HIA and Flood Management:The Challenge for

Southeast Asian Cities

Decharut SukkumnoedKasetsart University and

Healthy Public Policy Foundation

Floods: Emerging Risks?

Southeast Asian Floods in 2011

• More than million households (or around 5 million people) were inundated.

• More than 3,000 people were dead.• Nearly 2 million hectares were inundated.• Economic loss is more than 45 billion USD

Potential health effects of flooding

Direct• Drowning• Injuries (e.g. cuts,

sprains, fractures, punctures, electric shock)

• Vector-and rodent-borne diseases( e.g. malaria, leptospirosis)

• Chemical contamination (e.g. of water, food)

• Skin/eye infections

• Mental health 

Indirect• Damage to health care

infrastructure and loss of essential drugs

• Damage to water and sanitation infrastructure

• Damage/destruction of property (e.g. lack of shelter may lead to increased exposure to disease vectors)

• Disruption of livelihood and income

• Population displacement

• A commitment to HPP means the government must assess and measure the health impacts of their policies in a consultative and participatory ways.

• HIA=“a combination of procedures, methods, and tools by which a policy, program, project may be judged as to its potential effect on health of the population and the distribution of those effects within the population.”

• HIA provides “a set of evidence-based recommendations gears to informing decision-making process”.

• The aim of HIA is to “achieve changes in policies and proposals so that they support better health and reduce health inequalities”.

Health Impact Assessment

How HIA can contribute to more effective and equitable flood

management?

To investigate to role of HIA in five steps of flood management

Future Exposure Analysis

Top 10 countries by assets exposed

today and in the 2070s

Figure Top 15 countries by population exposed today

and in the 2070s

HIA Contribution Point I

• Participating in Flood Exposure Analysis• Understanding the Emerging Risks• Providing Health Perspective in Flood

Exposure Analysis

Flood Risk Assessment

Define Flood SeverityDefine Vulnerability

Define Control and Mitigation Measures

Flood Hazard Mapping

Land use planning responds to flood risks

Control measures to reduce

the probability and severity of a flood

HIA Contribution Point II

• HIA is very useful tool for vulnerability mapping

• Focusing on vulnerable groups, places, and effects

• Avoiding health impacts in the most vulnerable areas and groups

Death By Electric Shock in Thailand

147 14

73 3

36 26

39 22

34 20

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Ayudhaya

Nakorn Sawan

Bangkok

Pathum Thanee

Nonthaburi

Number of Death in Thailand's 2011 Flooding by Causes of Death

and Provinces

Drowning

Electric Shock

Others

Adaptation Strategies

• Protect Strategy• Accommodation Strategy• (Planned) Retreat Strategy

Three Typologies of Flood Adaptation

Integrated Flood Design with Urban Living

Innovative Flood Protection Design

New Highways with Integrate

Flood Protection Design

Wet Flood-Proof House

http://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/publications/understanding-floods/future.aspx

Wet Flood-Proof House

http://homearchitecturestyles.com/home-design/flood-resistant-house-design.html

Design for Wet Flood-Proofing Community

Design for Dry Flood-Proofing Home

Flood Retention Area

Flood Retention Green Area

http://www.archdaily.com/131747/shanghai-houtan-park-turenscape/

http://www.archdaily.com/131747/shanghai-houtan-park-turenscape/

Floating Agriculture at Lake Inle, Myanmar

HIA Contribution Point IV and V

• Analyzing potential health impacts, both positive and negative, of different adaptation strategies

• Promoting innovative flood design with integrated flood management into sustainable development– Presenting unseen positive and negative health

impacts

Institutional Traps in Flood Management

• Fragmentation = fix with organization own roles and responsibilities

• Rigidity = fix with conventional way of flood protection, large structural measures

• Scale = focus on one scale of flood management; centralization VS decentralization

• Elite capture = protect the benefits of better-off groups within the society

• Crisis management = focus only on the short period of time during the crisis mainly for public relation and political objectives

Addressing Institutional Traps

Strategies

Institutional Traps

Fragmentation

Rigidity

Scale Elite captu

re

Crisis ManagementExpandin

g public participation

     

Building adaptive capacities at multiple levels

     

Integrating with development

     

Prioritizing the vulnerable

     

Linking knowledge and practices

     

HIA Contribution Point V

Five Strategies to avoid Institutional Traps

• Expanding public participation

• Building adaptive capacities at multiple levels

• Integrating with development• Prioritizing the vulnerable• Linking knowledge and

practices

Underpinning Values of HIA

• Democracy• Equity• Ethical Use of Evidence• Practicability• Collaboration• Comprehensiveness• Sustainability

Conclusion

• Flood risks are intensified and more vulnerable for the Southeast Asian cities.

• Require new and innovative strategy to cope and respond to intensifying risks

• HIA can be one of useful tools in– Understanding risks and vulnerabilities– Analyzing adaptation strategies– Addressing institutional traps

• Conducting HIA case studies for flood management in this region.