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โครงการหนังสออเล็กทรอนกสด้านการเกษตร เฉลมพระเกียรตพระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว
International Seminar on Biodiversity and Sustainable Development in the Mekong River Basin 17

CHAPTER 4

Flood Resilience and Sustainable Development in Greater Mekong Subregion

1*
Indrajit Pal , Ganesh Dhungana , , Nang Ying Ei Hein Kham
1
1
and Puvadol Doydee
2

1 Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani – 12120,
Thailand
2 Kasetsart University Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
*Corresponding author: E-mail: indrajit-pal@ait.ac.th

Abstract

It is essential to understand that communities' exposure to hazards is primarily influenced
by the inclining poverty, lack of capacities, and a heavy reliance on the environment for their
livelihoods. Thus, floods have become a prime threat to the environments, lives, and livelihood of
people residing in the Mekong Region. The Mekong as a river is getting less attention in the
changing phenomena of modern politics as changes in the features of this enormous river can be
noticed dramatically in recent years. Henceforth, this concept paper put forward the idea of
developing a tool for building the capacity of policymakers and development organizations for
evidence-based decision-making in addressing the multi-hazard scenario for the resilient Mekong
region.

Keywords: Flood risk, Resilience, Mekong river basin, Disaster management

Introduction

Flooding is a natural occurrence that happens at regular intervals in all river basins around
the world and provides important ecological functions. It is a continuous, complex, and constantly
changing process (Qiu et al., 2017) and one of the most frequent and catastrophic natural hazards
that interrupt people's lives and livelihoods all over the world (MRC, 2009). Floods frequently
cause serious damage and misery, especially in low-income countries with inadequate drainage
and flood prevention systems (Ly et al., 2018). It is important to know that flood is caused by three
main factors: geography, a tremendous amount of water, and a lack of effective drainage facilities
(Pal et al., 2021) and is triggered by both natural causes and human causes. For instance, flooding
can occur as a result of heavy rains, landslides, or human waste covering waterways, and the
problem can be exacerbated by unsuitable land use within the river basin (Pal & Ghosh, 2017).
The conversion of land cover along the river basin for community development may result in more
violent floods.
Flooding is primarily considered a negative rather than a positive phenomenon since
human settlements are being built along floodplains. Deforestation, urbanization, illegal cutting of
flood embankments, and land subsidence are also the driving forces of flooding by human
activities. While floods strike countries at all stages of development, the vast majority of flood
victims (89%) live in low- and middle-income countries (Rentschile & Salhab, 2020). The
classification of flood hazards depends on the depth and velocity of floodwater, effective
evacuation time, and evacuation difficulties. The major types of flooding and their characteristics

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