Eco-Hydrology Assessment
Background
The Ayeyarwady River Basin supports globally significant biodiversity assets and ecosystem values, including being a global hotspot of freshwater fish biodiversity and endemism, and sustaining a productive fishery. These freshwater assets and values are sustained by critical flow-related ecological processes (e.g. hydrologic connectivity, primary and secondary productivity). They can also be affected by barriers to connectivity and flow alteration arising from water infrastructure developments (dams and weirs) as well as habitat degradation and water pollution brought about by land use intensification associated with human development (agriculture, urbanisation, mining, river dredging, etc).
The assessment of the ecohydrology of the Ayeyarwady Basin is an input to the Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA).
Objectives
The purpose of this ecohydrology assessment is to characterise status and trends in the ecohydrological regime of the Ayeyarwady River Basin so that concepts and information on the interconnections between water and ecosystems feature in future planning and management initiatives in the Ayeyarwady Basin.
Outcomes
This activity was undertaken by the Australian Rivers Institute (ARI) with the support of Truii. The main output from the project includes a technical paper describing the project team’s assessment of the ecohydrology of the Ayeyarwady River Basin. The report provides the best synthesis and integration of information already available from other SOBA activities.
Reports
Kennard MJ, Marsh N & Bunn SE. (2017). Ecohydrology Assessment. Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA) Report 1.4. National Water Resources Committee, Myanmar.
Program Team
The Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University
Prof Stuart Bunn, Director
A/Prof Mark Kennard, Principal Research Fellow
Truii
Dr Nick Marsh, Managing Director
REGION
South-East Asia
COUNTRY
ORIGIN OF DEMAND
Government of Myanmar
PARENT PROJECT
Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management
RELATED ACTIVITIES
- Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment Review and Synthesis
- Hydrological Data Audit
- World Bank: Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project
STATUS
Complete (Jun 2016 – Dec 2017)
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
- Myanmar Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems
- World Bank
- Hydro-Informatics Centre