this
embankment strategy also tends
to increase land subsidence,
leaving the urban fabric even more
vulnerable to flooding. Moreover,
embankments lead to more
sedimentation: for example, the
abundance of silt in the Rupsa River
has deteriorated its navigability and
turned Khulna from a water-oriented
into a car-driven city.[4]
New infrastructure has been laid
out in order to connect the city with
its surroundings, including Jessore
airport in the north and the Mongla
harbour in the south. But since
Khulna is part of the tidal flood plain
of the delta, these asphalted roads
are flushed away every year.[5]
As a result, Khulna depends for its
accessibility on a vulnerable and
thus high-maintenance transport
network.
Two challenges emerge from the
current situation. Firstly, could
Khulna restore its waterway system
by creating more room for the
natural riverbeds?[6] As such, the
rivers could regain their function as
ecological and economic assets,
and Khulna would not depend on
a road network that is permanently
under construction. Secondly, can
these roads be constructed in a
more sustainable and damageresistant
way by embedding them in
a softer and greener drainage system
that retains floodwater instead of
discharging it (e.g. wadis)?[7]
Doing so, the development of
infrastructure could become a
solution rather than an additional
problem.
[7]
[2]
[5]
[3]
[4]
104 Call for Action
PART 1 / From Global Water Issues to a Call for Action
[1]
105