Climate crisis: Lessons Pakistan can learn from China, Bangladesh

By MNS

Pakistan faces devastating annual floods, but lessons from China and Bangladesh show how well-planned and -built infrastructure and community preparedness can turn disaster into resilience. To explores strategies Pakistan can adopt to control floods, read on…

STATE OF THE NATION

Sept 2, 2025

PAKISTAN faces relentless monsoonal rains nearly every year, transforming rivers into deadly torrents that devastate lives, homes, and farmland. This year’s floods alone have displaced millions, caused over 700 deaths, injured thousands, and destroyed vital infrastructure across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.

This catastrophe echoes earlier devastating floods in 2010, 2011, 2022, 2023, and 2024, which cumulatively displaced millions and inflicted massive economic damage. Each year’s floods exacerbate human suffering, strain disaster response systems, and threaten Pakistan’s socio-economic development.

The grim aftermath leaves broken homes, ruined schools, hospitals, and outbreaks of disease. Addressing floods requires more than crisis management; Pakistan needs a bold, sustained approach centred on flood control and climate resilience.

Despite the scale of Pakistan’s flood woes, experiences from similarly flood-prone countries offer hope. China and Bangladesh, both regularly afflicted by monsoonal floods, have made notable progress in flood management. Their strategies combine ambitious infrastructure projects, ecological restoration, community preparedness, and advanced technology.

By adapting and localising these lessons, Pakistan could transform flood disasters into manageable challenges, protecting lives, infrastructure, and economic stability even amidst changing climate patterns and upstream water releases from India.

China’s approach to flood control

Historically, floods in China caused enormous loss of life and property. Today, China’s approach has drastically reduced these impacts through several key measures:

1.     Dams and reservoirs: China has built over 85,000 dams, including the colossal Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, which regulates flow, generates electricity, and buffers floodwaters to protect downstream communities.

2.     Embankments and levees: Over 250,000 kilometres of reinforced embankments, mainly along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, contain floodwaters to prevent inundation of cities and farmland.

3.     Floodplains and diversion zones: Designated buffer zones act as controlled flood areas to protect urban centres, though this has required relocating millions from vulnerable lands.

4.     “Sponge cities”: Urban innovations in cities like Wuhan and Shanghai incorporate permeable pavements, green roofs, wetlands, and rainwater harvesting to absorb and recycle rainwater, reducing urban flood risks.

5.     Early warning systems: China operates a vast network of monitoring centres and satellites providing accurate flood forecasts and timely alerts to allow effective evacuation and preparation.

6.     Reforestation and ecological restoration: Massive tree-planting campaigns stabilise soil and reduce erosion, while wetland restoration enhances natural flood absorption and biodiversity.

7.     Legal and institutional frameworks: China’s Flood Control Law integrates flood management with water resource use, hydropower, irrigation, and navigation. Cutting-edge digital twin technology simulates flood scenarios to improve response planning.

These combined efforts have dramatically lowered flood-related deaths from tens of thousands to hundreds and minimised property damage.

Bangladesh’s flood resilience

Bangladesh, a deltaic country frequently inundated, exemplifies resilience through comprehensive flood strategies:

• Extensive embankments protect millions.

• Flood shelters provide refuge during emergencies.

• Investments in forecasting and early warning systems improve community preparedness.

• Internationally supported projects promote wetland restoration, flood-resistant agriculture, and infrastructure strengthening.

• Government-led disaster response training and adaptive farming practices enhance community recovery.

This multi-layered, ecological, and community-based model has reduced casualties and economic damage despite Bangladesh’s constant flood exposure.

Opportunities for Pakistan

Pakistan’s flood management faces major challenges: reservoir capacity is only 9 per cent of average river flow, far below global standards, severely limiting floodwater control. Yet, strategic opportunities exist:

• Expand reservoirs: Building additional storage (22 billion cubic metres planned by 2025) would allow better floodwater absorption and support irrigation.

• Strengthen embankments: Robust barriers along vulnerable riverbanks and urban areas can shield populations and farmland.

• Modernise urban drainage: Cleaner, smarter drainage systems coupled with permeable surfaces and rainwater harvesting, inspired by China’s sponge cities, could mitigate urban flooding.

• Improve flood forecasting: Real-time monitoring and early-warning systems can save lives by facilitating timely alerts and evacuations.

• Restore forests and wetlands: Reforestation of upper watersheds and wetland rehabilitation would naturally reduce flood impacts.

• Integrated water management: Coordinating flood control with hydropower, irrigation, and navigation ensures sustainable use of water resources.

• Community preparedness: Education, evacuation plans, and flood-resilient construction empower local populations against flood threats.

Pakistan has begun initiatives supported by the Green Climate Fund and international partners, but scaling up with strong national coordination is critical.

Guarding against Indian aggression

An additional challenge is the unpredictable release of floodwaters by neighbouring India during the monsoon season, which Pakistan must prepare for given the tense political climate. Adopting China-like reservoir strategies could help Pakistan build dedicated catchment reservoirs designed not only for flood buffering but for utilising stored water post-flood for irrigation, drinking supplies, and hydropower — turning a potential threat into an asset.

Conclusion

Pakistan stands at a critical juncture. It can continue facing devastating floods in a cycle of reactive disaster management or chart a resilient future by adopting integrated strategies proven successful in China and Bangladesh. Bold infrastructure investments, nature-based solutions, institutional reforms, and community empowerment together can significantly reduce flood deaths and economic costs.

Such a transformation requires determination and vision but offers Pakistan a path from perennial crisis to controlled, climate-resilient management of its floods — securing people’s lives, protecting livelihoods, and safeguarding development gains against climate change’s escalating impacts.