Floods in Bangladesh: A Highland-Lowland Interaction?

The study was carried out in the framework of a long research tradition of the Department of Geography of the University of Berne in the overall Himalayan region and is part of the project entitled ,,floods in Bangladesh - processes and impacts". An important focus of the research activities in this area have always been the ecological interactions between the Himalaya and the adjacent plains of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. According to this thematic focus, this particular study aims at a better understanding of the large scale processes with regard to flooding in Bangladesh, and identifying possible flood triggers within the country. The question to what extent the floods in Bangladesh are influenced by climatological and hydrological processes outside Bangladesh and to what extent by factors inside the country is a key issue in the investigations. In particular, a comparative assessment of the hydrological contribution from 13 defined subcatchments in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin and of its relevance for the floods in Bangladesh is attempted. In addition, the history of floods and the combination of hydroclimatological factors leading to inundations are covered.