This document outlines an agenda for a biomonitoring session on rivers in the Greater Mekong region. The session will include introductions to aquatic invertebrate monitoring and a "Bug Bingo" activity. Presentations will cover biomonitoring programs in the Mekong River Commission, Nam Ou River in Laos, various programs in Lao PDR, and the Songkhram River in Thailand. The use of aquatic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators for assessing river health will also be discussed.

1. Biomonitoring of rivers in the
Greater Mekong
MK23 - MK24 - MK25 - TAF
aka
BUG BINGO

2. Session outline
• Welcome - Robyn Johnston
• Introduc@on to aqua@c invertebrate monitoring
• Bug Bingo! - Amy Cox
• Presenta@ons on monitoring programs
– MRC Mekong - Supatra Davison
– Nam Ou - Peter-John Meynell
– Lao PDR - Sython Phetdaoheuang and Derin Henderson
– Songkhram - Victor Shinde
• Discussion and way forward (mod. by Tonya Schuetz)
Short technical discussion on State of knowledge paper

3. Myanmar
Healthy Rivers Ini=a=ve (MHRI)
2015 - 2017
Rivers for life and livelihoods:
classifica=on of river health in the Ayeyarwady and Salween River Basin
MK23 - MK24

4. Biomonitoring
Using the biological aYributes of a water body
to assess its condi@on
Reflects system "memory"

5. Aqua=c macro-invertebrates
Assemblages used to derive index of condi@on
• types
• diversity
• number
sensi@vity to disturbance
comparison to reference site or
condi@on

6. Pros and Cons
• common, diverse, abundant
• easy to collect and iden@fy,
do not require lab analysis
• affected differently by a
variety of disturbances
• indicate past as well as
present condi@ons
• protocols can't be transferred
between regions without local
tes@ng and valida@on
• not always clear which drivers
are responsible change
• spa@al and temporal variability
in assemblages (wet vs dry
season)

7. Impact assessment /
pollu@on effects
Ecological status and
trends - river health
Seang targets and
environmental flow
Compliance with
agreements / licence

8. Ci=zen science
Green World Founda@on
Thailand
Environmental Detec@ves

9. Good sampling
sites

10. Our sampling
sites

11. Bug Bingo
Amy Cox

12. Instruc=ons
1. Iden@fy the bugs in your sample using the
key provided
2. Fill in the score sheet and calculate your river
health score
3. Classify your river condi@on as good, fair, or
poor
10 minutes

13. Thank you
Robyn Johnston
Team leader Salween
R.Johnston@cgiar.org
Rory Hunter
Team leader Ayeyarwady
rory.hunter@icem.com.au

14. River
health
Murray Darling Basin
Sustainable Rivers Audit