1. Water and Sustainable Development:
From Vision to Action
Mr. Htun Lwin Oo
Secretary of
National Water Resources Committee
and Director General
Directorate of Water Resources and
Improvement of River Systems,
Chief Member of JCCCN Myanmar

2. General Conditions of Myanmar
National Water Resources Committee
Implementation in Water Sector
Capacity Building
Way Forwards
Main Supports
1
2
3
4
5
6
Contents
2

3. General Conditions of Myanmar1
3

4. - Situated in Southeast Asia,
- Bet: Lat. 09˚32’ N and 28 ˚ 31’ ,
Lon. 92˚10’ E to 101˚ 11’E
- Mainland Area - 677,000 sq-km
- International Boundaries;
Bangladesh, India, China, Laos,
Thailand.
- 90% of total rainfall occur during
May to October and
Natural Condition
4

5. Climate :Tropical Monsoon
climate
Three Seasons : Hot Season
Rainy Season
Cold Season
Precipitation : Coastal areas
(4000mm to
5600mm)
Central dry zone
(600mm and
1400mm)
Topography : Mountainous Region,
Central Dry Zone,
Ayeyarwady Delta
and Coastal Zone
Main Rivers : (4) Main Rivers
Natural Condition (Continue)
5

6. Population : Nearly 52 millions
Major ethnic : Kachin, Kayah,
group Kayin, Chin, Mon,
Bamar, Rakhine,
Shan
Races : 135national races
Industry : An Agriculture
based country
Social Condition
6

7. Water Resources in Myanmar
Potential water resources volume 1082 km³ for surface water
495 km³ for groundwater
Total Storage capacity of
dam/reservoir
21283 million cubic meter
Average annual rainfall 2435 mm
Evaporation 1365mm
Annual average flow into the
rivers
900mm
7

8. Land and Water Uses in Myanmar
8

9. Challenges Concerning with Water Resources
 Water related issues such as floods and scarcity
 Impact of climate change
 Unevenly distributed rainfall over the country and
over the seasons
 Water demand
 Infrastructures
 Capacity of people
9

10. National Water Resources Committee2
10

11.  Establishment on 25 July 2013
 Water related Authorities and experts
 Coordination and management for Myanmar water
resources
 Expert Group to support NWRC in technical point of
views
 Members of water experts from various background
 Myanmar National Water Policy , Myanmar Water
Framework Directive and Myanmar Drinking Water
Quality Standard
National Water Resources Committee
11

12. The Vision
“ In 2020, Myanmar will become water efficient nation with well
developed and sustainable water resources based on fully
functional integrated water resources management system”
The Mission
“ To provide various level of government, which include all organs of
State, Regions and Union Territories, with the most need overarching
national water policy to perform and cooperate with each other in
mutual trust and good faith by implementing such policy and further
development of respective rules, regulations, procedure and
legislation on their own ”
12

13. Union Ministers Deputy Ministers and
Mayors
State and Divisional Ministers Director Generals and
others
1. Ministry of president office(1)
2. Ministry of Agriculture and
Irrigation
3. Ministry of Livestock,
Fisheries and Rural
Development
4. Ministry of Environmental
Conservation and Forestry
5. Ministry of Electric Power
6. Ministry of National Planning
and Economic Development
1. Ministry of Border Affairs
2. Ministry of Transport
3. Ministry of Industry
4. Ministry of Health
5. Ministry of Construction
6. Mayor (Yangon)
7. Mayor (Mandalay)
1. Kachin State
2. Kayah State
3. Kayin State
4. Chin State
5. Mon State
6. Rakhine State
7. Shan State
8. Yangon Region
9. Mandalay Region
10. Magway Region
11. Sagaing Region
12. Bago Region
13. Ayeyarwady Region
14. Thanintharyi Region
1. General Administration
Department
2. Water Resources Utilization
Department
3. Irrigation Department
4. Environmental Conservation
Department
5. Department of Hydropower
Implementation
6. Department of Rural
Development
7. Department of Fisheries
8. Department of Meteorology
and Hydrology
9. Myanmar Maritime
University
10. Advisor to President Office
11. Chairperson and Secretary of
Expert Group
Vice President
(Chairperson)
Union Minister (Ministry of Transport)
(vice chairperson)
Secretary of NWRC
Expert Group
NWRC Secretariat
Organization Chart
13

14. Water and Energy
Water and Food
Water and Climate Change
Water Quality and Pollution
Control
Water for People and Environment
TWG 1
TWG 2
TWG 3
TWG 4
TWG 5
Thematic Working Groups of Expert
Group
14

15.  1st meeting of NWRC on 4-11-2013.
• Value Water
• Use Water Sustainably
• Develop Suitable Institution to Manage
Water
• Collect and Disseminate Information
• Maintain a Social and Cultural Perspectives
• Ensure Equitable Access to Water
• Use Appropriate Technology
• Try to Solve Causes not Symptoms
• Take an Ecosystem Approach
• Work as Multidisciplinary Teams
Guiding Principles
NWRC Meetings
15

16.  2nd meeting of NWRC on 10-3-2014.
IWRM Planning Cycle
NWRC Meetings
16

17.  Water Framework Directive
 Water Law
 Public Consultation meetings
1. 14-8-2014 ( Yangon)
2. 9-9-2014 ( Mandalay)
3. 27-9-2014 ( Pathein)
4. 7-10-2014 (Dewai)
5. 10-10-2014 (Myitkyina)
Ongoing Function
17

18. National Water Forum 2014 was held on 21st October 2014 in Nay Pyi
Taw, Myanmar and participated by water related Ministries,
Departments/Agencies, NGOs and INGOs.
National Water Forum 2014
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19. Implementation in Water Sector3
19

20. WASH
 encourages and support NGOs including
women organisations
 led WASH trainings in formal schools and
monastic schools
 celebrated Global Hand washing day
together with UNICEF, Water Mothers and
other organisations
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21. Water Quality
 Drinking water quality standards
 Waste water and effluent standards
 Water quality monitoring system
 Groundwater potential study
21

22. Disasters in Myanmar
22

23. Measures for Disaster Management
 Early warning System
 Communication
 infrastructures
 Training
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24.  to practice through Learning by doing projects
(quick wins) in initializing IWRM.
Demands for Water Sector Improvement
 To built infrastructures with long term planning
 to educate water user to save water and use it
effectively and efficiently
 to educate the staff from lowest level to highest
level
 To practice effective Integrated Water Resources
Management and water governance
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25.  IWRM strategic study for successful implementation of
IWRM and water governance
We are working for
 Coordination and cooperation among water related
Ministries and organizations
 Statistical analysis and model study for long term
planning of water resources
 Management and systematic utilization of all water
resources
 Reduction of non-revenue water to recover the cost of
water supply
 Some suitable technology and improvement for water
storage and supply system 25

26. Objectives of Implementation
 more public participation
 improvement in water sector
 promoting IWRM
Implementers
 Authorities from Water Related Ministries and
Agencies
 Expert Group of NWRC
 Regional Government
 Local Communities
 Stakeholders
26

27. Challenges
Data sharing system
cooperation between inter-Ministries
and inter-agencies
Budget Limitation
Capacity and facilities of water related
agencies
Water level differences between wet and
dry seasons
27

28. Triggers
Legal framework
National Water Policy, National Water
Framework Directive, Water Law
Internal and international cooperations
Capacity Building
Driver
Political
Economical
Social
Demographic
Climate change 28

29. Tools for Implementation
Planning tools
Communication tools
Mathematical models
Stakeholders/consultation meetings
Coordination
Conflict resolution
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30. Capacity Building4
30

31.  Well-prepared sectorial knowledge
Importance of capacity Building
 Capacity building at all levels
 learning by doing.
 IWRM in real world cases
 Capacity building programme connected with projects
31

32.  Disciplinary knowledge in scientific field
 Integrative requirements for the new water managers
 Bridges to IWRM professionals to other disciplines
Knowledge or Capacity Building
32

33. Human Right for Water
“The Union, the Regions and States,
and local bodies (governance
institutions) must ensure access to
minimum quality of portable water
for essential health and hygiene to
all its citizens, available within easy
reach of each household.”
National Water Policy states that :
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34. Capacity Building in Myanmar
 The present-day staff, future staff
 Gate-keeper to high level civil servants
 The most important challenge
 Short, Medium and multi-year programme for young
and senior professionals
34

35. Capacity Building in Myanmar (Continue)
 Learning by Doing Projects
 Data acquisition, data management and analysis
 Sustainable green growth
 Sound technical basis for administrative and political
decision making
35

36. “Learning by Doing” quick win projects
 Meiktila Lake Area Development as catalyst for
Integrated Regional Master Planning
 Bagan Multi-Purpose Pilot River Beautification
 Pan Hlaing Control Sluice cum Navigation Lock
 Feasibility Study on Mandalay-Bagan Navigability
Improvement
 Bago-Sittaung Canal Integrated Water System
Analysis
 Capacity Building
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37. Strengthening existing capacity of key Ministerial
departments
Selection of candidates
Creating of job and career opportunities
Enhance awareness of local water users
Develop capacity at Universities and/or Ministerial
training centre
Roll out capacity development through Training-of-
trainers
Capacity building on water governance through a
dedicated programme
According to IWRM study in Myanmar , the first steps
towards improving capacity building will be
Recommendation from IWRM Strategic Study
37

38. Planned Capacity Development Process
M.Sc and Ph.D. scholarships to junior and mid level
staff members
Training of Trainers (TOTs)
Staff development trainings
Trainings for Government staff, individuals and NGOs
Workshops/ Seminars
Stakeholder Forum
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39. Way Forwards5
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40. Way Forwards
 Formation of Hydro-informatics Center
 Enacting the National Water Law
 Building capacity for young generation
 Implementation of the pilot projects that agreed
between NWRC and the Netherlands
 Implementation of Ayeyarwady Integrated River
Basin Management Project with World Bank
 Strengthening of cooperation with IWRM practicing
countries 40

41. Main Supports6
41

42. Main Supports
 Decision support system
 Navigation improvement
 Water related disaster mitigation
 Water sector development
 Economic development
 Tradition of forming the river basin organizations
 Better awareness on various water issues
42

43. Thank You