Dhaka’s Chronic Flooding Stems from Wetland Loss, Unplanned Urban Growth, and Fragmented Governance
Original framing: “Why Dhaka Floods Every Monsoon” — Global Issues
Hydrological modeling shows that Dhaka loses up to 40% of its natural floodplain capacity due to wetland conversion, amplifying runoff by a factor of 2.5 during peak monsoon. Climate projections indicate a 15% increase in extreme rainfall events by 2050, compounding the structural deficits. Scientific evidence thus underpins the urgency for ecosystem‑based solutions.
Dhaka’s flood crisis is a convergence of historic colonial drainage, contemporary market‑driven urban sprawl, and fragmented governance that collectively erase the city’s natural water‑holding capacity.
Indigenous riverine practices, when coupled with scientific hydrology and cross‑cultural lessons from Lagos and Jakarta, reveal a viable pathway of ecosystem restoration and participatory planning. Marginalised communities, especially women in informal settlements, must be central actors in redesigning drainage and housing, supported by enforceable policies and nature‑based infrastructure. By reframing the flood not as an inevitable weather event but as a symptom of systemic neglect, the city can mobilise the trickster’s inversion to disrupt entrenched power structures and build resilient, inclusive urban water systems.