Protecting Flood Plains : CSE
Date & Time Apr 25, 2024 03:00 PM in India
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi. CSE researches into, lobbies for and communicates the urgency of development that is both sustainable and equitable. The scenario today demands using knowledge to bring about change. In other words, working India’s democracy. This is what we aim to do.The challenge, we see, is two-pronged. On the one hand, millions live within a biomass based subsistence economy, at the margins of survival. The environment is their only natural asset. But a degraded environment means stress on land, water and forest resources for survival. It means increasing destitution and poverty. Here, opportunity to bring about change is enormous.But it will need a commitment to reform – structural reform- in the way we do business with local communities. On the other hand, rapid industrialization is throwing up new problems: growing toxification and a costly disease burden. The answers will be in reinventing the growth model of the Western world for ourselves, so that we can leapfrog technology choices and find new ways of building wealth that will not cost us the earth. Our aim is to raise these concerns, participate in seeking answers and in pushing for answers, transforming these into policy and so practice. We do this through our research and by communicating our understanding through our publications.
Description
Flood plains are nature’s best defence against floods; they protect riverine ecosystems and aid in groundwater recharge. But our hunger for more land is decimating them. How can we stop the rot?
Damage to floodplains harms the riverine ecosystem, lessens groundwater recharge capacity and poses threats of flash floods. Typically located next to rivers, streams and coasts, floodplains are nature’s best defence against destructive floods. They provide essential habitat for wildlife, improve water quality and protect human communities.
However, floodplains are often considered prime building locations. Development along river corridors has significantly altered floodplain functions, leading to more frequent and severe floods, extensive loss of fish and wildlife habitat. As climate change leads to larger and more severe storms, rivers will need more room to flow. The latest government data shows that Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have had the maximum areas affected by floods between 1953 and 2010.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) invites you to a webinar to discuss this critical issue, the challenges it offers, and the solutions that could be considered. Do join us.
