Lessons Learned on Land Management Policy from the 1998 Changjiang River Flood

The 1998 flood had smaller peak discharges than of the 1954 flood (largest flood in the 20 century) at most gauging stations in the middle and lower reaches, but resulted in higher peak stages. One of the reasons of this higher water stages is the decrease in the surface area and storage capacity of natural lakes due to the excess impoldering agricultural land and sedimentation. However, there is social difficulty in retarding flood waters in polders around natural lakes because it would damage settlements and agricultural land use in these areas. As a response, the government of China took national program called ‘single retreat’ and ‘double retreat’. ‘Single retreat’ is to relocate residents alone, while ‘double retreat’ is to relocate both residents and agricultural lands. This program comes with compensation scheme of local residents. By examining the management of polders around Dongting Lake as a case study, we explore the possibility of transferring Chinese experience to other countries.