<scp>M</scp>yanmar under reform: Emerging pressures on water, energy and food security

Kattelus, Mirja; Rahaman, Muhammad Mizanur; Varis, Olli

doi:10.1111/1477-8947.12032

Cited by 52 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Myanmar has experienced a rapid growth of hydropower capacity with a potential of almost 40 000 MW, of which only 6 % have been developed. Hydropower supplies the majority of the electric exports supported by foreign investments (ADB, 2012;Kattelus et al, 2014).…”

Section: Hydropower and River Flow Modificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the end of Myanmar's political and economic isolation in 2011, the country's abundant water resources have faced major changes. It is assumed that the current and future progressive socio-economic development of the country have and will have a significant impact on the water resources (Kattelus et al, 2014). However, not only political, economic and demographic changes have and will have major effects on the natural water resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of current and possible future human–water dynamics in Myanmar's river basins

Taft

Evers

2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Rivers provide a large number of ecosystem services and riparian people depend directly and indirectly on water availability and quality and quantity of the river waters. The country's economy and the people's well-being and income, particularly in agriculturally dominated countries, are strongly determined by the availability of sufficient water. This is particularly true for the country of Myanmar in South-east Asia, where more than 65% of the population live in rural areas, working in the agricultural sector. Only a few studies exist on river basins in Myanmar at all and detailed knowledge providing the basis for human-water research is very limited. A deeper understanding of human-water system dynamics in the country is required because Myanmar's society, economy, ecosystems and water resources are facing major challenges due to political and economic reforms and massive and rapid investments from neighbouring countries. However, not only policy and economy modify the need for water. Climate variability and change are other essential drivers within human-water systems. Myanmar's climate is influenced by the Indian Monsoon circulation which is subject to interannual and also regional variability. Particularly the central dry zone and the Ayeyarwady delta are prone to extreme events such as serious drought periods and extreme floods. On the one hand, the farmers depend on the natural fertiliser brought by regular river inundations and high groundwater levels for irrigation; on the other hand, they suffer from these water-related extreme events. It is expected that theses climatic extreme events will likely increase in frequency and magnitude in the future as a result of global climate change. Different national and international interests in the abundant water resources may provide opportunities and risks at the same time for Myanmar. Several dam projects along the main courses of the rivers are currently in the planning phase. Dams will most likely modify the river flows, the sediment loads and also the still rich biodiversity in the river basins, to an unknown extent. Probably, these natural and anthropogenically induced developments will also impact a special type of farming; we call it alluvial farming in the river floodplains and on sandbars in the Ayeyarwady River basin in Myanmar, which is called Kaing and Kyun, respectively.Relevant aspects for future development of Myanmar's river basins combine environment-water-related factors, climate, economic and social development, water management and land use changes. Research on these interplays needs to capture the spatial and temporal dynamics of these drivers. However, it is only possible to gain a full understanding of all these complex interrelationships if multi-scale spatiotemporal information is analysed in an inter-and trans-disciplinary approach. This paper gives a structured overview of the current scientific knowledge available and reveals the relevance of this information with regard to human-environment and particularly to human-water ...

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Section: Hydropower and River Flow Modificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of current and possible future human–water dynamics in Myanmar's river basins

Taft

Evers

2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…As the name suggests, the purpose of the comparative analysis is to provide a general comparison of how the nexus manifests itself in different transboundary regions with large river basins. It builds on our previous research in these regions (e.g., [27,30,[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]) as well as key literature referred to in the text. Comparative analysis is not intended to provide an in-depth analysis of a nexus situation in any particular region or river basin.…”

Section: Comparative Nexus Analysis In Three Asian Regions With Largementioning

confidence: 99%

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Keskinen

Guillaume

Kattelus

et al. 2016

Water

Self Cite

123

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Abstract:The water-energy-food nexus is a topical subject for research and practice, reflecting the importance of these sectors for humankind and the complexity and magnitude of the challenges they are facing. While the nexus as a concept is not yet mature or fully tested in practice, it has already encouraged a range of approaches in a variety of contexts. This article provides a set of definitions recognizing three perspectives that see the nexus as an analytical tool, governance framework and as an emerging discourse. It discusses the implications that an international transboundary context brings to the nexus and vice versa. Based on a comparative analysis of three Asian regions-Central Asia, South Asia and the Mekong Region-and their related transboundary river basins, we propose that the transboundary context has three major implications: diversity of scales and perspectives, importance of state actors and importance of politics. Similarly, introducing the nexus as an approach in a transboundary context has a potential to provide new resources and approaches, alter existing actor dynamics and portray a richer picture of relationships. Overall, the significance of water-energy-food linkages and their direct impacts on water allocation mean that the nexus has the potential to complement existing approaches also in the transboundary river basins.

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“…Myanmar's heterogeneous context includes a number of basic and formidable challenges (Jones, 2013;Kattelus et al, 2014;Zhu et al, 2016). One challenge stems from tension between the central state's interest in fast-tracking energy and resource development projects, and its hitherto limited interest in inclusive, cross-sectoral planning.…”

Section: Development Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large hydropower and legitimacy: A policy regime analysis, applied to Myanmar

Kiik¹

2017

Preprint

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Hydropower development in capacity-constrained countries can unfold through unsound policy arguments, narrow institutional and implementing arrangements, and ad hoc decision making processes. To derive insights for more legitimate policy making, we provide the first holistic account of Myanmar’s legitimation struggles over large hydropower, focusing on Myitsone, the country’s most controversial dam, during the period 2003–2011. Our analysis takes a policy regime perspective (specifically, a “political economic regime of provisioning” framework). Among our findings: (1) frequent use of non-rationally persuasive argument among contending actors; (2) a spiral of declining policy legitimacy, which is amplified by civil society mobilization, and halted by a 2011 decision to suspend Myitsone; (3) rejection of Myitsone but conditional acceptance of large hydropower among some elements of civil society. Opportunity and capability for more technically informed, inclusive discussion exists in Myanmar, but given hydropower’s complexities, urgently deserves to be augmented. Although Myitsone in Myanmar is an exceptional case, we offer three propositions to assess and improve policy legitimacy of hydropower.

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Myanmar under reform: Emerging pressures on water, energy and food security

Cited by 52 publications

References 44 publications

A review of current and possible future human–water dynamics in Myanmar's river basins

A review of current and possible future human–water dynamics in Myanmar's river basins

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Large hydropower and legitimacy: A policy regime analysis, applied to Myanmar

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