Project Description
The Ayeyarwady River Basin, supporting 70% of Myanmar’s population, faces growing pressures from rapid economic development, including increasing demands for water and energy. To ensure the river’s sustainable management, the Ayeyarwady Basin Exploratory Scoping Study (BESS) was launched under the broader Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management (AIRBM) Project. Funded by the Australian Water Partnership (AWP), the study was led by CSIRO and implemented by ICEM in partnership with eWater, Flow Matters, and Chiang Mai University. BESS built on the 2018 State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA) and aimed to support strategic, cross-sectoral river basin planning.
Objectives, Activities, and Results
BESS aimed to inform integrated river basin management by exploring the risks and opportunities of different development trajectories for the Ayeyarwady. Through scientific analysis and participatory planning techniques, the study engage:d Myanmar’s technical and policy stakeholders in two workshop series in 2018. These workshops demonstrated how scenario modelling and stakeholder engagement can be used to explore trade-offs between development and conservation. BESS provided key insights on the ecological, social, and economic implications of basin development, while enhancing the capacity of national institutions to engage in informed, participatory water governance. The study helped lay a foundation for evidence-based planning and sustainable basin management.
Links
Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management (AIRBM) Project
