Submission Deadline: 5.30pm AEST, Friday 8 March – extended to Wednesday 13 March 2019
The Ayeyarwady is Myanmar’s largest river, the life-blood of Myanmar society and the nation’s most valuable water resource, used for shipping, agriculture, tourism and to support healthy ecosystems and human life. Yet the Ayeyarwady River Basin (ARB) is under threat from overdevelopment. Rapid economic and population growth is increasing water demands for irrigation, domestic and industrial use. Energy demands are rising, increasing the push for hydropower dam development. These developments will impact the water resources of the Ayeyarwady River, and the people and biodiversity that depend on it.
Managing environmental flows (e-flows) and the inundation of floodplains and wetlands are emerging as priority issues in Myanmar. As part of its support to the State of the Basin Ayeyarwady, AWP supported a rapid ecohydrological assessment of the Ayeyarwady River. The ecohydrology assessments characterised the status and trends of the key attributes of the river’s flow regime that are likely to be of importance to biodiversity, fisheries, and the ecological processes that sustain them. The Activity also explored the associated risks to these environmental assets from water infrastructure development (including hydrologic alteration, river impoundment and longitudinal fragmentation by large dams).
To support the move towards adoption of environmental flows (e-flows) in Myanmar, the proposed Activity will advance the practical understanding of the characteristics, processes and condition of environmental water in the ARB and outline a framework and pathway for the adoption of e-flows in Myanmar and the ARB.
View full details and eligibility/selection criteria here.
CONTACT
Ashleigh Rhind
AWP Senior Program Officer
T: +61 2 6206 8320
E: ashleigh.rhind@waterpartnership.org.au
Submissions
Submissions should be made via the online form using the AWP Tender Submission Template, noting any requirements in the eligibility/selection criteria above.
FAQs
Click to expand answers:
How do I make a submission?
Click on the ‘Make a Submission’ button located in the top right to provide your contact details and upload your application document.
The AWP template requires partners to set out “in-kind contributions” as well as “co-contributions”. What is the definition of each? What is the difference?
In-kind contributions are defined as resourcing contributions provided by the implementing Partner/s, including staff time, that are not requested as funding in the budget. Co-contributions refer to financial contributions from organisations external to AWP, i.e. financial contributions from the submitting organisation or other Partnering organisations. Neither are mandatory to be included in this proposal.
The final paragraph of the Call for Proposals Task One says: “Efforts will also be made to update land-use maps and to map urban areas and major land disturbances within the floodplain (hydropower and irrigation reservoirs, mining disturbances, urbanisation, etc.) as well as trends in meander and channel planform. This task will culminate with a descriptive profile of the Ayeyarwady floodplain.” Can AWP please clarify exactly what the need is for land-use mapping? What exactly is required? Is it assessment of change or of status?
Preference is for assessment of change over time, but as a minimum, an effort at updating status is required.
The remainder of Task One in the Call for Proposals focusses on floodplain inundation, hydrological connectivity, wetlands and environmental water requirements. Is it reasonable to assume that this is a greater priority for AWP and the eflows framework than land-use mapping, except where a significant intersection with land-use concerns is identified?
Yes, this is more of a priority.
Can AWP please comment on the frequency required for remote sensing observations of inundation, i.e. a current snapshot or historical changes in inundation? If so what time period? 4 years; 20-30 years?
Preference is for historical changes in inundation for as long a period as reasonably possible, but this will depend on data availability and resourcing limitations for the implementing Partner/s.
Are the AWP activity reports/outcomes available to all tenderers? If not, can AWP provide at least exec summaries?
The existing rapid eco-hydrological assessment report, and other relevant reports, can be downloaded from the AIRBM website at https://www.airbm.org/the-ayeyarwady-state-of-the-basin-assessment-soba/
Can AWP please comment on what existing spatial and topographic data is available from its previous investments and SOBA activity (or assist with direction to where this information can be obtained)?
It should be assumed that all spatial and topographic data collected through SOBA will be made available to the implementing Partner/s. This information can be found in the AIRBM reports located at https://www.airbm.org/the-ayeyarwady-state-of-the-basin-assessment-soba/
Please confirm whether the training and capacity building is to include Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis.
Yes, at least one training course should be delivered on the techniques used in the remote sensing of ecological connectivity of the Ayeyarwady floodplain.
