The opportunities for Myanmar to develop its socioeconomics with foreign investors and relations
after the political isolation over the last decades are growing for the different stakeholders in the
country to exploit the natural resources to country is rich of. These opportunities lead to the strategy
of the government to change from a sectorial oriented to an integrated approach to develop the
country in a sustainable way in a river basin wide vision. The cornerstones of the development of
Myanmar’s economics are the water, energy and food sectors, where all are interlinked and proper
planning is crucial to develop them all in a sustainable way. The development of an Integrated Water
Resources Management (IWRM) Strategy Plan is crucial to integrate the different strategies and
visions of the individual stakeholders into national wide visions and/ or long term strategies.
This study focusses on better understanding of the water resources system (WRS) in both present
and future situation, following the socioeconomic trends found in literature. A water demand and
allocation simulation package (Ribasim) is used to assess the water availability, demand and allocation
for the major river basins in Myanmar, namely the Ayeyarwady, Salween, Sittaung, Bago and Myit Ma
Hka River basins. Ribasim is a zero- dimensional modelling simulation program which is able to
calculate the water demand and allocation over a certain simulation period. The input data for the
models are data collected during a field visit to the involved ministries in Myanmar. Validation of the
following input parameters are recommended to be obtain in the field to increase a better
understanding of the WRS: cropping patterns, efficiency of the irrigation fields, available storage,
actual rainfall and evaporation and operation management rules of multi-purpose dams.
For both the current and most extreme future development in the socioeconomics, the water
utilisation on river basin level is low and is not restricting for the development of the country’s
economy. The utilisation of the available fresh water resources on basin scale is low, with only 4.0%
and 7.4%. This is averaged over the major river basins (Ayeyarwady, Salween, Sittaung, Bago and
Myit Ma Hka), where the agricultural sector accounts for 83% to 88% of the total withdrawal. The
future situation is analysed with different socioeconomic trends as input, affecting the WRS. One of
the major trends is the agricultural sector. The irrigated area is planned to increase with a factor two,
from 1.1 million ha to 2.2 million ha, resulting in an increase of demand of 131%. Developing the
irrigation areas, results in a higher base flow during the dry season. Improving the irrigation scheme
efficiency with 25% on the other hand results in an increase of the cultivated area of 12.5% and 16.7%
respectively for the actual and proposed irrigation area. This results in the decrease of the drained
water and a reduction in the base flow. For developed irrigation areas in the Sittaung, Bago, Myit Ma
Hka and the Ayeyarwady Basins this can become critical for the salinity intrusion in the delta, with
water quality issues as a consequence. . For the production of hydropower this results in a longer
period of time the stored water can be released through the turbine. Multi-purpose reservoirs can
contribute to an integrated and sustainable water management. The water scarcity level assessed on
the local scale for the Magway and Minbu Region in the Central Dry Zone is observed to be severe
(23.5%) for the available storage capacity. In conclusion, involvement of all sectors in the (modelled)
water allocation assessment will increase the understanding and awareness of the WRS for the
stakeholders and benefits to the IWRM process in Myanmar with the objective of an environmental,
social and economical sustainable development of the countries water resources.