A SYSTEMS-SCIENCE-BASED ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE AND AGGRAVATE THE EFFECTS OF FLOODING IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is one of the poorest and least-developed countries of the world. Flooding is a requirement for the fertilization of major areas of the agricultural land of the country, and is differentiated from ca tastrophic flooding, which causes loss of life and serious damage to a griculture and utilities. The causes of flooding are analyzed in terms of the principal subsystems: hydrological, siltation, structural, fin ancial, and political. An holistic analysis of the interaction of the factors is given. A major integration of economic policy and technical expertise will be required of the countries of the Himalayan subconti nent toward a collective environment management strategy to ameliorate the problem. Without such a strategy, the problem is likely to increa se. Even with an appropriate strategy, remission is likely to be modes t.