The disastrous floods near Bangkok, has been unprecedented with over 500 deaths and teaches us many valuable lessons.

Much of the floods areas or its vicinity were once either flood plains, riparian or buffer zones which have been transformed to housing estates, industrial manufacturing zones, multinational companies and suburb towns.

Besides being wildlife corridors, habitats of rich livelihoods and assisting in flood mitigation, the Chao Phraya and its various subsidiary river flood plains are vital cushion zones that act as a sacrificial erosion buffers to absorb impacts of factors including small scale development, increased runoff from urbanization, increased upstream and downstream activities and climate change.

Hence, flood plains are a natural defense against floods. In short, just like in most third world Asian cities, there has been over development and environmental degradation without regards to the natural role of the flood plains and buffer zones, where the carrying capacity is totally ignored.

Just look at the settlements that are so close to the Chao Phraya, Malacca river or Johor river in Kota Tinggi town, just to name a few.

Are we not waiting for a time bomb to go off? In the case of Bangkok it has.

The same can be said of the Mississippi river and delta areas in USA, where many connecting rivers were straightened with solid embankments and as a result many of the flood plains and wetlands disappeared or died which could not accept the storm waters and surges of the Katrina Hurricane catastrophe, where thousands of houses were destroyed resulting in 1836 deaths and damage estimated at US$81 billion.

Sadly, even more billions are now being spent to rehabilitate these settlements and wetlands along the Mississippi river.

If only the planners had respected nature in the form of the wetlands namely the flood plains, riparian areas, deltas and buffer zones. It is clearly a case of "penny wish, pound foolish.

What is needed immediately in Malaysia, is the political will, increased legislation and enforcement by the planners, decision makers and district officers to uphold the universal integrated river basin management system, where many of the older riverine towns are dangerously located.

There must be a relook of existing obsolete management plans and tighter and regular enforcement to ensure all riparian zones and flood plains are not abused as can be seen in many states.

Even the big plantation firms should not be exempted here, where oil palm plantations are seen right next to the rivers.

Any conversion of low-lying, traditionally flood-prone land to residential and industrial purposes should be totally disallowed including straightening of rivers and streams.

Wetlands are nature's solutions to mitigate against floods, besides being livelihood resources, biodiversity cradles and potential eco-tourism drawcards.

The Drainage and Irrigation Department should work hard to be proactive instead of focusing on reactive spending, where millions are spent yearly on floods mitigation.

They must be brave to troubleshoot the source of flood problems such as in Malacca and Kota Tinggi where unsustainable river paraphernalia projects can cause serious floods as in Bangkok.

Even at the Pahang river near Pekan, the latest drainage development is questionable and the floods will be diverted elsewhere causing hardship elsewhere.

We should always be guided by the adage ‘prevention is better than cure' as well as subscribe to sustainability principles.