MAPPING MYANMAR'S FREE-FLOWING RIVERS by WWF-Myanmar

MYANMAR

MAPPING MYANMAR’S

FREE-FLOWING RIVERS ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT AND FUTURE IMPACTS OF DAM-INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT ON RIVER CONNECTIVITY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment.

Authors: Christopher Bonzi (WWF Myanmar), Günther Grill (McGill University), Phyoe Kyaw Htet (WWF Myanmar), Natalie Shahbol (WWF-US), and Frank Van der Valk (WWF Myanmar) Special thanks to: Michele Thieme and the WWF US Freshwater Team, the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR) and the members of the Water Officers Expert Group (Departmental Expert Group), and Hannah Baleta, Hsu Thinzar Khine, Htet Htet Thazin, Daniel Wong, Salai Thura Zaw and Ye Min Thwin from WWF Myanmar. Disclaimer: This report draws on work from a number of sources and has not undergone a full academic peer review. The views and recommendations in this report are based on available information and contributing authors will not be liable for damages of any kind arising from the use of this report. Layout: Weidea Design Solution All the images are ® Shutterstock with the exception of photo from page 24 by Thadoe Wai. Published: September 2020

CONTENTS 1

Executive Summary

Background

Benefits from FFR Dams and connectivity a global overview Why assess river connectivity in Myanmar? Free-flowing rivers in Myanmar Hydropower status and development in Myanmar Aim of this study 3

Methodology

Overview of FFR methodology Local adaptation of FFR methodology and data sources used Situation / scenarios 4

Results

Current state of free-flowing rivers in Myanmar Scenario “hydropower business as usual” 5

Conclusions

Literature

Appendix

Spatial distribution and magnitude of pressure indicators List of existing and planned dams used in this analysis

SUMMARY

Myanmar has two of the globally most intact tropical river systems - the Salween and the Irrawaddy - which are also in one of the most biodiversity-rich regions of the world. The value of these free-flowing rivers is of fundamental importance to the regional biodiversity, the economy of the country, and the health and wellbeing of the people of Myanmar. It can therefore be said that the integrity of the rivers in Myanmar is of global significance. Nonetheless, the Government of Myanmar (GoM) is currently considering building several dams which would put these important free-flowing rivers at risk. In this study we assessed the connectivity of Myanmar’s rivers under two scenarios, following the methodology in Grill et al. (2019): a) the present situation including existing dams in Myanmar and b) a potential future scenario of intensive dam development. This future dam development scenario is based on the “business as usual” scenario laid out by the Strategic Environmental Assessment (IFC, 2018) and assumes that the 69 known proposed large dam projects are developed. By combining data and methods from the global assessment with higher resolution data and knowledge from national stakeholders, we assessed the “connectivity status” of rivers and streams across Myanmar. The results show that Myanmar is a country that maintains highly connected rivers. All three large rivers in Myanmar – the Irrawaddy, its tributary, the Chindwin, and the Salween – are categorised as free-flowing rivers and total to about 4,500 km. These rivers are exceptionally productive and biologically diverse. However, it can also be seen that the early stages of dam development have significantly impacted some smaller basins or sub-basins in Myanmar, especially within the Sittaung River basin, and country wide approximately every fourth medium to long river (between 100 and 1000 km) have been affected.

The study also shows that large-scale dam development, such as planned under the “business as usual” scenario, would result in the loss of long free-flowing rivers in Myanmar. In fact, all rivers longer than 500 km would cease to remain free-flowing and a third of all medium length (100-500 km) free-flowing rivers existing today would suffer the same fate. We would also see a higher decline in the connectivity of the coastal basins, which is worrying in view of the high ecological and social importance of rivers that feed coastal ecosystems. Healthy rivers and estuaries have proven to be highly important for the economy in many countries. This is especially true for Myanmar, where rivers provide critical services such as highly productive fisheries, irrigation water, aquaculture, drinking water, ecotourism or inland water transport. For example, fisheries provide approximately two thirds of animal protein consumption, or rivers deliver sediment to deltas and coastal areas which in turn ensures coastal stability, fertile agriculture, and productive coastal fisheries. There is an urgent imperative for concerted global and national strategies to maintain and restore free-flowing rivers around the world, given the many vital services that they provide. Our study produced a more detailed picture of what is at stake in Myanmar and in terms of impacts on connectivity at a national scale. We recommend a further assessment to identify those free-flowing rivers or river stretches that are most important to keep connected in order to maintain the most critical socio-ecological services that Myanmar’s free-flowing rivers provide. This assessment should then be used for decision-making processes such as strategic energy planning or environmental impact assessments. It can also be a basis for discussing an adequate policy to manage remaining free flowing rivers and river stretches sustainably.

1 BACKGROUND Free-flowing rivers (FFRs) are the freshwater equivalent of wilderness areas. They are amongst the most ecologically important freshwater habitats and many are critical to both people and nature. A river is “free-flowing” if the connectivity of the river is maintained along all river reaches within the river from its source to outlet. This means that water, species, energy and sediment can move both up and downstream, as well as into its connected floodplain and riparian areas. A free-flowing river is one where the natural aquatic ecosystem functions and services are largely unaffected by changes in the fluvial connectivity (Grill et al., 2019). Fluvial connectivity encompasses the following components: a) longitudinal (river channel), b) lateral (floodplains), c) vertical (groundwater and atmosphere), and d) temporal (intermittency). Connectivity can be compromised by physical infrastructure in the river channel, along riparian zones or in adjacent floodplains, by hydrological alterations of river flow due to water abstractions or regulation, and by changes to water quality that lead to ecological barrier effects caused by pollution or alterations in water temperature. Figure 1 describes how river connectivity acts through space and time, and how obstructions can fragment or regulate rivers, and consequently affect the river connectivity.

LONGITUDINALLY which refers to connectivity between upstream and downstream. Dams are the most common distrupter of longitudinal connectivity.

LATERALLY which refers to the ability of a river to swell and shrink, rise and fall naturally, and connect to its floodplains. This is distrupted when roads, buildings or other development (including agriculture when it is protected by leaves or dikes) takes place on floodplains, limiting their ability to absorb the river’s flows.

TEMPORALLY or the natural ability of river ﬂows to change intermittently. For example, when a dam is built, it consistenly holds a volume of water behind the structure and releases water in a way that does not match the timing of the river’s natural ﬂows.

VERTICALLY which refers to the ability of a river to draw water from or contribute water to underground aquifers and the atmosphere. This can be interrupted by overabstraction of groundwater and impermeable development on ﬂood plains, among other causes. Figure 1: The four dimensions of connectivity and how they get obstructed (source: http://www.free-ﬂowing-rivers.org).

1.1

BENEFITS

FROM FREE- FLOWING RIVERS

Healthy rivers provide a broad set of services and deliver many benefits to people, the economy and nature. Dams, levees, channels, diversions, and other river infrastructure alter the natural flow of a river in many ways, for example: increasing the amount of land which can be irrigated, energy production, flood controls, transporting drinking water, goods and people across distances, or providing ample water supply for industrial production. While such infrastructure can fuel development, it also fragments rivers, jeopardizing their ability to provide the services that people and nature rely upon, such as carrying sediment downstream, balancing nutrients in soils, maintaining floodplains that act as protection against extreme weather events, fisheries for human consumption and providing opportunity for recreation or spiritual fulfilment. In addition to these services, FFRs are home to vulnerable freshwater biodiversity. Figure 2 illustrates some of the values and processes FFRs provide.

Floodplain agriculture requires a flowing river to bring nutrients, sediments, and water. In places around the world, free-flowing rivers hold cultural and spiritual importance for people. River flows carry sediment downstream to build up and maintain deltas. Without them, deltas will succumb to rising sea levels.

Connected rivers support sediment transfer to healthy ﬂoodplains, which help reduce risks from ﬂoods and droughts and provide critical habitats and food sources for animal and plant life.

Rivers with high connectivity are among the most ecologically important freshwater habitats, places where vulnerables species including a myriad of migaratory ﬁsh and river dolphin - can thrive.

Tens of millions of people depend on freshwater fish populations, which require certain natural conditions - such as seasonal flows and temperature changes - in order to breed and thrive. Natural river flows recharge vast networks of underground water, which are increasingly strained by growing human demands.

Figure 2: River processes in free-ﬂowing rivers which create important values to Myanmar society, economy and nature (source: http://www.free-ﬂowing-rivers.org).

Rivers are also central to the history and culture of many nations, weaving their way through songs, stories and myths (Ripl, 2003). Decision makers often only view the direct benefits gained from “traditional” infrastructure investments, such as electricity or irrigation-water from dams, and disregard the much broader set of existing benefits rivers are already providing. The value of this broader set of benefits include, and may exceed, the value of the water they carry (Opperman et al., 2018), however they often remain unseen or undervalued by decision makers until a crisis arises. 7

1.2

DAMS AND CONNECTIVITY A GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Of the many developments that have influenced and impacted river connectivity, dams are known to have some of the strongest and most long-lasting impacts (WCD, 2000). Despite this, more than 3,700 hydropower dams (>1 MW) are currently planned or are under construction worldwide (Zarfl et al., 2014). Asia is a hotspot for dam construction, with a capacity of over 15 GW added in 2016. The Balkans, the Amazon, China and the Himalayas are the regions facing major booms in hydropower construction (Winemiller et al., 2016; International Hydropower Association, 2018). The tropics and the Arctic are the final frontiers for long FFRs. Governments in tropical countries are faced with a steady increase in the demand for electricity, putting the integrity of FFRs at risk.

Acknowledging the importance of preserving river connectivity, the Brisbane Declaration (Brisbane Declaration, 2007) called for the identification and conservation of “a global network of free-flowing rivers” a decade ago. However, until recently no global information system enabling the monitoring of the actual state and trends of riverine connectivity existed, apart from some snapshot assessments that assessed connectivity at the basin scale. Better resolution and access to global hydrological data allowed a team of researchers to assess river connectivity in a comprehensive and spatially detailed way on a global scale, leading to the first ever global overview on FFRs (Grill et al., 2019). This assessment defined FFRs in terms of connectivity (including river flow), assessed the status of 12 million kilometres of rivers and identified those that remain free-flowing along their full length. It thus provides a high-resolution global assessment of the location and extent of remaining FFRs. This global assessment by Grill et al. shows that only 37% of the very long rivers (>1,000 km) worldwide are left to flow freely, and even less, namely 23%, of the very long rivers connecting to an ocean remain free-flowing. The FFRs remaining today are largely restricted to remote regions of the Arctic, the Amazon, and the Congo Basins. In densely populated areas of the world, such as North America, Europe and South Asia, only a few very long rivers remain free-flowing. Most notable among these are the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers - the last free-flowing large rivers of Southeast Asia. These two rivers are recognised for providing crucial sources of protein from fisheries and the flow regimes maintain extensive floodplain agriculture which feeds tens of millions of people (WWF, 2018a). 8

1.3

WHY ASSESS

RIVER CONNECTIVITY IN MYANMAR? The Salween and Irrawaddy are the last long FFRs in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, rivers are the lifeblood of Myanmar society. The Myanmar economy depends on healthy rivers, productive deltas, and riverine/coastal agriculture (Taft and Evers, 2016). In addition, industry and the transport sector are highly dependent on rivers. This has led to high interconnectivity between the health of a river and the economy of the country, people’s livelihoods, religion and physical well-being (WWF, 2018a). Myanmar’s rivers provide natural dynamics and ecosystems for many important activities such as fishing, irrigation, aquaculture, supplying drinking water, ecotourism or inland water transport (Binney et al., 2017; WWF, 2018a). These ecosystem services of rivers are critical. For example, fisheries play an important role for food security, providing approximately two thirds of animal protein for a typical Myanmar diet, and for livelihoods, with over 6 percent of the population directly employed in the fishery and aquaculture sectors (Binney et al., 2017). Rivers also deliver sediment to deltas and coastal areas which in turn ensures coastal stability, fertile agriculture, and productive coastal fisheries. For the Irrawaddy River alone ecosystem services were quantified to be worth $ 2-7 billion a year (HIC, 2017). Furthermore, Myanmar is known for its very high freshwater species endemism (Zöckler, Christoph; Kottelat, 2017) and given the large geological variations and altitudes, it follows that individual rivers contain a variety of ecosystem types. Rivers are also seen as part of the national heritage and play important roles in the different cultures of the country (WWF, 2018b).

1.4

FREE-FLOWING RIVERS IN MYANMAR

To date, there has not been a systemic analysis at the national scale of the current state, trends and potential future developments on the connectivity of Myanmar rivers. The recently published Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Hydropower Sector (IFC, 2018) provides a framework to assess the possibilities of harnessing hydropower potential with less negative environmental and social impacts. However, it does not provide the essential understanding of the value of rivers and river stretches in respect to biodiversity, ecosystem services and social values, nor in respect to how individual river infrastructure development will cumulatively impact the connectivity of river basins in Myanmar. Grill et al. showed that the Irrawaddy and the Salween are the last long FFRs in Southeast Asia. Both basins are located in one of the most biologically diverse regions of the world. For example, this area is ranked as the 19th richest region of bird diversity worldwide (Zöckler, Christoph; Kottelat, 2017). The Irrawaddy river is called the Ayeyarwady locally, a name which is believed to originate from the Sanskrit term meaning “elephant river”. It is the second largest river basin in the region after the Mekong, flowing approximately 2,000 km, with a basin covering 413,710 km2 (eWater and CSIRO, 2017). It starts among alpine shrubs and meadows and reaches delta mangroves and mudflats, covering a total of 12 diverse eco-regions as it flows (Zöckler, Christoph; Kottelat, 2017). Ninety-one percent of the river basin lies in Myanmar, 5% in China and 4% in India (Ketelsen et al., 2017). It is a truly unique river, as although it is the 22nd largest river in the world in terms of water discharge, it carries the 5th largest annual suspended sediment load, with a dynamic - often called dancing - riverbed in many parts, and an enormous and naturally growing delta. Thirty-four million people, some two thirds of the population of Myanmar, live in the river basin (WWF, 2018a). A total of 1,400 mammal, bird, and reptile species are known to live in the basin, of which more than 100 species are globally threatened (Zöckler, Christoph; Kottelat, 2017). One of them is the iconic Irrawaddy River Dolphin with an estimated population of 79 individuals permanently living in the Irrawaddy river (Aung, 2020). Around 400 fish species have been identified, but the total is estimated to be around 550. There is currently only minimal and scattered knowledge of most taxa. This is especially pronounced for amphibians, and even more so for invertebrates. The State of the Basin Report for the Irrawaddy River quantified that the services provided by the Irrawaddy River alone contribute 2-7 billion USD to the Myanmar economy every year from different sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, mining and extractives, oil and gas, industry and manufacturing, navigation, construction, tourism and energy (Binney et al., 2017). This makes up 5 to 16% of the Gross Domestic Product per capita.

The Salween river basin, known as Thanlwin in Myanmar and Nu in China, is 2,820 km long (Lamb, Middleton and Win, 2019), making it the second longest river in the region, covering a total basin area of 283,500 km2 (Johnston et al., 2017). In China, the Salween passes through a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Three Parallel Rivers site, alongside the Mekong and Yangtze rivers. Forty-four percent of the area of the basin lies in Myanmar, 48% in China and 7% in Thailand. Over 10 million people live in the basin - 3.8 million in China, 6.1 million in Myanmar, and 0.6 million in Thailand (Johnston et al., 2017). Livelihoods in this large basin are diverse, ranging from fishing-based livelihoods in the estuary, to farmers practicing shifting agriculture and rice cultivation in Myanmar and Thailand, to livestock herders managing rangelands in the Tibetan Plateau (Lamb et al., 2019). Although the Thanlwin provides strong support to both local and commercial fisheries, there is limited information available on the volume, species and value of fish catch (Johnston et al., 2017) Civil society representatives have stressed the biodiversity values of the Salween for many years (Middleton, Scott and Lamb, 2019), but there is no in-depth information on the biodiversity of the Salween basin as a whole. However, the claim that this basin is of immense value in terms of biodiversity in “one of the richest temperate regions of the world” (UNESCO, 2003) can be regarded as unchallenged. UNESCO calls the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Site “an epicenter of Chinese biodiversity”. In Thailand, the river flows through the Salween National Park and the Salween Wildlife Sanctuary and supports wildlife along a 120 km long Thai-Myanmar border stretch. In Karen State there are two wildlife sanctuaries and the Khoe Kay river bend is known to support many endemic species, of which 42 are IUCN Red Listed species (KESAN, 2008). The unique Thousand Islands area in Shan State is also significant in that it not only supports rare species, but is also home to rare limestone formations (ASSR, 2016; OBL, 2016). In Myanmar, biophysical information on the Salween River system is generally sparse and relies heavily on global datasets supported by some more detailed studies at very few sites (i.e., Inle Lake or the river mouth at Mawlamyine). The river has been described to host the world’s greatest diversity of turtles (Wong CM, Pittock, J, Schelle, 2007). Inle Lake is known for hosting many endemic fish and gastropods (snails and slugs) including the Inle carp, a cultural symbol of the local people and an important food source (Johnston et al., 2017). Mangrove forests occur at the mouth of the Salween around the island of Bilugyun; there is, however, limited information on their extent and condition. In addition to the Irrawaddy and the Salween, Myanmar also has many other rivers with a high degree of connectivity. These rivers include the Naf, Kaladan, Lemro, Mayu, Kaleindaung, Pathein, Pyanmalot, the Irrawaddy tributaries (Yin, Yaw, Chindwin, Taping, N’Maika, Malika River), Thandi, Yangon, the Salween tributaries (Ataran, Gyaing, Yunzalin, Moei, Nam Pang, Pawn, Pai, Teng, Hsim, Nam and Naiding Rivers), Ye, Heinze, Dawei, Great Tennasserim, Lenya, Kraburi, and Chaungmagyi Rivers and the Mekong tributaries (Kok, Ruak and Loi). Although they are not as long and well known as the Irrawaddy and the Salween rivers, they are sizable tropical rivers that play an important role in providing services to nature and society, such as fisheries or fertilizing riverine agriculture.

1.5

HYDROPOWER STATUS

AND DEVELOPMENT IN MYANMAR

Myanmar has a substantial need for power. The country has the lowest grid-connected electrification rate in Southeast Asia, with only 40% of the population connected. Official estimates project that 500 MW of additional generation capacity is required to come online annually in order to meet domestic demand in 2030. Extensive plans for building hydropower dams have been developed over the past few decades. Estimates for the theoretical hydropower potential of Myanmar go well beyond 100,000 MW, while the current hydropower capacity installed in Myanmar is approximately 3,300 MW (World Bank, 2018). The former government agreed on nearly 70 large hydropower dam projects, which would lead to the development of around 45,000 MW, 15 times the current capacity. The Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Myanmar Hydropower Sector concluded that if this scenario is left to unfold without an sustainable development plan, the building of dams would have dramatic impacts on system connectivity, basin processes and ecosystem services (IFC, 2018).

1.6

AIM OF THIS STUDY

It is crucial to create a better understanding of the current state of river connectivity and FFRs in Myanmar using national data in order to allow for more informed decisions regarding river management. To establish this knowledge, we used the existing global analysis from Grill et al. as a base and improved the underlying data on barriers from additional sources. The resulting river model was used to: A Provide data and maps on the state of river connectivity in Myanmar’s river basins, including which rivers remain free-flowing, and B Provide a first assessment and maps of the impacts of planned dam development on the connectivity of rivers in Myanmar The results provide a comparative and spatially explicit overview of the state of connectivity of Myanmar’s rivers. They can help inform water management and energy planning, and could be applied to the development of a national strategy to maintain the connectivity of rivers in Myanmar. Maintaining river connectivity in strategic parts of the basin could help ensure that certain services provided to nature and people by rivers could be conserved on a local, national and regional scale. Consequently, this work can be a basis for discussing an adequate policy to sustainably manage valuable FFRs and river stretches. Additional work is needed to determine which particular free-flowing rivers or stretches of river are most critical for maintaining particular economic, cultural, social and biodiversity values.

2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 OVERVIEW OF

FFR METHODOLOGY

The methodology to determine the connectivity and free-flowing status of rivers (or Free-flowing river assessment; FRA) is based on a global methodology developed by Grill. A Free-flowing River Assessment comprises six distinct steps (see Figure 3): First, an integrated definition of FFRs was developed according to multiple aspects of connectivity (step 1). Second, the major pressure factors that influence river connectivity were identified (step 2) using an extensive literature review, and data was collated for each factor. The six pressure factors that were identified include: (a) river fragmentation; (b) flow regulation; (c) sediment trapping; (d) water consumption; (e) road construction; and (f) urbanization. Next, proxy indicators were calculated (step 3) for each factor using data from available global remote sensing products, other data compilations, or numerical model outputs such as discharge simulations (see Table 1). The indicators that were chosen are expected to have a substantial influence on connectivity and can be generated using robust global data sets of sufficient quality and consistency between countries and regions. All indicators were calculated for every river reach of the river network. A river reach is defined as the smallest element in the river network and is the line segment A between confluences. Grill et al. adjusted the weighting of each pressure indicator adjusted iteratively in a set of scenarios using different thresholds guided by literature reviews and expert judgement. These scenarios were benchmarked by comparing the resulting FFRs against reported FFRs compiled from literature resources and expert inputs. The final selection of weightings was applied to a multi-criteria average calculation (step 4) to derive the Connectivity Status Index (CSI) for every river reach (step 5).

Free-ﬂowing rivers deﬁnition based on connectivity Calculation of proxy indicators CSI (%)

100 99-95 94-90 89-80 79-60 <60

Connectivity Status Index (CSI)

Yes

1 2

Selection of pressure factors related to deﬁnition

Application of weighting model

Application of threshold

River reach CSI status above threshold (CSI > 95%)

River reach with good connectivity status (above CSI threshold)

River reach impacted (below CSI threshold)

Entire river before threshold from source to outlet? Yes

Free-ﬂowing river

Figure 3: Conceptual overview of methodology by Grill et al.

The CSI ranges from 0% to 100%, the latter indicating full connectivity. Only river reaches with a CSI greater than 95% were considered as having ‘good connectivity status’ while river reaches below 95% were classified as impacted (step 6). Finally, river reaches were aggregated into rivers with contiguous flow paths from the source to the river outlet. If a river is above the CSI threshold of 95% across its entire length it is declared to be a FFR. Otherwise, the river as a whole is declared not free-flowing, but it can maintain a mix of stretches with ‘good connectivity status’ and stretches that are impacted.

Pressure Factor

River Fragmentation

Flow Regulation

Sediment Trapping

Water consumption

Infrastructure development in riparian and ﬂoodplain areas

Pressure Indicator

DOF

DOR

Description

Degree of Fragmentation

Degree of Regulation

Connectivity aspect aﬀected

Longitudinal

HydroSHEDS (Lehner, Verdin and Jarvis, 2008); GRanD v1.1 (Lehner et al., 2011); GOOD2 v1 (Mulligan et al., 2009); WWF, Greater Mekong Program

Lateral, temporal

HydroSHEDS (Lehner, Verdin and Jarvis, 2008); GRanD v1.1 (Lehner et al., 2011); GOOD2 v1 (Mulligan et al., 2009); HydroLAKES, v1.0 (Messager et al., 2016); WWF, Greater Mekong Program

SED

Sediment Trapping Index

Longitudinal, lateral, vertical

Erosion map (Borrelli et al., 2017); HydroSHEDS; (Lehner, Verdin and Jarvis, 2008); GRanD v1.1; (Lehner et al., 2011); GOOD2 v1 (Mulligan et al., 2009); HydroLAKES, v1.0 (Messager et al., 2016); WWF, Greater Mekong Program.

USE

Consumptive water use (abstracted from rivers)

Longitudinal, Lateral, vertical, temporal

WaterGAP, v2.2 as of 2014 (Alcamo et al., 2003; Döll, Kaspar and Lehner, 2003); HydroSHEDS, (Lehner, Verdin and Jarvis, 2008)

RDD

Road density

Lateral, longitudinal

URD

Nightlight intensity in urban areas

Lateral

Table 1:Pressure indicators and their data sources of the global FRA (from Grill et al. 2019).

Source

GRIP v3; (Meijer et al., 2018)

DMSP-OLS v4 Doll, (Doll, 2008) Modis-derived urban areas by (Schneider, Friedl and Potere, 2009)

2.2

LOCAL ADAPTATION OF FFR METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES USED

As a first step, the existing global data and methodology was reviewed and then discussed with local experts and stakeholders in order to determine possible refinements and enhancements to better represent the local context. For this a one-day workshop was arranged with the Union Government’s cross-ministerial water specialists group and officials from different concerned departments and ministries. The approach and data were also discussed with key decision makers from the Irrigation and Water Utilization Management Department (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation) and the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (Ministry of Transport). Moreover, a technical seminar was organized at Yangon Technological University to strengthen the local capacity and share the available resources with academic institutes to contribute further research which, in turn, will help to provide improved data and supporting information for the decision making processes. Stakeholders stressed the need to update the barrier database because a number of dams relevant for the assessment were missing from the global database, and potential future development of river infrastructure, in particular hydropower dams, is considered a key factor for change in river connectivity. The global dataset on dams was therefore complemented with data from a national database, with information from reports, and information on individual irrigation dams received from the Irrigation and Water Utilization Management Department. Other variables for defining pressure indicators, such as sediment extractions, roads, irrigation water, or urban areas could not be updated within the framework of this study. For these the analysis therefore relied on global data described in Table 1. We defined two scenarios of hydropower development and calculated the Free-flowing River Status, the Connectivity Status Index (CSI), and the Dominant Pressure Index (DOM). Subsequently we produced summary statistics for the different river length classes, comparing the results of the two scenarios.

2.2.1 DAM DATABASE Based on feedback from stakeholders, a critical step was updating the dams data to include a more comprehensive set of data for the region of analysis. The global dam database was compared against a GIS database of existing and proposed hydropower projects over 10 MW capacity compiled by the International Finance Cooperation (IFC, 2019) within the framework of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Myanmar Hydropower sector (IFC, 2018), with information from the SEA Baseline Documents (Lazarus et al., 2019), and against with information obtained from the Irrigation and Water Utilization Management Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. After complementing and harmonising these data sources, 208 barriers were identified and used in this analysis (Annex 7.2, Table 4). These include 133 existing, 6 under construction and 69 planned dams. A purpose was identified for 106 of these barriers as follows: 74 for hydropower, 18 for irrigation, 13 for multiple purposes and 1 for water supply.

2.2.2 HYDROLOGICAL NETWORK The inventory of rivers and streams from HydroSHEDS (Lehner, Verdin and Jarvis, 2008) was used for the analysis of river connectivity in Myanmar. We selected the rivers within the boundaries of Myanmar and added rivers upstream and downstream of Myanmar to the network because dam impacts from locations outside the country can have effects within Myanmar (e.g. fragmentation and flow regulation). All existing pressure factors within and outside of the country were therefore considered when establishing the current situation. These transboundary rivers included the Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong and Ganges/Brahmaputra basins, with parts of the river basins outside of Myanmar. The river network included a total of 161,000 km of rivers (defined as streams with an average discharge of larger than 1 cubic meter per second), of which 115,000 km flow within Myanmar.

Figure 4: Overview of existing and planned dams used in the region of analysis.

2.3

SITUATION / SCENARIOS

For this report we analysed the following two states of dam development: A The current situation of FFR in Myanmar and in areas upstream or downstream of Myanmar (existing dams and under construction) B The situation of FFR under the assumption that proposed large dam projects (>10MW) are developed (existing, under construction, and planned dams). This scenario is analogous with the “business as usual” scenario laid out in the SEA (IFC, 2018). The scenario assumes that proposed and identified projects will be developed on a project-by-project basis. We did not consider planned dam development outside of the country that may cause impacts within Myanmar. The results are presented in maps and analysed in terms of number of FFRs, length of FFR, the connectivity status index of rivers and the dominant pressure on the different types of connectivity (described in Chapter 1, Figure 1).

3 RESULTS Here we present maps and statistics illustrating the state of river connectivity for a) the current state of the rivers of Myanmar (EXI) and b) a hypothetical situation under the assumption that all planned dams are developed (BAU Scenario).

3.1

CURRENT STATE

OF FREE-FLOWING RIVERS IN MYANMAR

Figure 5 presents the current state of FFRs in Myanmar with most rivers being still effectively free-flowing river ‘from source to outlet’ (blue). Rivers that are not free-flowing over their entire length (i.e., partially below the CSI threshold) are divided into stretches with ‘good connectivity status’ (i.e., connectivity status remains above the threshold throughout the stretch) shown in green and stretches where the connectivity status is below the CSI threshold (red). The connectivity status index (CSI) map allows a more differentiated look and enables connectivity to be portrayed on a continuous scale from 0% (no connectivity) to 100% (fully connected; Figure 6a). We can see that the rivers which have already been identified as not free flowing and not having good connectivity (Figure 5, shown in red), show river stretches which are under relatively high impact in Figure 6a (orange to dark red, with a CSI below 50). Figure 6b shows that the dominant pressure indicators for those areas are Degree of Fragmentation (DOF), which is the longitudinal fragmentation of rivers by dams, and Degree of Regulation (DOR, in the Sittaung river) which can often be attributed to water storage reservoirs for hydropower and irrigation. A third element of impact is represented by the sediment trapping index (SED). Even though SED is not the dominant pressure index for most parts of the area, it can represent a substantial reduction of the sediment load. For example, the Irrawaddy exhibits 20-30% sediment loss due to existing dams in parts of the basin.

Figure 5: Free-ﬂowing status of rivers in Myanmar for the current state (EXI).

Figure 6: Connectivity Status Index of rivers in Myanmar (a) and dominant pressure index (b).

The three pressures underline the impact of dams and reservoirs on the tributaries in the middle and lower parts of the Irrawaddy basin (mostly the Myitnge, Zaw Gyi, Mu and Mon rivers), and the hydropower development in the Sittaung (the basin containing Nay Pyi Taw), and in the Ba Lu Chaung (tributary in the Salween basin). Apart from those more fragmented (sub)basins and tributaries, the river systems of Myanmar remain largely free-flowing. Table 2 provides the numbers (count) and accumulated length of the different classes of rivers in Myanmar. Only the Chindwin, Irrawaddy and the Salween flow for long stretches (>1000 km) within Myanmar. A number of rivers traverse Myanmar either fully or partially. Most notably, the very long rivers Mekong (eastern tip) and the Ganga/ Brahmaputra (north-west of the country, through the tributary Bibiyana) pass or traverse Myanmar, but do not flow across the country for a significant portion of its entire length. Since FFR assessments take into account entire river systems, these rivers are included in the assessment and counted as such.

a) Number of rivers by length category and free-flowings status Scenario 1 (EXI) FFR status Free-flowing Not Free-flowing Total

River length category (10-100 km)

short

(100-500km)

medium

(500-1000km)

long

(> 1000km)

very long

Total

5567

113

5685

143

5666

100

151

100

5828

100

b) Kilometres of rivers by length category and free-ﬂowings status Scenario 1 (EXI)

River length category (10-100 km)

short

(100-500km)

medium

(500-1000km)

long

(> 1000km)

very long

Total

Free-ﬂowing

88700

11639

925

4340

105603

Not Free-ﬂowing

2820

5166

1458

216

9661

Total

91520

100

16805

100

2383

100

4556

100

115264

100

FFR status

Table 2: Number and length of free-ﬂowing rivers in Myanmar for the current state (EXI).

The table shows that a total of 3 out of 5 very long FFRs (>1000 km) are still free-flowing (Table 2a). The 3 very large FFRs in Myanmar are the Irrawaddy, the Chindwin and the Salween. Other notable long FFRs include the Kaladan and the Tenasserim. While the Ganga/ Brahmaputra and the Mekong are included in the table results and classified as not free-flowing and very long the actual area of the basin in Myanmar is quite small. The total accumulated length of all rivers considered in this assessment is 161,000 km, out of which 115,000 flow within Myanmar (Table 2b). From those, a very considerable share (92%)has been identified as being free-flowing. All three very long rivers with considerable basin areas in Myanmar - the Irrawaddy, the Salween and the Chindwin - are categorised as free-flowing, with a total of 4,340 km. For long rivers (500-1000 km), which are relatively rare in Myanmar, the proportion of FFRs to the total length of rivers in that category drops to only 39% indicating impact from dam development today. For the medium rivers (100-500 km), which make up for 16,800 km, the percentage of FFRs then increases again to 69%. Looking at small rivers(10-100km), with a total length of approximately 92,000km, 98% of the rivers, or 97% of the river length, are classified as free-flowing. There is a degree of uncertainty regarding the data for small rivers as comprehensive data on river infrastructure on small rivers has not been accessible in Myanmar to date. Overall, the results indicate that river connectivity in Myanmar is still exceptionally high. Combining the numbers for rivers of medium and long size (Table 2a) and comparing those to the maps (Figure 5 and 6), we can conclude that the more significant impacts are concentrated on approximately 25% of the medium to long rivers in the country.

3.2

SCENARIO

“HYDROPOWER BUSINESS AS USUAL”

In this “hydropower business as usual” scenario, and in accordance with the “business as usual” scenario laid out in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (IFC, 2018), we assumed that all of the 69 large dams identified in union, state and regional level planning will be built. Figure 7 presents the resulting river status. It becomes clear, especially when compared to Figure 5, how many rivers will turn from free-flowing to impacted. In fact, all long and very long rivers will be impacted. Figure 8 confirms the grave impact of dams upon the connectivity of FFRs, indicating that the CSI has fallen far below the 95% FFR threshold for the majority of river stretches in medium to very long rivers (Figure 8a). The conclusion that dams and reservoirs are having this significant influence is supported by Figure 8b, where we see that DOF, SED and DOR are the dominant pressure indicators. Table 3 shows the numbers count (a) and accumulated length (b) of the different classes of rivers in Myanmar. We can see that short rivers are not directly impacted by the “business as usual” scenario. This is because the large and very large dams currently planned by the central government are situated on medium to very long rivers. The very long rivers are, however, strongly impacted, with the Irrawaddy, the Chindwin and the Salween no longer being classified as FFRs. The same applies to long rivers (500-1000 km), as FFRs decline to just 16% of the total in this category as connectivity is lost due to dam construction. Further, a third of the free-flowing ‘medium rivers’ existing today would lose that status, dropping to about 40%. A strong decline in the connectivity of rivers in coastal basins is observed, which, in view of the high ecological and social importance of those rivers, is alarming. Altogether it can be said that the “business as usual” scenario will turn Myanmar from being a globally unique country with many long FFRs to a country which is no longer distinguishable from others by the state of its rivers. We anticipate that the socio-economic and ecological impacts due to losing the services FFRs provide would be immense.

Figure 7: Free-ﬂowing river status in Myanmar for the scenario "hydropower business as usual".

Figure 8: Connectivity Status Index of rivers in Myanmar (a) and dominant pressure index (b) for the scenario "hydropower business as usual".

a) Number of rivers by length category and free-ﬂowings status Scenario 2 (PLA)

River length category (10-100 km)

short

(100-500km)

medium

(500-1000km)

long

(> 1000km)

very long

Total

Free-ﬂowing

5539

5626

Not Free-ﬂowing

127

100

202

Total

5666

100

151

100

5828

100

FFR status

a) Number of rivers by length category and free-ﬂowings status Scenario 2 (PLA) FFR status Free-ﬂowing

River length category (10-100 km)

short

(100-500km)

medium

(500-1000km)

long

(> 1000km)

very long

Total

87335

6823

381

95069

Not Free-ﬂowing

4184

9981

2002

4556

100

20195

Total

91520

100

16805

100

2382

100

4556

100

115264

100

Table 3: Number and length of free-ﬂowing rivers in Myanmar for the scenario "hydropower business as usual".

4 CONCLUSIONS In this report, we present a first-time assessment of the connectivity status of Myanmar’s rivers currently and if hydropower development would progress as assumed under a “business as usual” scenario, using the FFR analysis developed by Grill et al (2019). We can show that Myanmar is indeed a country of exceptionally connected rivers, which is underlined by the high productivity and diversity of the country’s rivers. All three very long rivers in Myanmar - the Irrawaddy, its tributary the Chindwin, and the Salween – are categorised as being free-flowing, totalling some 4,340 km of freely flowing, large, productive and ecologically diverse rivers. However, we can also see that the existing early stages of hydropower development have already impacted river connectivity in Myanmar, although significant impacts are mostly confined to one large basin (Sittaung) and a relatively small number (25%) of long and medium-long rivers. The results from the analysis emphasize that the DOF and the DOR are the major pressure indicators in Myanmar and that new dams and reservoirs will reinforce those two pressures. Likewise, we have seen that a “business as usual” scenario, for the development of large hydropower dams, would have a major effect on the connectivity of rivers. Large rivers, especially, would be strongly impacted, with the Irrawaddy, the Chindwin and the Salween no longer being classified as free-flowing. In fact, all but a few rivers longer than 500 km would stop being free-flowing, and a third of today’s free-flowing medium long rivers (100-500 km) would suffer the same fate. We also see a higher potential decline in the connectivity of rivers in the coastal basins, which, in view of the high ecological and social importance of those rivers, is concerning. We can conclude that proposed hydroelectric dams present a major threat to the unique FFRs and to the delta ecosystems of Myanmar alongside the associated biodiversity and services they provide to people. The FFRs maps that were created for this analysis (Appendix I) send a powerful message: unguided development will cause the loss of FFRs all over Myanmar. We strongly encourage careful consideration and planning for dam development, choosing locations which will have a lower impact on connectivity, ensuring the services to people and nature provided by the river remain intact. This study demonstrates the urgency to use connectivity assessments to find development scenarios for energy production which sustain the various services of the river, including considering alternative energy options that have less impact on river systems.

The results from Grill et al. (2019) highlighted the urgent imperative for global and national strategies to maintain FFRs around the world, and in Myanmar specifically. While a FFR analysis is not a decision-making tool by itself, it should be used as a powerful support-tool for the decision-making processes in situations such as strategic hydropower development planning or for environmental impact assessments. It is also critical to further explore the potential of non-hydropower renewables to provide electricity for Myanmar’s needs. This work can also be a basis for discussing an adequate policy to manage the valuable FFRs and river stretches sustainably. However, in order to improve its capability to support decision making, we strongly propose the following additional work: 1. Update and improve underlying data, most importantly data on irrigation reservoirs, channelization (dykes, levies, etc.), sediment delivery and extractions and dams below 10 MW. 2. An assessment, using best available data, of which rivers are most critical to maintain as either completely free-flowing rivers from source to outlet or stretches of river with high connectivity status, based on the biodiversity, social, cultural and economic values that their free-flowing status supports. 3. Introduce this approach to other water management and energy initiatives, such as current efforts to introduce system scale energy planning to the Irrawaddy basin or matching findings with a renewable energy vision for Myanmar. 4. Officially identify, manage and protect the connectivity of rivers by introducing adequate policy to preserve the unique productivity, biological diversity and heritage of Myanmar’s rivers. We strongly advise halting all planning and construction of new dams until effective mechanisms for management and protection are implemented. Any future dam developments should be considered in the light of a revised energy vision for Myanmar which focuses on new renewables such as wind and solar.

လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်များ၏ ြမန်မာ�ိုင်ငံအတွက် အေရးပါပုံ အကျ�်း သဘာဝအတိုင်း လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်များမှာ ြမန်မာိုင်ငံတွင် ေနထိုင်သူများစွာအတွက် ယဉ်ေကျးမှုှင့် သက်ဝင်ယုံကည်မှုဆိုင်ရာ အေရးပါသည့် အစိတ်အပိုင်းတစ်ခုြဖစ်သည်။ ြမစ်များသည် ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏ ေတာေတာင်ေရေြမ သဘာဝများအတွက် ေကျာေထာက်ေနာက်ခံြပထား သလို စီးပွားေရးတိုးတက်မှု၊ စားနပ်ရိကာဖူလုံမှုှင့် လူတို၏သုခချမ်းသာ အတွက်လည်း အေထာက်အပံ့ ေပးေနကသည်။ သိုေသာ် အဆိုပါြမစ်များှင့် ယင်းတိုအေပါ် မှီခိုေနေသာ အရာအားလုံးတိုမှာ ခိမ်းေြခာက်မှုများှင့် ပိုမိုရင်ဆိုင်လာရပါသည်။ ိုင်ငံ၏ ဖွံဖိးတိုးတက်မှုများ ေဖာ်ေဆာင်ရာတွင် ယင်း၏ စီးပွားေရး ှင့်လှုမှုေရး တိုးတက်မှုအတွက် ေဆာင်ရ�က်မှုများသည် သဘာဝအတိုင်း လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်များ၏ တစ်ဆက်တစ်စပ်တည်း တည်ရှိမှုအေပါ် ထိခိုက်ြခင်းမရှိေသာ ဖွံဖိးမှုပုံစံအား ေဖာ်ေဆာင်ရန် လိုအပ်ေနပါသည်။

A သဘာဝအတိ ုင်း လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းေနဆဲြမစ် (FFR) ဆိုသည်မှာ စတင်ြမစ်ဖျားခံရာမှသည် ပင်လယ်ထဲသိုစီးဝင်ချိန်အထိ တစ်ဆက် တစ်စပ်တည်း တည်ရှိေနေသာ ြမစ်တစ်စင်းသည် အတားအဆီးမရှိ သဘာဝအတိုင်း လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနပီး ေရှင့်ုံးအနည်အှစ်များကို သဘာဝအတိုင်း ြမစ်ေအာက်ဘက်ပိုင်းသို စီးဆင်း ေမျာပါေစပါသည်။ ယင်းသို လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနဆဲြမစ်သည် ယင်းကိုယ်၌အားြဖင့် ှစ်ကာလအေလျာက် သဘာဝအတိုင်း ြပန�်ကားိုင်၊ ကျဉ်းေြမာင်းိုင်ပီး ေြမေအာက်ေရရင်းြမစ်များအတွက် ြဖည့်တင်းေပးိုင်သည့်အြပင် ြမစ်အတွင်းေနထိုင်ကေသာ လင်းပိုင်များ၊ ငါးများကဲ့သို ေရေနသတဝါများ အေနြဖင့်လည်း အထက်-ေအာက် လွတ်လပ်စွာစုန်ဆန်ကူးခပ် သွားလာ ိုင်ကသလို ြမစ်လက်တက်များအတွင်းသိုလည်းကူးခပ်ဝင်ေရာက် ိုင်ရန်တိုအတွက် ေကာင်းမွန်ေသာ ေဂဟနစ်တစ်ခုကိုပါ ဖန်တီးေပးပါသည်။

လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနမှုအေြခအေန လက်ရှိဆည်များ

အပူပိုင်းအာရှေဒသ၏ ေနာက်ဆုံးလက်ကျန် လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်�ကီးများ တည်ရှိရာ ြမန်မာြပည် ကမာေပါ်ရှိ အရှည်လျားဆုံးေသာ ြမစ်များ၏ သုံးပုံတစ်ပုံခန�်သာလျှင် သဘာဝအတိုင်း ဆက်လက်၍ လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနက ပါသည် (Grill et al., 2019)။ ြမစ်များ၏ တစ်ဆက်တစ်စပ်တည်း တည်ရှိမှုအေကာင်း ေြပာြပရန်လိုအပ်လာပါက ြမန်မာိုင်ငံသည် ထူးြခားေပါ်လွင်မှု အရှိဆုံး ြဖစ်သည်။ ြမန်မာိုင်ငံရှိ အလွန်ကီးမားသည့်ြမစ်ကီးသုံးစင်းြဖစ်ေသာ သံလွင်ြမစ်၊ ဧရာဝတီြမစ်ှင့် ယင်း၏ ြမစ်လက်တက်ြဖစ်ေသာ ချင်းတွင်းြမစ်တိုကို လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်များအြဖစ် သတ်မှတ်ထားကသည်။ ၄င်းြမစ်ကီးသုံးစင်း၏ စုစုေပါင်းအရှည်မှာ ကီလိုမီတာ ၄၅၀၀ နီးပါးအထိရှိသည်။ ဤြမစ်ကီးများမှာ အပူပိုင်းအာရှေဒသ၏ ေနာက်ဆုံးလက်ကျန် လွတ်လပ်စွာ ဆက်လက်စီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်ကီးများ ြဖစ်ကသည် (Grill et al., 2019)။

ြမန်မာ�ိုင်ငံ၏ လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်များ (FFRs) ၏ အေရးပါပုံ ေကာင်းမွန်စွာ လွတ်လွတ်လပ်လပ်စီးဆင်းေနကေသာ ြမစ်များသည် ငါးသယံဇာတများ၊ စိုက်ပျိးေရးှင့် ဆည်ေြမာင်းကဏ၊ ေရလုပ်ငန်းှင့် ငါးပုစွန်ေမွးြမေရး၊ ေသာက်သုံးေရ၊ သဘာဝအေြခခံခရီးသွား လုပ်ငန်း ှင့် ြပည်တွင်းေရေကာင်းပိုေဆာင်ေရးတိုကို အေထာက်အပံ့ေပးလျှက်ရှိပီး ြမန်မာိုင်ငံအတွင်း မှီတင်းေနထိုင်ကသူတို၏ ဘဝအတွက် အဓိကကျလှပါသည် (Binney et al., 2017; WWF, 2018a)။ ြမစ်များ၏ ေဂဟစနစ်မှ ေထာက်ပံ့ေပးေသာ လုပ်ေဆာင်ချက်များမှာ အလွန်ပင်အေရးပါကသည်။ ဥပမာအားြဖင့် ြမစ်များမှေပးေသာ ငါးသယံဇာတများသည် စားနပ်ရိကာ ဖူလုံေရးအတွက် အေရးကီးလှပီး ပုံမှန်စားသုံးေနကျ ြမန်မာအစားအစာတွင် ပါဝင်ေသာ အသားဓာတ်၏ သုံးပုံှစ်ပုံနီးပါးမှာ ယင်းငါးသယံဇာတများမှ ရရှိပါသည်။ ထိုြပင် ိုင်ငံ့လူဦးေရ (၆) ရာခိုင်ှုန်းေကျာ်၏ အသက်ေမွးဝမ်းေကျာင်း အလုပ်အကိုင်များအတွက် ငါးလုပ်ငန်းှင့် ငါးပုစွန်ေမွးြမေရး ကဏများမှ တိုက်ိုက်ပံ့ပိုးေပးလျှက် ရှိပါသည်(Binney et al., 2017)။ ြမစ်များအေနြဖင့် ုံးအနည်အှစ်များကို ြမစ်ဝကျွန်းေပါ်ေဒသများှင့် ကမ်းိုးတန်း ေဒသများသိုလည်း သယ်ေဆာင်ပိုချေပးကရာ ကမ်းိုးတန်းေဒသ �ကံ့ခိုင်တည်မဲေရး၊ ေြမသဇာေကာင်းမွန်ေသာ စိုက်ပျိးေရးှင့် ထုတ်လုပ်မှုြမင့်မားေသာ ကမ်းိုးတန်း ငါးဖမ်းလုပ်ငန်းများကိုလည်း အကျိးြပပါသည်။ ဧရာဝတီြမစ်ကီး၏ေဂဟစနစ်လုပ်ေဆာင်ချက်များ သက်သက်ပင်လျှင် တစ်ှစ်လျှင် အေမရိကန်ေဒါ်လာ ၂ ဘီလီယံမှ ၇ ဘီလီယံအထိ တန်ေကးရှိသည် (ယင်းပမာဏမှာ လူတစ်ဦးကျ GDP ၏ ၅ ရာခိုင်ှုန်းမှ ၁၆ ရာခိုင်ှုန်းအထိကို ြဖည့်ဆည်းေပးေနြခင်းြဖစ်သည်) (HIC, 2017)။ ထိုြပင် အဆိုပါြမစ်ကီးများသည် ကမာ့အြခားမည်သည့်ေနရာတွင်မျှ မေတွရိုင်ေသာ မျိးစိတ်များအတွက် မှီတင်းေနထိုင်ရာေဒသကီးများလည်းြဖစ်ရာ တစ်မူကွဲြပားေစလျက်ရှိသည်။ သဘာဝအတိုင်းလွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းလျက်ရှိေသာြမစ်များ၏တန်ဖိုးမှာ ေဒသ၏ဇီဝမျိးစုံမျိးကွဲ၊ ိုင်ငံ့စီးပွားေရးအြပင် ြမန်မာြပည်သူ ြပည်သားများ၏ ကျန်းမာေရးှင့် ချမ်းသာသုခတိုအတွက် အေြခခံကျကျအေရးပါေနပါသည်။

ေလ�ှင့်ေနေရာင်ြခည်ကဲ့သို�ေသာ ြပန်ြပည့်�မဲစွမ်းအင်များသည် အ�ကီးစားေရအားလ�ပ်စစ်ထုတ်လုပ်ေရး ဆည်များအတွက် အစားထိုး ေရ�းချယ်စရာ ြဖစ်သည်။ A

ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏သဘာဝတရား၊ စီးပွားေရးှင့် ြပည်သူလူထု ေကာင်းကျိးချမ်းသာအတွက် ကျန်ရှိေနေသးသည့် သဘာဝအတိုင်းလွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်ကီးများကိုကာကွယ်ေစာင့်ေရှာက်ရန်အေရးတကီးလိုအပ်ေနပါသည်။ ြမန်မာိုင်ငံအေနြဖင့် လျှပ်စစ်ဓာတ်အား အခန်း ကဏတွင် ေနေရာင်ြခည်ှင့် ေလကဲ့သို စရိတ်သက်သာပီး အြခားနည်းပညာများထက် အေကာင်အထည်ေဖာ်ရ ပိုမိုလွယ်ကူပီး အကီးစား ေရအားလျှပ်စစ် စီမံကိန်းများကဲ့သို လူထု၏ ဆန�်ကျင်ကန�်ကွက်မှုများှင့် �ကံေတွရိုင်မှုမရှိသည့် ြပန်ြပည့်မဲစွမ်းအင်အသစ်များ၏ အလွန်ကီးမားသည့် အလားအလာကို အသိအမှတ်ြပလက်ခံရန် လိုအပ်ေနပါသည်။ ေနေရာင်ြခည်ှင့်ေလစွမ်းအင်အတွက်ကုန်ကျစရိတ် များမှာလည်း ၁ ကီလိုဝပ်နာရီလျှင် အေမရိကန်ေဒါ်လာ ၀.၀၅ ေဒါ်လာအထိပင် ထူးထူးြခားြခား ေလျာ့ကျလာခဲ့ပီြဖစ်ရာ ယင်းှုန်းထားသည် ုပ်ကင်းေလာင်စာ ကုန်ကျစရိတ်အအမျိးမျိးအနက် သက်သာေသာှုန်းထား၊ ေရအားလျှပ်စစ်၏ ပျမ်းမျှကုန်ကျစရိတ်များှင့် ှိုင်းယှဉ်ိုင်ပီ ြဖစ်သည်။ ထိုြပင် ကုန်ကျစရိတ်များမှာ ထပ်မံ၍ပင် ကျဆင်းသွားဦးမည့် အလားအလာရှိေနပါသည်။(Opperman et al., 2019)။

ြမန်မာ့ လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနဆဲ့ ြမစ်များအတွက် အဓိကအ��ရာယ်တစ်ခုြဖစ်သည့် ဆည်များ ဧရာဝတီ၊ ချင်းတွင်းှင့် သံလွင်ကဲ့သိုေသာ ြမစ်ကီးများသည် လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းေနကဆဲ ြဖစ်ေသာေကာင့် အထူးပင် အကျိးြပ ြဖစ်ထွန်းေစပီး ဇီဝမျိးစုံမျိးကွဲ ကယ်ဝလျက် ရှိကသည်။ သိုေသာ် ဆည်များတည်ေဆာက်ြခင်းက ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ အတွင်းမှ အြခားြမစ်ဝှမ်းေဒသငယ်များအေပါ် သိသိသာသာထိခိုက်ေစခဲ့ ပီးြဖစ်ပါသည်။ ခန�်မှန်းေြခအားြဖင့် (ကီလိုမီတာ (၁၀၀) မှ (၁၀၀၀) အရှည်ရှိသည့်) အလယ်အလတ်မှ ရှည်လျားေသာ အတိုင်းအတာရှိသည့် ြမစ်များ ၄စင်းခန�်တွင် ၁စင်းတိုင်းလိုလိုပင် ဆည်များ၏ အကျိးသက်ေရာက်မှုကို ခံရပီး အထူးသြဖင့် စစ်ေတာင်းြမစ်ဝှမ်း၌ အများဆုံးြဖစ်သည်။ အစိုးရဌာနဆိုင်ရာ အဖွဲအစည်းများ၊ ိုင်ငံတကာ အဖွဲအစည်းများ အေနြဖင့် ကီးမားေသာ ဆည်စီမံကိန်းများကို ဖိအားေပး တိုက်တွန်းတင်ြပလျှက်ရှိပီး ထိုသိုြပလုပ်ြခင်းသည် ေဖာ်ြပပါ လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းလျက်ရှိေသာ ြမစ်ကီးများ၏ အေရးပါသည့် လုပ်ေဆာင်ေပးမှုစနစ်များကို ထိခိုက်ေစမည် ြဖစ်သည်။ အကယ်၍ ေရးဆွဲထားေသာ စီမံကိန်းများ အားလုံးကိုသာ ဆက်လက်၍ လုပ်ေဆာင်မည်ဆိုပါက ကီလိုမီတာ ၅၀၀ အထက်ရှည်ေသာ ြမစ်များအားလုံး လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းိုင်မှု ရှိေတာ့မည် မဟုတ်ေပ။ ထိုြပင် အကီးစားေရအားလျှပ်စစ် စီမံကိန်းကီးမှာ အချိန်ကာြမင့်ပီး ေသချာေရရာမှုမရှိေသာ တည်ေဆာက်ေရး ကာလများေကာင့် ဘဏာေရးဆိုင်ရာ ဆုံးှုံးရိုင်ေချလည်း ရှိိုင်သည်။ ထိုြပင် အြခားေသာ အစားထိုး ေရ�းချယ်စရာ နည်းပညာများ၏ စရိတ်ှုန်းထားများမှာ အလျင်အြမန် ကျဆင်းလျက်ရှိပါသည်။ ေရအားလျှပ်စစ် ထုတ်လုပ်ေသာစက်ုံများမှာ စီမံကိန်းပီးစီးချိန်တွင် ေစျးကွက် ေပါက်ေစျးထက် ပိုသည့် စရိတ်ှုန်းထားများြဖင့် ထုတ်လုပ်ရမည့်အေြခအေန ြဖစ်ေပါ်လာိုင်ပီး အစိုးရအတွက် ကီးမားေသာ ေကးမီဝန်ထုတ်ဝန်ပိုးများ အြဖစ်သို ေြပာင်းလဲသွားိုင်ပါသည်။

ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်မ� အေနအထားတစ်ရပ် တရားဝင်သတ်မှတ်၍ ကာကွယ်ေစာင့်ေရှာက်ရန်လိုအပ်ေနေသာ ြမန်မာ�ိုင်ငံ၏ တမူထူးြခားသည့် လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းဆဲြမစ်များ ကယ်ဝလှေသာ ဇီဝမျိးစုံမျိးကွဲများှင့်အကျိးြဖစ်ထွန်းေစမှုများရှိေနေသာ ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏တမူထူးြခားသည့်လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းဆဲြမစ် များကို ၎င်းတိုှင့် ထိုက်တန်သည့် ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်မှု အေနအထားတစ်ရပ် အေနအထားတွင် ထည့်သွင်းထားရှိသင့်ပါသည်။ ဤကဲ့သို ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်မှုအေနအထားတစ်ရပ် တရားဝင်သတ်မှတ်၍ ကာကွယ်ေစာင့်ေရှာက်ြခင်းြဖင့် အဆိုပါြမစ်များကို လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းဆဲ ြမစ်များအြဖစ် ဆက်လက်တည်ရှိေစိုင်မည် ြဖစ်သည်။ ဤကဲ့သိုလုပ်ေဆာင်ြခင်းသည် ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏စီးပွားေရး၊ သဘာဝတရားှင့် လူသားတိုအတွက် ယခုကာလအတွက်သာမက ေနာင်အနာဂတ်ကာလအထိ အေရးကီးပါသည်။

အ�ကံြပ�ချက်များ • ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏ ထူးြခားေသာ လွတ်လပ်စွာ စီးဆင်းဆဲ ြမစ်ကီးများကို ၄င်းတိုှင့် ထိုက်တန်ေသာ ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်မှုအေနအထားတစ်ရပ် တရားဝင်သတ်မှတ်၍ ထင်ရှားေအာင် ြမင့်တင် ေဖာ်ေဆာင်ေပးရန်။။ • ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏ တစ်မူထူးြခားစွာလွတ်လွတ်လပ်လပ်စီးဆင်းေနေသာြမစ်များကိုထိခိုက်ေစမည့် အဆိုြပှင့် တည်ေဆာက်ေနဆဲ အကီးစား ဆည်စီမံကိန်းများ အားလုံး ကို ရပ်ဆိုင်းသွားရန်။ • သဘာဝပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ထိခိုက်ေစမှုနည်းပါးသည့်အြပင် ကုန်ကျစရိတ်သက်သာြခင်းှင့် ပိုမိုြမန်ဆန်သည့်တည်ေဆာက်ချိန်ကာလများ ေကာင့် အကျိးြဖစ်ထွန်းေစမည့် ေနေရာင်ြခည်ှင့် ေလကဲ့သို ြပန်ြပည့်မဲစွမ်းအင်အသစ်များကို အထူးအေလးေပးေသာ ြမန်မာ့လျှပ်စစ်ကဏ ေမျှာ်မှန်းချက်အသစ်ကို တိုက်တွန်းအားေပးရန်။ • ြမန်မာိုင်ငံ၏ လွတ်လပ်စွာစီးဆင်းေနဆဲ ြမစ်များကို ထိန်းသိမ်းကာကွယ်ရန် လိုအပ်ေနသည့်အရာများအြဖစ် သတ်မှတ်ေပးြခင်းြဖင့် လက်ရှိကိးပမ်းလုပ်ေဆာင်ေနမှုများှင့်အတူ ပူးေပါင်းထိန်းသိမ်းေဆာင်ရ�က်သွားိုင်ရန်။

wwf.org.mm

ကိုးကား Binney, J. et al. (2017) Economic Valuation of Ecosystem services. Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA) Report 5.1. Myanmar. Grill, G. et al. (2019) ‘Mapping the world’s free-flowing rivers’, Nature, 569(7755), pp. 215–221. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1111-9. HIC (2017) Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA); Synthesis report, Volume 1. Opperman, J. et al. (2019). Connected and flowing: a renewable future for rivers, climate and people. WWF and The Nature Conservancy, Washington, DC

5 LITERATURE Alcamo, J. et al. (2003) ‘Development and testing of the WaterGAP 2 global model of water use and availability’, Hydrological Sciences Journal. doi: 10.1623/hysj.48.3.317.45290. ASSR (2016) Drowning a Thousand Islands. Action for Shan State Rivers (ASSR). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utwclwNAtVE. Aung, M. M. (2020) ‘Myanmar survey finds record number of Ayeyarwady dolphins’, Myanmar Times. Available at: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-survey-finds-record-number-ayeyarwady-dolphins.html. Binney, J. et al. (2017) Economic Valuation of Ecosystem services. Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA) Report 5.1. Myanmar. Borrelli, P. et al. (2017) ‘An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion’, Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02142-7. Brisbane Declaration (2007) ‘The Brisbane Declaration: Environmental flows are essential for freshwater ecosystem health and human well-being’, in Declaration of the 10th International River Symposium and International Environmental Flows Conference. Doll, C. N. H. (2008) ‘Thematic Guide to Night-time Light Remote Sensing and its Applications’, Earth Science. Döll, P., Kaspar, F. and Lehner, B. (2003) ‘A global hydrological model for deriving water availability indicators: Model tuning and validation’, Journal of Hydrology. doi: 10.1016/S0022-1694(02)00283-4. eWater and CSIRO (2017) A Surface Water Resource Assessment of the Ayeyarwady River Basin (SOBA 1.2); Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment; product of the Hydro-Informatics Centre, AIRBM Project. Myanmar. Grill, G. et al. (2019) ‘Mapping the world’s free-flowing rivers’, Nature, 569(7755), pp. 215–221. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1111-9. HIC (2017) Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA); Synthesis report, Volume 1. IFC (2019) Hydropower Database. Available at: https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/industry_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/hydro+advisory/resources/sea+of +the+hydropower+sector+in+myanmar+resources+page. International Hydropower Association (2018) ‘Hydropower status report’, Hydropower Status Report. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.027403. Johnston, R. et al. (2017) State of Knowledge: River Health in the Salween, State of Knowledge Series 6. Vientiane, Lao PDR. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/82969. KESAN (2008) Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril. Chiang Mai, Thailand. doi: ISBN 978-974-16-6406-1. Ketelsen, T. et al. (2017) State of Knowledge: River Health in the Ayeyarwady, State of Knowledge Series 7. Vientiane, Lao PDR. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/82968. Lamb, V. et al. (2019) ‘A State of Knowledge of the Salween River: An Overview of Civil Society Research’, in. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-77440-4_7. Lamb, V., Middleton, C. and Win, S. (2019) ‘Introduction: Resources Politics and Knowing the Salween River’, in Middleton, C. and Lamb, V. (eds) Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–15. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-77440-4_1. Lazarus, K. M. et al. (2019) Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Hydropower Sector in Myanmar : Baseline Assessment Report : Introduction (English). Washington D.C. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/126001548867293771/Baseline-Assessment-Report-Introduction.

Lehner, B. et al. (2011) ‘High-resolution mapping of the world’s reservoirs and dams for sustainable river-flow management’, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. doi: 10.1890/100125. Lehner, B., Verdin, K. and Jarvis, A. (2008) ‘New global hydrography derived from spaceborne elevation data’, Eos. doi: 10.1029/2008EO100001. Meijer, J. R. et al. (2018) ‘Global patterns of current and future road infrastructure’, Environmental Research Letters. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/aabd42. Messager, M. L. et al. (2016) ‘Estimating the volume and age of water stored in global lakes using a geo-statistical approach’, Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13603. Middleton, C., Scott, A. and Lamb, V. (2019) ‘Hydropower Politics and Conflict on the Salween River’, in Middleton, C. and Lamb, V. (eds) Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 27–48. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-77440-4_3. Mulligan, M. et al. (2009) ‘Global dams database and 339 Geowiki. Version 1’. Available at: http://www.ambiotek.com/dams. OBL (2016) ‘Open letter from 26 Shan community groups to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to cancel Salween dams’. 26 Shan community groups.Online Burma/Myanmar Library (OBL). Available at: https://www.burmalibrary.org/en/open-letter-from-26-shan-community-groups-to-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-to-cancel-salweendams. Opperman, J. et al. (2018) Valuing Rivers: How the diverse benefits of healthy rivers underpin economies. Available at: http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_valuing_rivers__final_.pdf. Ripl, W. (2003) ‘Water: The bloodstream of the biosphere’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2003.1378. Schneider, A., Friedl, M. A. and Potere, D. (2009) ‘A new map of global urban extent from MODIS satellite data’, Environmental Research Letters. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/044003. Taft, L. and Evers, M. (2016) ‘A review of current and possible future human-water dynamics in Myanmar’s river basins’, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. doi: 10.5194/hess-20-4913-2016. UNESCO (2003) ‘Decisions Adopted by the 27th Session of the World Heritage Committee’, in. UNESCO Headquarters, Paris. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2003/whc03-27com-24e.pdf. WCD (2000) ‘Dams and development: a new framework for decision-making.’, Earthscan Publications, London, UK. Winemiller, K. O. et al. (2016) ‘Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong’, Science. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7082. Wong CM, Pittock, J, Schelle, P. (2007) ‘World ’ s top 10 rivers at risk, WWF report. IFC (2018) Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Myanmar Hydropower Sector. Washington D.C. WWF (2018a) The Ayeyarwady River and the Economy of Myanmar. Volume 1: Risks and Opportunities from the Perspective of People Living and Working in the Basin. WWF (2018b) The Ayeyarwady River and the the Economy of Myanmar. Volume ll: Ayeyarwady Futures. Available at: http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/rite_future_scenarios_english.pdf. Zarfl, C. et al. (2014) ‘A global boom in hydropower dam construction’, Aquatic Sciences. doi: 10.1007/s00027-014-0377-0. Zöckler, Christoph; Kottelat, M. (2017) Biodiversity of the Ayeyarwady Basin. Ayeyarwady State of the Basin Assessment (SOBA) Report 4.5. Myanmar.

6 APPENDIX 7.1 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND

MAGNITUDE OF PRESSURE INDICATORS

7.1.1 DOF

7.1.2 DOR

7.1.3 SED

7.1.4 USE AND RDD

7.2 LIST OF EXISTING AND

PLANNED DAMS USED IN THIS ANALYSIS

Table 4: Bariers used in the analysis for Myanmar (”-” stands for unknown).

Basin

1 2

Ataran

Barrier Name

Type

Status

Source

Lam Pha

Planned

SEA

Myet Taw Chaung

Planned

SEA

Glohong Kra

Planned

SEA

Xiaowan Hydro Power Station

Existing

WWF Mekong

Mekong

Manwan

Existing

GRanD

Mekong

Ken Tong

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA SEA

Mekong

Suo Lwe

Hydroelectricity

Existing

Mekong

Keng Yang

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Mekong

He Kou

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Mekong

Mong Hsat

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Mekong

Nam Hkok

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Mekong

Planned

SEA

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Nam Lin

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Zibihe

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Mekong

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Mekong

Existing

KCL

Salween

KunLong

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Naopha

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Mong Ton

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Ywathit

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Haixihai

Salween

Hutgyi

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Nam Hka

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Keng Tawng (upper)

Hydroelectricity

Under Construction

SEA

Salween

Hpak Nam

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Hpi Hseng

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Nam Pawn (upper)

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Mobye

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Salween

Baluchaung 1

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Salween

Baluchaung 2

Hydroelectricity

Existin

SEA

Planned

SEA

Salween

Na Pawn (lower)

Hydroelectricity

Salween

Baluchaung 3

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Salween

Hawkham (upper)

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Yunzalin

Status

SEA

Salween

Qiezishan Reservoir

Hydroelectricity

Existing

GRanD

Salween

Existing

KCL

Salween

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Salween

Existing

KCL

Salween

Hydroelectricity

Under Construction

SEA

Salween

Existing

KCL

Salween

Mantong Baluchaung (upper)

Existing

KCL

Beimiao

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Salween

Existing

KCL

Salween

Keng Yang

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Salween

Existing

KCL

Salween

Existing

KCL

Salween

Sankuaishi

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Salween

Existing

KCL

Irrawaddy

Renan

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Khaunglanphu

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Pisa

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Wutsok

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Chipwi

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Myitsone

Irrawaddy

T Rung Hka

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Laza

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Tamanthi

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Shweli 1

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Shweli 2

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Shweli 3

Hydroelectricity

Under Construction

SEA

Irrawaddy

Ta Nai Hka

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Nam Tabak II

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Nam Tabak I

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

U Yung Chaung

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Dapein 1

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Dapein 2

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Thaphanseik

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Irrawaddy

Kintat

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Irrawaddy

Manipur

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Sedawgyi (upper)

Multipurpose

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Nam Tu

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Sedawgyi

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Irrawaddy

Yeywa (upper)

Hydroelectricity

Under Construction

SEA

Irrawaddy

Nam Lang

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Myittha

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Yeywa (middle)

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Deedoke

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Yeywa

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Zawygi II

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Myogyi

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Zawgyi I

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Irrawaddy

Buywa (upper)

Multipurpose

Planned

SEA

Irrawaddy

Buywa

Multipurpose

Under Construction

SEA

100

Irrawaddy

Mone Chaung

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

101

Irrawaddy

Kyee Ohn Kyee Wa

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

102

Irrawaddy

Lawngdin

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

103

Irrawaddy

Gaw Lan

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

104

Irrawaddy

Hkankawn

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

105

Irrawaddy

Tongxinqiao

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

106

Irrawaddy

Chipwi Nge

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

107

Irrawaddy

Dum Ban

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

108

Irrawaddy

Nam Li

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

109

Irrawaddy

Mali

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

110

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

111

Irrawaddy

Khuga

Hydroelectricity

Existing

GRanD

Nam Paw

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Existing

KCL

Nam Hsim

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Existing

KCL

112

Irrawaddy

113

Irrawaddy

114

Irrawaddy

115

Irrawaddy

116

Irrawaddy

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

117

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

118

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

119

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

120

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

121

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

122

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

123

Irrawaddy

Natmouk

Existing

GRanD

124

Irrawaddy

Manchaung

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

125

Irrawaddy

Mindon

Planned

SEA

126

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

127

Irrawaddy

128

Irrawaddy

129 130 131

Irrawaddy

Kinda

Existing

KCL

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

Planned

SEA

Existing

KCL KCL

Taungnawin

Tawog Hka

132

Irrawaddy

134

Irrawaddy

Existing

135

Irrawaddy

Existing

SEA

136

Irrawaddy

Irrigation

Existing

KCL

137

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

138

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

139

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

140

Irrawaddy

Existing

GRanD

141

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

142

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

143

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

144

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

145

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

146

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

147

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

148

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

149

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

150

Irrawaddy

PExisting

KCL

151

Irrawaddy

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

152

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

153

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

154

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

155

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

Kabo Dam

Sunchaung

156

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

157

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

158

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

159

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

160

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

161

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

162

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

163

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

164

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

165

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL GRanD KCL

166

Irrawaddy

Irrigation

Existing

167

Irrawaddy

Existing

168

Irrawaddy

Existing

KCL

169

Tuilianpui

Karnafuli

Hydroelectricity

Existing

GRanD

170

Kaladan

Mi Chaung

Planned

SEA

171

Lemro

Lemro 1

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

172

Lemro

Lemro 2

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

173

Mayu

Saing Din

Planned

SEA

174

Sittaung

Paung Laung (middle)

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

175

Sittaung

Paung Laung (upper)

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA SEA

Salin

176

Sittaung

Paung Laung (lower)

Multipurpose

Existing

177

Sittaung

Sin Thay

Existing

SEA

178

Sittaung

Existing

SEA

179

Sittaung

Existing

SEA

180

Sittaung

Thauk Ye Khat 2

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

181

Sittaung

Kabaung

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

182

Sittaung

Phyu Chaung

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

183

Sittaung

Kun CHaung

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

184

Sittaung

Bawgata

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

185

Sittaung

Yenwe

Multipurpose

Existing

SEA

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Shwegyin

186

Sittaung

187

Sittaung

Existing

KCL

188

Sittaung

Existing

KCL

189

Sittaung

Nancho

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

190

Sitang

Thauk Ye Khat 1

Planned

SEA

191

Thahtay

Hydroelectricity

Under Construction

SEA

192

Than Dwe

Planned

SEA

Existing

KCL

193

Hlaing

194

Hlaing

Tabuhla

Existing

GRanD

195

Hlaing

Gyobyu

Water Supply

Existing

GRanD

Zaungtu

Hydroelectricity

Existing

SEA

Existing

KCL

Alaingni

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

199

Belin

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

200

Kyein Ta Li

Planned

SEA

201

Ngamoeyeik

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

196 197 198

202

Mae Khlong

Khao Laem

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

203

Mae Khlong

Srinagarind

Irrigation

Existing

GRanD

204

Mae Khlong

Tha Tung Na

Hydroelectricity

Existing

GRanD

205

Tanintharyi

Taninthayi

Hydroelectricity

Planned

SEA

Planned

SEA

206

Tanintharyi

Thein Kun Chaung

207

Tanintharyi

Sar Ra Chaung

Planned

SEA

208

Tanintharyi

Tha Gyet Chaung

Planned

SEA

WHEN IT’S TOO LATE, WE’LL LOOK BACK AND WONDER WHY WE DIDN’T SAFEGUARD THE RIVERS AND LAKES WHICH PROVIDE CLEAN WATER, FISH AND RICE TO FEED US, LIVELIHOODS AND HEALTHY DELTAS. THIS IS A CRITICAL MOMENT: IF WE DEGRADE THEM THROUGH DAMS, LARGE SCALE SAND EXTRACTION AND UNSUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIES, WE WILL LOSE MORE THAN WE REALIZE.

For more information, contact:

wwf.org.mm

WWF Myanmar 15/C Than Taman Rd, Dagon, Yangon 11191 mm.info@wwf.org.mm

© 1986 Panda symbol WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature (Formerly World Wildlife Fund) ® “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark. WWF, Avenue du Mont-Bland, 1196 Gland, Switzerland - Tel. +41 22 364 9111 Fax +41 22 364 0332. For contact details and further information, please visit our international website at www.panda.org

MAPPING MYANMAR'S FREE-FLOWING RIVERS

Articles inside

5 Conclusions

2 Background

6 Literature

3 Methodology

1 Executive Summary