Myanmar Healthy Rivers Initiative (MHRI)

2015 - 2017

Social and political contextJoern Kristensen - Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development

Thanlwin and AyeyarwadyRobyn Johnston - International Water Management Institute

MHRI - design and approachTarek Ketelsen - International Centre for Environmental Management

Myanmar Healthy Rivers Initiative

BURMESE GOVERNMENT BEFORE 2011

-AND AFTER

RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

OPEN FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

ODA 2006 – 2010 = USD 1.9 BILLIONODA 2011 – 2015 = USD 5.3 BILLION

....reached a record US$ 8 billion, a more than doubling of FDI compared to the year before

Ayeyarwady*

• annual flow ~400 - 420 km3

• 2170 km, basin area ~414,000km2

• Myanmar 90% (China, India)• 26 million people• delta is ~70,000 km2

Salween# (Nu - Salawin - Thanlwin)• annual flow ~150 - 250 km3

• 2800 km, basin area ~270,000 km2

• Myanamar 41%, China 52%, Thailand 7%• 7.8 million people• >75% in mountains, no delta

*Dr Khin Ni Ni Thein 2013# IWMI calculated from various sources

Elevation (m)

AYEYARWADY

NU-THANLWIN

Photo: Srey Mom Lund

Ayeyarwady Thanlwin

Agriculture *** *Hydropower ** ***Urbanisation *** *

Deforestation *** ***Oil and gas **Fisheries *** **Navigation ** *

Development pressures

Hydropower

http://burmariversnetwork.org/

Myitsone - 6000 MW

Mong Ton 7000 MW

Forest cover change 1985 - 1992 Forest cover change

2002 - 2009

WWF 2013

Myanmar floods 2015

Sediment and carbon loads

• the combined A–T system may currently represent the third largest ‘point source’ input of sediment to the global ocean......the combined river system transports 5.7–8.8 MtC/yr of organic carbon, suggesting that it may be the second largest point source of organic carbon to the global ocean after the Amazon

• Navigation issues (AIRBMP USD 30 million for navigation improvement in Ayeyarwady)

• Impacts of mainstream dams on sediment dynamics?

Myanamar Healthy Rivers Initiatve

• Project objective: to develop and test a River Health Framework for Myanmar which allows government and communities to monitor the status of the ecosystem services they value and provides evidence for informed, integrated water resource planning.

River health frameworks

• A River Health Framework is a resource kit. It includes :– defining main users, uses and

values of river systems – set of simple environmental

indicators to monitor trends– assessment tools and approaches

with guidelines for their use• What ecosystem services are valued by

communities and sectors?• How is the health of these ecosystem

services changing over time?

http://healthywaterways.org/

River Health Framework in Myanmar?• Conventional RHF are

technology intensive• Relying on extensive network of

eco-hydrology monitoring stations

• Ayeyarwady & Salween have few monitoring stations with big data gaps

• Can a RHF apply in Myanmr?

Murray Darling Basin: hydrological indicators sites

River Health Framework in Myanmarfrom Space to the riverbank

Remote sensing

Conventional monitoring

Community monitoring

From space:

Land use changeFlooding & droughtSediment transportErosion++

From the riverbank:

Water qualityBiodiversityFish catchHabitat conditionsPollution ++

Supporting communities to monitor their ecosystem health

• Train local community groups to use low-tech approaches to monitor indicators of river health

• Build understanding of how the river is changing and what that means for livelihoods and economies

Building evidence for integrated, sustainable watershed management

Myanmar Water

Framework Directive

Basin development

planning

Livelihood support

programs

Hotspots & sweet spots,

change thresholds &

trends

HR visions & values

HR knowledge

baseHR report

card

Photo: Srey Mom Lund

Thank you