Project Description
The Myanmar Healthy Rivers Initiative (MHRI) was developed to assess and protect the ecological health of Myanmar’s two largest rivers—the Salween and Ayeyarwady—amid rapid socio-economic transformation. These rivers are lifelines for millions of people and ecosystems, but increasing development pressures and evolving stakeholder needs are reshaping how they are used and managed. The initiative focuses on generating evidence and building local capacity to understand and respond to these changes. Drawing on regional and global experiences with River Health Frameworks (RHF), MHRI is tailored to Myanmar’s context where conventional monitoring data is limited.
Objectives, Activities and Results
The initiative aims to improve understanding of river health and stakeholder values in data-poor contexts by applying innovative methods such as remote sensing and citizen science. It empowers a broad spectrum of stakeholders—from government agencies to riverine communities—to engage in river development planning based on scientific evidence. ICEM and IWMI jointly developed two “State of Knowledge” papers for the Salween and Ayeyarwady rivers, synthesizing existing knowledge on river health, current usage, and future threats. These foundational assessments support more informed trade-offs and decision-making for sustainable river management in Myanmar.
