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.
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