Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) has urged the government to treat the ongoing canal re-excavation programme not merely as a dredging exercise, but as a core component of integrated spatial planning, water governance and climate adaptation.
The institute presented its position in a paper titled “Canal Re-excavation Programme: In the Context of Water Management, Climate Adaptation and Spatial Planning” yesterday.
For canal re-excavations to achieve lasting results, it must be linked with land use control, natural drainage preservation, waste management, climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation and long-term maintenance, BIP said.
Citing a 2023 study, the institute warned that continued damage to canals and drainage corridors could nearly double flood-affected areas in parts of Dhaka from 4.05 percent to 8.47 percent by 2042.
BIP said while re-excavation may restore water flow and reduce waterlogging in some areas, without connectivity between drains, canals and rivers, regular desiltation, and pollution control, excavated canals risk becoming clogged again alongside degradation of water quality.
The institute also cited a 2024 study that said Dhaka lost about 69 percent of its wetlands between 1990 and 2020, while land surface temperatures rose by 3.44°C to 9.35°C.
It warned that 74-90 percent of remaining wetlands could disappear by 2050 without protection, and called for wetland conservation zones, ecological buffer strips along canal banks, prohibition of illegal structures and mandatory blue-green network requirements in urban planning rules.
BIP recommended sewage and effluent treatment facilities, solid waste management systems, and strict enforcement against direct discharge into waterways.
It also called for addressing limitations including lack of coordinated national planning, repeated re-encroachment, unclear maintenance funding, weak inter-agency coordination and poor linkage with the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 and the National Adaptation Plan 2023–2050.
BIP proposed an 11-point recommendation, including a national water resource plan, river-basin-based planning, GIS and remote sensing monitoring, alignment with national climate plans, waste infrastructure rollout, ecological buffer zones, community-based management, dedicated maintenance funding, stronger role of professional planners and strict anti-encroachment enforcement.