BEIJING: Pakistan should replicate and implement China’s Sponge City model to combat the recurring floods, said Khansa Gulshad, a second-year Pakistani PhD student in flood control and management at the Graduate School of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR), in an exclusive interview.
The sponge city project, also known as green development interventions and green infrastructure in other countries, is a new urban construction model for flood management, strengthening ecological infrastructure and drainage systems.
The model has the advantages of alleviating urban flooding and water resources shortage, two chronic ills in Pakistan, Khansa Gulshad told media.
The heart of the sponge city construction lies in flood mapping. According to Khansa Gulshad, the purpose of the mapping is to locate the hazard- and flood-prone areas and find the proper site based on rainfall data, information of lakes and rivers and street views.
Drawing on flood mapping data, different infrastructures such as wetlands, woodlands and permeable pavements are constructed accordingly which can absorb the water during rainy days and release water in case of drought. – Agencies
