The government of Bangladesh invested in large scale coastal embankment projects in the 1960s and 1970s. The polders that were developed played an important role in protecng coastal communies from water-related disasters and in increasing agricultural producvity. However, over me maintenance of these infrastructures became a major concern leading to the creaon of a naonal policy that requires local communies to parcipate in their operaon and maintenance. In this paper we are interested in understanding what determines the poor state of affairs of the polders. One way to examine this will be through the lens of operaon and maintenance (O&M) and the praccal strategies adopted by different actors for O&M. This paper consequently discusses the roles and responsibilies of these mulples actors in operaon and maintenance of water infrastructure in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. The analysis is based on primary data collected in 2012 and 2013 in nine study sites from the coastal zone. Qualitave data was collected in these nine sites through focus group discussions and key informaon interviews. An in-depth analysis of how operaon and maintenance acvies actually take place reveals that the mulplicity of actors involved in operaon creates overlaps and conflicts, resulng in the strategic deferral of maintenance by different actors and eventual disrepair and degradaon of the infrastructures. Ulmately, the unclear demarcaon of roles and responsibilies for these actors curtails the short and long term sustainability of water management in the polder area. The paper recommends revising the legal water management framework, improving coordinaon and giving a formal role to local government instuons.
Año de publicación
2015
Autores
Idioma
English
Palabras clave
stakeholders, land, river erosion, water management
Geográfico
Bangladesh
