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Coastal

Using ICTs to Link Spatial Planning and Management Approaches for Coastal, River Basin, and Marine Areas

Problem Description / Relevance to Water Security: 

Coastal zone pressures cannot be effectively assessed within a geographic coverage limited to coastal zones: both upstream activities at river basin level and marine activities impact environmental conditions in the coastal area. The latter are also naturally shaped by the material and energy transfers between coastal and surrounding ecosystems (e.g. sediment transport, water quality, storm surges, river discharge, floods).

ICT Application / Outcome: 

Integrated approaches to managing resources, pressures and impacts, have received considerable attention at river basin (Integrated River Basin Management / IRBM) and coastal area (Integrated Coastal Zone Management / ICZM) levels, within the overall framework of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Effective Communication of Flood Risk Information for Improved Decision Making in Rakhine State, Myanmar

Problem Description / Relevance to Water Security: 

Rakhine State receives stormy weather from the Bay of Bengal in the monsoon seasons, resulting in heavy precipitation between May and October each year. Flooding is a common threat for Rakhine. Mountains on the western part of the state often contribute to occurrences of flash floods while extreme flows from several rivers in the state caused riverine flooding almost annually. One of the worst floods in the State’s recorded history took place in July and August 2015 during the aftermath of Cyclone Komen, which also triggered devastating landslides throughout the country.

ICT Application / Outcome: 

In Rakhine State, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with technical partnership of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and the Myanmar Engineering Society (MES), initiated an activity in 2011 to assess and map the risk from possible disasters in Rakhine State including flood, earthquake, tsunami, cyclone, storm surge, landslide and forest fire. While the other types of hazards are impactful for the state, this study focuses on floods.