The impact of major floods on flood risk policy evolution: Insights from Bangladesh

Abstract

Building on conceptual work conducted within the UK, the authors examine the incremental and crisis‐driven nature of changes in flood risk mitigation policies in Bangladesh since the 1950s. They highlight the key factors which have influenced the incremental and catalytic changes in policy, noting in particular the role and attitudes of international agencies and donors. By exploring incremental changes as a function of coalitions, the authors illustrate the importance of these external forces in their changing alignment with key national‐level actors; firstly through an ‘engineering coalition’ and more recently through an ‘environmental coalition’. The extent to which floods act as ‘catalysts’ for changing policy is then evaluated using the four most significant inland floods, or series of floods, in Bangladesh during the time period under investigation. The findings from which endorse many of the conceptual findings in the UK, the main exception being that in Bangladesh factors unconnected with floods continue to be the dominant forces of change ‐ not least significant of which is institutional and political change, resource constraints and the international donor community. In addition, major floods have the capacity to delay policy changes, whilst simultaneously accelerating policy debate, and to destabilise established coalitions.