1. Communities and Institutions for Flood Resilience
Turning Tides?
Tidal River Management
On sinking sediments and sentiments
Jan van Minnen
Leendert de Die
September – December 2012

2. Outline
• What is Tidal River Management (TRM)?
• The research area
• Jan: historical and physical introduction
• Leendert: perspectives of TRM
• Conclusion

3. Jan – research objective
• To understand TRM from a historical physical
perspective.

4. Methodology

5. A dynamic history

6. CEP 1960

7. Research Area
Jessore
Khulna

8. Research design

9. Dynamics
velocities and water levels
2 8.5
8
1.5
7.5
1
velocity counts/ meters
7
Tidal Basin
0.5
River Upstream
6.5
water level
0
0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 6
-0.5
5.5
-1 5
time

10. Preliminary findings
• Tidal Basins are crucial for the Hari river
• Only siltation is possible, no redirection
• Increased siltation due to reclamation on new
floodplains
• What is Tidal River Management?
– Water management?
– Sediment management?
– Flow velocity management?
– Tidal volume management?

11. Leendert – research objectives
• To map current water management practices
in Hari-Mukteswari river.
• To find how different stakeholders perceive
“TRM”
• To find current problems regarding water
management in Hari-Mukteswari river.

12. Design: river focus

13. Methods 1: Interviews in the field

14. Methods 2: Participatory map drawing

15. Methods 3
– “Detective style”
– Data triangulation

16. Preliminary results
Water is controlled by elite – not by WMG / WMA

17. WMGs & WMAs are in identity crisis

18. 99% of people want TRM
& regard it essential to their livelihood

19. Communities and Institutions for Flood Resilience
Turning Tides?

20. What happened?
• BWDB & MPs at Kapalia to open tidal basin
• Demonstrators prevented the opening
• 12 cars burned
• BWDB and govt. officials fled for their lives

21. Why?
• Peripheral embankments construction
• Compensation:
– Bureaucratic procedure
– Land inheritance
– Enemy land
• Beel Khuksia experience:
– Initial plan: 3-4 years
– Now: 6 years
• Low trust in government

22. Common conclusions
• Tidal basins are crucial for the Hari river
• “Scaling” is essential in understanding “TRM”:
– Focus on entire river and delta, not tidal basin
• Challenges pertaining to TRM are political
rather than physical