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Heidi G. Frontani
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Dr. Heidi G. Frontani is geographer in the nature-society tradition, whose research has examined the relationship between park management approach and conservation effect, particularly the extent to which participatory, ‘bottom-up’ co-management can not only protect biodiversity, but also local people’s livelihoods. She has worked with fishing communities in New England and the Florida Keys in the United States and, as a Fulbright Scholar, with Swahili-speaking communities living near coral reef-based marine protected areas in Kenya. Dr. Frontani holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. She has served as a visiting professor at Mount Holyoke College in the USA and Southeast University in Nanjing, China and currently teaches at Elon University.

 

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Biodiversity Institute of Ontario
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The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to improving the understanding of biodiversity at all scales, from the genetic to the macroecological. Based at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, BIO is host to more than 30 university faculty and their research groups representing a wide range of biological expertise. BIO also includes specialized support staff and unique research and outreach capabilities designed to foster both academic research and public outreach.

The Biodiversity Institute of Ontario is a large-scale project supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT), and the University of Guelph. Individual faculty research programs are supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and other sources.

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Featured Environmental Classic

Undersea (historical)

Originally Published As:
Title: Undersea
Author: Rachel Louise Carson
Source: Atlantic Monthly, 78 (September 1937), pp. 55–67
Year published: 1937


EDITOR'S NOTE: This paper is among Carson's earliest published work. It was originally titled “The World of Waters” and was written as an introduction to a U.S. Bureau of Fisheries brochure in 1935. She was encouraged to submit it to Atlantic Monthly, where it was published by editor Edward Weeks. Its publication marked Carson’s literary debut as a writer of critical merit. “Undersea” subsequently became the basis of Carson’s first book, Under the Sea-Wind (1941). “Undersea” introduces two of Carson’s signature themes: the ancient and enduring ecology that dominates ocean life, and the material immortality that encompasses even the smallest organism. From these four pages in Atlantic Monthly, Carson later admitted, “everything else followed.”


Who has known the ocean? Neither you nor I, with our earth-bound senses, know the foam and surge of the tide that beats over the crab hiding under the seaweed of his tidepool home; or the lilt of the long, slow swells of mid-ocean, where shoals of wandering fish prey and are preyed upon, and the dolphin breaks the waves to breathe the upper atmosphere. Nor can we know the vicissitudes of life on the ocean floor, where the sunlight, filtering through a hundred feet of water, makes but a fleeting, bluish twilight, in which dwell sponge and mollusk and starfish and coral, where swarms of diminutive fish twinkle through the dusk like a silver rain of meteors, and eels lie in wait among the rocks. Even less is it given to man to descend those six incomprehensible miles into the recesses of the abyss, where reign utter silence and unvarying cold and eternal night.

To sense this world of waters known to the creatures of the sea we must shed our human perceptions of length and breadth and time and place, and enter vicariously into a universe of all-pervading water. For to the sea’s children nothing is so important as the fluidity of their world. It is water that they breathe; water that brings them food; water through which they see, by filtered sunshine from which first the red rays, then the greens, and finally the purples have been strained; water through which they sense vibrations equivalent to sound. And indeed it is nothing more or less than sea water, in all its varying conditions of temperature, saltiness, and pressure, that forms the invisible barriers that confine each marine type within a special zone of life – one to the shore line, another to some submarine chasm on the far slopes of the continental shelf, and yet another, perhaps, to an imperceptibly defined stratum at mid-depths of ocean.

There are comparatively few living things whose shifting pattern of life embraces both land and sea. Such are creatures of the tide pools among the rocks and of the mud flats sloping away from dune and beach grass to the water’s edge. Between low water and the flotsam and jetsam of the high-tide mark, land and sea wage a never-ending conflict for possession.

As on land the coming of night brings a change over the face of field and forest, sending some wild things into the save retreat of their burrows and bringing others forth to prowl and forage, so at ebb tide the creatures of the waters largely disappear from sight, and in their place come marauders from the land to search the tide pools and to probe the sands for the silent, waiting fauna of the shore.

Twice between succeeding dawns, as the waters abandon pursuit of the beckoning moon and fall back, foot by foot, periwinkle and starfish and crab are cast upon the mercy of the sands. Every heap of brine-drenched seaweed, every pool forgotten by the retreating sea in recess of sand or rock, offers sanctuary from sun and biting sand.

In the tide pools, seas in miniature, sponges of the simpler kinds encrust the rocks, each hungrily drawing in through its myriad mouths the nutriment-laden water. Starfishes and sea anemones are common dwellers in such rock-grit pools. Shell-less cousins of the snail, the naked sea slugs are spots of brilliant rose and bronze, spreading arborescent gills to the waters, while the tube worms, architects of the tide pools, fashion their conical dwellings of sand grains, cemented on against another in glistening mosai.

On the sands the clams burrow down in search of coolness and moisture, and oysters close their all-excluding shells and wait for the return of the water. Crabs crowd into damp rock caverns, where periwinkles cling to the walls. Colonies of gnome-like shrimps find refuge under dripping strands of brown, leathery week heaped on the beach.

Hard upon the retreating sea press invaders from the land. Shore birds patter along the beach by day, and legions of the ghost crab shuffle across the damp sands by night. Chief, perhaps, among he plunderers is man, probing the soft mud flats and dipping his nets into the shallow waters.

At last comes a tentative ripple, then another, and finally the full, surging sweep of the incoming tide. The folk of the pools awake-clams stir in the mud. Barnacles open their shells and begin a rhythmic sifting of the waters. One by one, brilliant-hued flowers blossom in the shallow water as tubeworms extend cautious tentacles.

The ocean is a place of paradoxes. It is the home of the great white shark, two-thousand-pound killer of the seas, and of the hundred-foot blue whale, the largest animal that ever lived. It is also the home of living things so small that your two hands might scoop up as many of them as there are stars in the Milky Way. And it is because of the flowering of astronomical numbers of these diminutive plants, known as diatoms, that the surface of waters of the ocean are in reality boundless pastures. Every marine animal, from the smallest to the sharks and whales, is ultimately dependent for its food upon these microscopic entities of the vegetable life of the ocean. Within their fragile walls, the sea performs a vital alchemy that utilizes the sterile chemical elements dissolved in the water and welds them with the torch of sunlight into the stuff of life. Only through this little-understood synthesis of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates by myriad plant “producers” is the mineral wealth of the sea made available to the animal “consumers” that browse as they float with the currents. Drifting endlessly, midway between the sea of air above and the depths of the abyss below, these strange creatures and the marine inflorescence that sustains them are called “plankton” – the wanderers.

Many of the fishes, as well as the bottom-dwelling mollusks and worms and starfish, begin life as temporary members of this roving company, for the ocean cradles their young in its surface waters. The sea is not a solicitous foster mother. The delicate eggs and fragile larvae are buffeted by storms raging across the open ocean and preyed upon by diminutive monsters, the hungry glass worms and comb jellies of the plankton.

These ocean pastures are also the domain of vast shoals of adult fishes: herring, anchovy, menhaden, and mackerel, feeding upon the animals of the plankton and in their turn preyed upon; for here the dogfish hunt in packs, and the ravenous bluefish, like roving buccaneers, take their booty where they find it.

Dropping downward a scant hundred feet to the white sand beneath, an undersea traveler would discover a land where the noonday sun is swathed in twilight blues and purples, and where the blackness of midnight is eerily aglow with the cold phosphorescence of living things. Dwelling among the crepuscular shadows of the ocean floor are creatures whose terrestrial counterparts are drab and commonplace, but which are themselves invested with delicate beauty by the sea. Crystal cones form the shells of pteropods or winged snails hat drift downward from the surface to these dim regions by day; and the translucent spires of lovely ianthina are tinged with Tyrian purple.

Other creatures of the sea’s bottom may be fantastic rather than beautiful. Spine-studded urchins, like rotund hedgehogs of the sea, tumble over the sands, where mollusks lie with slightly opened shells, busily straining the water for debris. Life flows on monotonously for these passive sifters of the currents, who move little or not at all from year to year. Among the rock ledges, eels and cunners forage greedily, while the lobster feels his way with nimble wariness through the perpetual twilight.

Farther out on the continental shelf, the ocean floor is scarred with deep ravines, perhaps the valleys of drowned rivers, and dotted with undersea plateaus. Hosts of fish graze on these submerged islands, which are richly carpeted with sluggish or sessile forms of life. Chief among the ground fish are haddock, cods, flounders and their mightier relative, the halibut. From these and shallower waters man, the predator, exacts a yearly tribute of nearly thirty billion pounds of fish.

If the underwater traveler might continue to explore the ocean floor, he would traverse miles of level prairie lands; he would ascend the sloping sides of hills; and he would skirt deep and ragged crevasses yawning suddenly at his feet. Through the gathering darkness, he would come at last to the edge of the continental shelf. The ceiling of the ocean would lie a hundred fathoms above him, and his feet would rest upon the brink of a slope that drops precipitously another mile, and then descends more gently into an inky void that is the abyss.

What human mind can visualize conditions in the uttermost depths of the ocean? Increasing with every foot of depth, enormous pressures reach, three thousand fathoms down, the inconceivable magnitude of three tons to every square inch of surface. In these silent deeps a glacial cold prevails, a bleak iciness which never varies, summer or winter, years melting into centuries, and centuries into ages of geologic time. There, too, darkness reigns – the blackness of primeval night in which the ocean came into being, unbroken, through eons of succeeding time, by the gray light of dawn.

It is easy to understand why early students of the ocean believed these regions were devoid of life, but strange creatures have now been dredged from the depths to bear mute and fragmentary testimony concerning life in the abyss.

The “monsters” of the deep sea are small, voracious fishes with gaping, tooth-studded jaws, some with sensitive feelers serving the function of eyes, other bearing luminous torches or lures to search out or entice their living prey. Through the night of the abyss, the flickering lights of these foragers move to and fro. Many of the sessile bottom dwellers glow with a strange radiance suffusing the entire body, while other swimming creatures may have tiny, glittering lights picked out in rows and patterns.

The deep-sea prawn and the abyssal cuttlefish eject a luminous cloud, and under cover of this pillar of fire escape from their enemies.

Monotones of red and brown and lusterless black are the prevailing colors in the deep sea, allowing the wearers to reflect the minimum of the phosphorescent gleams, and to blend into the safe obscurity of the surrounding gloom.

On the muddy bottom of the abyss, treacherous oozes threaten to engulf small scavengers as they busily sift the debris for food. Crabs and prawns pick their way over the yielding mud on stilt-like legs; sea spiders creep over sponges raised on delicate stalks above the slime.

Because the last vestige of plant life was left behind in the shallow zone penetrated by the rays of the sun, the inhabitants of these depths contrast strangely with the self-supporting assemblage of the surface waters. Preying one upon another, the abyssal creatures are ultimately dependent upon the slow rain of dead plants and animals from above. Every living thing of the ocean, plant and animal alike, returns to the water at the end of its own life span the materials that had been temporarily assembled to form its body. So there descends into the depths a gentle, never-ending rain of the disintegrating particles of what once were living creatures of the sunlit surface waters, or of those twilight regions beneath.

Here in the sea mingle elements which, in their long and amazing history, have lent life and strength and beauty to a bewildering variety of living creatures. Ions of calcium, now free in the water, were borrowed years ago from the from the sea to form part of the protective armor of a mollusk, returned to the main reservoir when their temporary owner had ceased to have need of them, and later incorporated into the delicate statuary of a coral reef. Here are atoms of silica, once imprisoned in a layer of flint in the subterranean darkness; later, within the fragile shell of a diatom, tossed by waves and warmed by the sun; and again entering into the exquisite structure of a radiolarian shell, that miracle of ephemeral beauty that might be the work of a fairy glass-blower with a snowflake as his pattern.

Except for the precipitous slopes and regions swept bare by the submarine currents, the ocean floor is covered with primeval oozes which have been accumulating for eons deposits of varied origins; earth-born materials freighted seaward by rivers or worn from the shores of continents by the ceaseless grinding of waves; volcanic dust transported long distances by wind, floating lightly on the surface and eventually sinking into the depths to mingle with the products of no less mighty eruptions of submarine volcanoes; spherules of iron and nickel from interstellar space; and substances of organic origin – the siliceous skeletons of Radiolaria and the frustules of diatoms, the limey remains of algae and corals, and the shells of minute Foraminifera and delicate pelagic snails.

While the bottoms near the shore are covered with detritus from the land, the remains of the floating and swimming creatures of the sea prevail in the deep waters of the open ocean. Beneath tropical seas, in depths of 1000 to 1500 fathoms, calcareous oozes cover nearly a third of the ocean floor; while the colder waters of the temperate and polar regions release to the underlying bottom the siliceous remains of diatoms and Radiolaria. In the red clay that carpets the great deeps at 3000 fathoms or more, such delicate skeletons are extremely rare. Among the few organic remains not dissolved before they reach these cold and silent depths are the ear bones of whales and the teeth of sharks.

Thus we see the parts of the plan fall into place: the water receiving from earth and air the simple materials, storing them up until the gathering energy of the spring sun wakens the sleeping plants to a burst of dynamic activity, hungry swarms of planktonic animals growing and multiplying upon the abundant plants, and themselves falling prey to the shoals of fish; all, in the end, to be redissolved into their component substances when the inexorable laws of the sea demand it. Individual elements are lost to view, only to reappear again and again in different incarnations in a kind of material immortality. Kindred forces to those which, in some period inconceivably remote, gave birth to that primeval bit of protoplasm tossing on the ancient seas continue their mighty and incomprehensible work. Against this cosmic background the life span of a particular plant or animal appears, not as a drama complete in itself, but only as a brief interlude in a panorama of endless change.

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Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Geographical Location

Royal Chitwan National Park (27°20-27°40'N) is a World Heritage Site which lies in the lowlands or Inner Terai of southern central Nepal on the international border with India. The park's boundaries extend from the Dauney Hills on the west bank of the Narayani River eastward 78 kilometers (km) to Hasta and Dhoram rivers. The park is bounded to the north by the Narayani and Rapti rivers and to the south by the Panchnad and Reu rivers and a forest road. 27°20-27°40'N, 83°52'-84°45'E

Parsa Wildlife Reserve is contiguous to the eastern boundary of the park and extends as far eastwards as the Bheraha and Bagali rivers. 27°15'-27°35'N, 84°45'-84°58'E

Date and History of Establishment

  • Chitwan was declared a national park in 1973, following approval by the late King Mahendra in December 1970.
  • The bye-laws (Royal Chitwan National Park Regulations) were introduced on 4 March 1974.
  • Substantial additions were made to the park in 1977 and the adjacent Parsa Wildlife Reserve was established in 1984.
  • The habitat had been well protected as a royal hunting reserve from 1846 to 1951 during the Rana regime.
  • An area south of the Rapti River was first proposed as a rhinoceros sanctuary in 1958 , demarcated in 1963, and later incorporated into the national park.
  • Chitwan was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1984.

Area

Chitwan was enlarged from 54,400 hectares (ha) to its present size of 93,200 ha in 1977. Parsa Wildlife Reserve covers 49,900 ha. There was a proposal to further enlarge the protected areas complex by establishing the 25,900 ha Bara Hunting Reserve, adjacent to and east of Parsa Wildlife Reserve, but this has been dropped.

Land Tenure

State.

Altitude

Altitude ranges from 150 meters (m) to 815 m on the Churia Range.

Physical Features

Chitwan is situated in a river valley basin or dun, along the floodplains of the Rapti, Reu and Narayani rivers. The Someswar and the Dauney hills form the southern catchment and both drain into the Narayani. The Churia Hills bisect the park, their northern face falling within the catchment of the Rapti and southern side forming the catchment of the Reu. The Rapti is bounded by the Mahabharat Range on the north. Both the Rapti and Reu flow westwards and drain into the Narayani, which meanders southwards for about 25 km through a narrow gorge between the Someswar and Dauney hills until it reaches the Nepal-India border. Here it is dammed near Tribenighat. The Narayani is also called the Gandaki and is the third largest river in Nepal. It originates in the high Himalaya and, after joining the Ganges in India, drains into the Bay of Bengal. The Churia, Someswar and Dauney hills constitute part of the Siwaliks which are characterized by outwash deposits carried from the north. All the rocks are of Pliocene or Pleistocene, fluviatile origin, and consist mainly of sandstones, conglomerates, quartzites, shales and micaceous sandstone. The Siwaliks show a distinctive fault pattern that has produced steep cliffs on the south-facing slopes, where vegetation cover is poorer than the northern slopes. The Mahabharat Range consists of severely eroded pre-Siwalik quartzites, phyllites and sandstones. The floodplains comprise a series of ascending alluvial terraces laid down by the rivers and subsequently raised by Himalayan uplift. The terraces are composed of layers of boulders and gravels set in a fine silty matrix. There is a rough gradient from the higher-lying boulders and gravels to sands and silts and then to the low-lying silt loams and silty clay loams.

Climate

Conditions are subtropical with a summer monsoon from mid-June to late-September, and a relatively dry winter. Mean annual rainfall is 2,400 millimeters (mm) with about 90% falling in the monsoon from June to September. Monsoon rains cause dramatic floods and changes in the character and courses of rivers. Temperatures are highest (maximum 38°C) during this season and drop to a minimum of 6°C in the post-monsoon period (October to January), when dry northerly winds from the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau are prevalent.

Vegetation

The climax vegetation of the Inner Terai is sal Shorea robusta forest, which covers some 70% of the park. However, floods, fires and riverine erosion combine to make a continually changing mosaic of grasslands and riverine forests in various stages of succession. Purest stands of sal occur on better drained ground such as the lowlands around Kasra in the centre of the park. Elsewhere, sal is intermingled with chir pine Pinus roxburghii along the southern face of the Churia Hills and with tree species such as Terminalia belerica, Dalbergia latifolia, Anogeissus latifolius, Dillenia indica and Garuga pinnata on northern slopes. Creepers, such as Bauhinia vahlii and Spatholobus parviflorus, are common. The understorey is scant with the exception of grasses such as Themeda villosa. Riverine forest and grasslands, which form a mosaic along the river banks, are maintained by seasonal flooding. Khair-sissoo Acacia catechu-Dalbergia sissoo associations predominate on recent alluvium deposited during floods and in lowland areas that escape the most serious flooding. Semal-bhellar Bombax ceiba-Trewia nudiflora, with understorey shrubs Callicarpa macrophylla, Clerodendrum viscosum and Phyllanthus emblica, represent a later stage in succession. Two other types of riverine forest (Eugenia woodland and tropical evergreen forest) occur in areas outside the present boundary of the park. Seven major grassland types have been identified, which consitute about 20% of the park's area: Themeda villosa forms a tall grass cover in clearings in the sal forest; Saccharum-Narenga associations grow as mixed and pure stands of tall grass (Saccharum spontaneum is one of the first species to colonize newly created sandbanks); Arundo-Phragmites associations form dense tall stands along stream beds on the floodplain and around lakes; Imperata cylindrica grows prolificallyin areas within the park which were occupied by villages prior to their evacuation in 1964; various short grasses and herbs grown on exposed sandbanks during the dry months and become much more prolific with the outset of rain in May (e.g. Polygonum plebeium, Persicaria spp. and sedges such as Cyperus, Kyllinga and Mariscus spp.); Cynodon dactylon and Chrysopogon aciculatus and other short grasses grow in highest areas near riverine forest all the year round; and low-lying stands of Saccharum spontaneum, which are destroyed by repeated flooding early in the monsoon.

Fauna

Over 40 species of mammals have been recorded. Prior to its re-introduction to Royal Bardia National Park in 1986, the park contained the last Nepalese population of the Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis (E). This had increased from about 300 in 1975 to about 350 in 1986. It is currently estimated at 375-400. Tiger Panthera tigris (E) is present and has been the subject of a long-term study begun in 1974. The population increased from an estimated 25 in 1974 to 70-110 in 1980, of which 24-30 are resident breeders at any one time, but has recently crashed. Half of the resident tigers in the western portion of the park disappeared during the 1990 monsoon and two-thirds of dependent young were also missing. Leopard Panthera pardus (T) is widespread and other threatened mammal species include wild dog Cuon alpinus (V), sloth bear Melursus ursinus (I), Ganges river dolphin Platanista gangetica (V), and gaur Bos gaurus (V). Hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus (E) is also present. The sloth bear population totalled 50-60 in 1979. The river dolphin population may have declined following the construction of a dam towards the Indian border. Seven were recorded in 1980 but none in 1990. Wild elephant Elephas maximus (E) occasionally pass through the Churia Hills. Other mammals include rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta and common langur Presbytis entellus, smooth-coated otter Lutra perspicillata, yellow-throated marten Martes flavigula, ratel Mellivora capensis, spotted linsang Prionodon pardicolor, large Indian civet Viverra zibetha, small Indian civet Viverricula indica, common palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Himalayan palm civet Paguma larvata, mongoose Herpestes spp., fishing cat Felis viverrina (K), leopard cat F. bengalensis, jungle cat F. chaus, jackal Canis aureus, striped hyena Hyaena hyaena, Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis (I), sambar Cervus unicolor, hog deer C. porcinus, spotted deer C. axis, Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, wild boar Sus scrofa, Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla, five-striped palm squirrel Funambulus pennanti, Indian porcupine Hystrix indica and Indian hare Lepus nigricollis. The wild ungulate biomass within riverine/tall grass habitats has been estimated at 18,590 kilograms per square kilometer (kg/km2), far exceeding that reported anywhere else in the Indian sub-continent. Most mammals found in the park also occurs in Parsa Wildlife Reserve with the exception of hog deer. Four-horned antelope Tetracerus quadricornis occurs in Parsa, on the southern slopes of the Churia Hills, and the reserve contains Nepal's only reproducing herd of about 21 elephants.

A larger number of bird species has been recorded in Chitwan (489 in total) than in any other protected area in Nepal. This is attributed to the park's wide range of habitat types and location within the tropical lowlands of Central Nepal where eastern and western species overlap in their distributions. There are ten breeding species for which Nepal may hold internationally significant populations including Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis (E) and rufous-necked laughing-thrush Garrulax ruficollis. It is the only locality in the country for striped buttonquail Turnix sylvatica, bristled grass warbler Chaetornis striatus andslender-billed babbler Turdoides longirostris. In addition, Chitwan is the only protected area where the following species considered to be at risk in Nepal have been found: yellow bittern Ixobrychus sinensis, black baza Aviceda leuphotes, laggar falcon Falco jugger, blue-breasted quail Coturnix chinensis, thick-billed green pigeon Treron curvirostra, mountain imperial pigeon Ducula badia, vernal hanging parrot Loriculus vernalis, red-winged crested cuckoo Clamator coromandus, banded bay cuckoo Cacomantis sonneratii, tawny fish owl Ketupa flavipes, white-vented needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis, deep blue kingfisher Alcedo meninting, white-browed piculet Sasia ochracea, long-tailed broadbill Psarisomus dalhousiae, hooded pitta Pitta sordida, white-throated bulbul Criniger flaveolus, lesser necklaced laughing-thrush Garrulax monileger, greater necklaced laughing-thrush G. pectoralis, ruby-cheeked sunbird Anthreptes singalensis and little spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra. Chitwan is very important for wintering birds (about 160 in total), both winter visitors from outside Nepal and many altitudinal migrants which descend to the lowlands outside the breeding season, as well as a valuable staging point for numerous passage migrant species.

Some 19 species of snake occur in the park including king cobra Ophiophagus hannah, green pit viper Trimeresurus albolabris, common krait Bungarus caeruleus and Indian python Python molurus (V). Other notable reptiles are mugger Crocodylus palustris (V) (declining from at least 200 in 1978 to 70 in 1986/1988), gharial Gavialis gangeticus (E), Indian starred tortoise Geochelone elongata and monitor lizards Varanus spp.

Some 113 species of fish have been recorded, including Barilius spp., Tor tor, T. putitora and Puntius spp.

Cultural Heritage

The indigenous Tharus have lived in the Chitwan area for centuries, but they are out-numbered by settlers from the hills who poured into the Inner Terai following the eradication of malaria in the 1950s. There are two Hindu religious sites, Bikram Baba at Kasara and Balmiki Ashram at Tribeni, which are very significant to both the local people living around the park and visitors from India.

Local Human Population

Padampur Panchayat, located immediately to the south of the Rapti River, is a heavily populated area as well as providing some of the last remaining habitat for tiger, rhinoceros, and gharial. In the 1950s, with the fall of the Rana regime and the eradication of malaria from the area, the human population of Chitwan rose dramatically from 36,000 to 100,000 between 1950 and 1960. By 1980 there were 261,300 people in 320 settlements around the park.

Visitors and Visitor Facilities

Chitwan is one of the most popular tourist destinations outside Kathmandu and Pokhara. Visitor numbers have risen from less than 1,000 in 1974 to 31,446 in 1989. Tiger Tops operates a Jungle Lodge and Tented Camp in the west of the park, and Tharu Village Resort peripheral to the park. Its Jungle Lodge pre-dates the park, having been set up by John Coapman in the mid-1960s. Other concession lodges inside the park are Chitwan Jungle Lodge and Machan Wildlife Resort in the east, and Tiger Temple in the west. Similar luxury lodges on the edge of the park are Gaida Wildlife Camp and Elephant Camp at Sauraha, and Island Resort and Narayani Safari. There are over 30 low-budget lodges and guest houses outside the park.Sauraha has a good visitor information center. There are no provisions for visitors in Parsa Wildlife Reserve, and no visitors were recorded in 1989.

Scientific Research and Facilities

Chitwan is one of the best studied protected areas in the subcontinent. A program of research concerning the ecology of the tiger and its prey species was initiated in 1973 by His Majesty's Government, the Smithsonian Institution and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This was superseded in 1984 by the Smithsonian-Nepal Terai Ecology Project, the scope of which encompasses broader aspects of ecology, including the relationship between habitats, invertebrate, vertebrate and human populations. Further details of its research activities can be found in the project's newsletter. McDougal also studied the tiger in the west of the park. The ecology of the Indian rhinoceros has been studied by Laurie and more recently by Dinerstein. Other mammals studied include chital, hog deer and muntjac. The avifauna is well documented, with research including surveys of wetland species. A gharial breeding centre, funded by Frankfurt Zoological Society, was established at Kasara Durbar in 1977. More than 200 young have been reared and re-introduced to the wild. T.M. Maskey has studied the survival and dispersal of gharial released in the Narayani River. The Aberdeen University Expedition to Nepal in 1980 surveyed fish resources in the Narayani River system with respect to the endangered gharial population. Studies on grassland ecology have been carried out by Lemkuhl et al. A proposal to establish the Nepal Conservation Training and Wildlife Institute has been made by the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Tribhuvan University and the Institute of Forestry. The Smithsonian-Nepal Terai Ecology Project has its field station at Sauraha, where accommodation and facilities for scientists are available.

Conservation Value

Chitwan National Park and the adjacent Parsa Wildlife Reserve constitute the largest and least disturbed example of sal forest and associated communities of the Terai, with a long history of protection dating back to the early 1800s in the case of Chitwan. Species diversity is high, notably for mammals and birds which are well documented. Chitwan supports the world's second largest population of Indian rhinoceros and is also an important refuge for tiger and gharial. Its tall grasslands and riverine forest support a very high wild ungulate biomass which greatly exceeds that reported elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent. Large numbers of visitors are attracted to the area because of its exceptional natural beauty, with the distant Himalaya providing a spectacular backdrop to views of forested hills, grasslands, and great rivers. Research on the natural history of the area has been an important contribution to understanding ecological systems in the Terai.

Conservation Management

Chitwan was identified as the priority area in the Terai for conservation due to its important faunal elements, particularly Indian rhinoceros which had been extirpated from its former range elsewhere in Nepal. Development of the then proposed national park began in 1971 with a modest budget provided by the Forest Department and supplemented by a grant from WWF. Conservation measures have been an outstanding success, as indicated by the substantial increase in wildlife populations and regeneration of vegetation along the Rapti River over subsequent years. Much of this success can be attributed to several resettlement schemes. Some 22,000 people were resettled from the Rapti area, including 4,000 from the former rhinoceros sanctuary, following the creation of a Land Settlement Commission in 1964. Subsequently, 7,000 people from 10 of the 16 villages in Padampur Panchayat on the eastern side of the park were resettled to more fertile lands devoid of wild herbivores, based on recommendations from a study by the International Centre for Environmental Renewal. The scheme met with local support but further relocation of any of the other 310 villages that surround the park is not politically or economically feasible.

There is a park management plan for the period 1975-1979 but it needs to be completely revised. The establishment of Parsa Wildlife Reserve as an eastern extension to the park has increased the area under protection by about 60%. This extension was also intended to prevent possible isolation of the proposed Bara Hunting Reserve from the park.

The main concession to local people is the annual harvesting of tall grasses, a valuable building material which is not readily available elsewhere. In 1987, an estimated 11,132 tons of grass were removed by 60,000 people during the 15-day grass-cutting period, valued at approximately NRs 9.9 million (US$ 450,000). The net contribution to the local economy, after subtraction of labor and permit costs, is NRs 5.5 million (US$ 250,000). The opening of the Bhrikuti Paper Mill at nearby Gaidakot is introducing a new dimension to local requirements for grass. In view of Chitwan's importance as a tourist attraction, the park authorities, in collaboration with Peace Corps/Nepal, run a two-week training program annually for tour guides. In future, it is planned to permit only licensed guides who have attended and passed the course to operate in the park.

Management Constraints

The park was listed as a Threatened Protected Area of the World by the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas in 1990 in view of the proposed establishment of a hydroelectric barrage on the Narayani River upstream of the park and the East Rapti Irrigation Project, which would reduce the base flow by 75%. Both projects would result in changes to the riverine ecosystems, and could seriously affect aquatic and terrestrial faunal populations. In a recent assessment of the East Rapti Irrigation Project for the Asian Development Bank, Talbot concludes that environmental risks from the project are unacceptably high and recommends that it be reformulated or replaced by one or more lower-cost projects.

Considerable antagonism has long existed between the park and local people, particularly residents of Padampur Panchayat. The main areas of conflict are loss of life (three to five people are killed each year by rhinoceros and tiger), loss of livestock (domestic cattle may constitute up to 30% of tiger kills in settled areas peripheral to the park), damage to crops (estimated to range from 10% to 100%) and restrictions concerning the use of the park's resources (hunting, fishing, grazing, and collection of timber, fuelwood and other forest products for food and medicine are prohibited within the park). Sixteen people were killed by tigers in and around the park between October 1980 and early 1989. Such conflicts will escalate as the local human population continues to increase and remnant forest and grassland areas outside the protected areas complex decline, but they are being addressed by the park authorities and local people are beginning to appreciate the value of the park for managed natural resources.

Illegal collection of fuelwood during the grass-cutting season is a hindrance to the proper management of the program and, in the long-term, will need to be resolved by establishing community fuelwood plantations around the park. Collection of tall grasses is well controlled but has inevitably led to changes in the floral composition of the grassland communities. Annual burning seems to maintain the grasslands but semal Bombax ceiba, the only fire resistant tree, is encroaching this habitat. Overgrazing along Padampur Panchayat's riverine boundary is seriously accelerating the already extensive erosion of the river bank: consequently valuable crop lands are being lost. The development of tourist facilities (hotels and teashops) on the eastern side of the park has not been controlled. In general, the rapid increase in the number of foreigners visiting Chitwan has led to locally inflated prices for basic foods and household products. This problem is compounded by the fact that few local people are employed in the park so that the local population is poorer as a result of the park's presence, although more recently it is reported that near by villagers receive 50% of park-generated revenues. Poaching has increased recently. At least eight rhinos were killed between August 1990 and March 1991 and three tigers poisoned since November 1990.

Water Hyacinth Icornia spp., an introduced species, is causing problems by choking up waterways, and over-visitation by tourists is also believed to be having negative impacts on the park.

Staff

One chief warden, one warden, two assistant wardens, 11 rangers, 11 senior game scouts, 44 game scouts, and 29 office staff. One battalion of the Royal Nepal Army is stationed in the park for enforcement duties. Elephant staff total 67 at Chitwan and 34 at Birganj (undated information).

Budget

Expenditure was NRs 2,447,353 (US$ 81,578) and income NRs 13,449,910 (US$ 448,330) in 1989/1990. Income was derived from entrance and camping fees (65.4%), elephant rides (14.4%), hotel concessions (12.2%), grass-cutting permits (2.3%) and various other sources (5.6%). The budget for 1990/1991 is NRs 2,970,000 (US$ 99,000).

IUCN Management Category

  • II (National Park)
  • Natural World Heritage Site - Criteria ii, iii, iv

Further Reading

  • Aberdeen University Expedition to Nepal (1980). Expedition report. Unpublished. 120 pp.
  • Anon. (1986). The 1986 Rhino Census for Chitwan National Park. Smithsonian- Nepal Terai Ecology Project Newsletter 4: 3-5.
  • Anon. (1991). World Heritage site in danger. Wildlife Nepal January/ February: 1.
  • Berkmüller, K. (1979). Visitor information center at Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park. Parks 4(2): 17-19.
  • Bolton, M. (1975). Royal Chitwan National Park Management Plan 1975-79. Project Working Document No. 2. HMG/UNDP/FAO National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Project, Kathmandu. 105 pp.
  • Dhungel, S.K. (1985). Ecology of the hog deer in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Montana, USA.
  • Dhungel, S.K. (1987). Reintroduction of gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in Nepal. Tiger Paper 14(4): 11-15.
  • Dinerstein, E. (1989). King of the marsh. International Wildlife 19(2): 5-8.
  • Edds, D. (1986). The fishes of Royal Chitwan National Park. Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. 14 pp. (Unseen)
  • Gee, E.P. (1959). Report on a survey of the rhinoceros area of Nepal. Oryx 5: 59-85.
  • Gee, E.P. (1963). Report on a brief survey of the wildlife resources of Nepal, including the rhinoceros. Oryx 7: 67-76.
  • Gurung, K.K. (1983). Heart of the jungle: the wildlife of Chitwan, Nepal. Andre Deutsch, London. 197 pp. ISBN: 0233975950.
  • Halliday, J.B. (1983). A study of the ecological distribution of resident and migratory birds along the Rapti and Narayani rivers in the Royal Chitwan National Park. November and December 1982. A report to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal. 35 pp.
  • Heinen, J.T. (1990). The design and implementation of a training program for tour guides in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Tiger Paper 17(2): 11-15.
  • Inskipp, C. (1989). Nepal's forest birds: their status and conservation. International Council for Bird Preservation Monograph No. 4. 184 pp.
  • Laurie, W.A. (1978). The ecology and behaviour of the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge. 450 pp.
  • Laurie, W.A. (1982) Behavioural ecology of the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). Journal of Zoology, London 196: 307-341.
  • Laurie, A. and Seidensticker, J. (1977). Behavioural ecology of the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus). Journal of Zoology, London 182: 187-204.
  • Lehmkuhl, J.F., Upreti, R.K. and Sharma U.R. (1988). National parks and local development: grasses and people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 15: 143-148.
  • McDougal, C. (1977). The face of the tiger. Rivington-Deutsch, London. 180 pp.
  • McDougal, C. (1989). Tiger attacks around Chitwan National Park. Cat News 11: 13.
  • McDougal, C. (1991). Chitwan tiger numbers crash. Cat News 14: 8-9.
  • Milne, R.C. (1997) Mission Report: South Asia meeting to review status conservation of world natural heritage and design and cooperative plan of action. 16-19 January 1997, New Delhi, India. Prepared for the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO. Unpublished Report, 7pp.
  • Milton, J.P. and Binney, G.A. (1980). Ecological planning in the Nepalese Terai. Threshold, International Centre for Environmental Renewal, Washington, DC. 35 pp.
  • Mishra, H.R. (1982a). Balancing human needs and conservation in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park. Ambio 11: 246-251.
  • Mishra, H.R. (1982b). The ecology and behaviour of chital (Axis axis) in the Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Ph.D. thesis, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh. 233 pp.
  • Oli, M.K. (1986). Studies on stereotyped behavior of barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak). Report submitted to the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Kathmandu. 67 pp.
  • Oliver, W.L.R. (1985). The distribution and status of the hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus - with some additional notes on the pigmy hog Sus salvinius. Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, Jersey. 94 pp.
  • Scott, D.A. (Ed.) (1989). A directory of Asian wetlands. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 1,181 pp. ISBN: 2880329841.
  • Seidensticker, J. (1976). Ungulate populations in Chitawan Valley, Nepal. Biological Conservation 10: 183-210.
  • Sharma, U.R. (1990). The disaster that is ERIP. Himal November/December: 32-33.
  • Smith, J.L.D. and Mishra, H.R. (1981). Management recommendations for the Chitwan tiger population: the Parsa Extension and Bara Hunting Reserve. Smithsonian Institution/WWF Project 1051. 28 pp.
  • Smith, J.L.D., Mishra, H.R. and Jordan, P.A. (1983). Population level management: a step in developing a tiger conservation strategy. Paper presented at Bombay Natural History Society Centenary Seminar on Conservation in Developing Countries. Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay. 6-10 December 1983. 13 pp.
  • Sunquist, M.E. (1981). The social organisation of tigers (Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park. Smithsonian Contributions in Zoology 336: 1-98.
  • Talbot, L.M. (1991). Nepal: East Rapti Irrigation Project (ERIP) (Loan No. 867): environmental impact assessment for the project reformulation. Final report. Asian Development Bank, Manila. Unpublished. 12 pp.
  • Troth, R.G. (1976). Successional role of Bombax ceiba in savannas in Nepal. Smithsonian Institution/WWF Tiger Ecology Project, Nepal. Unpublished report.
  • Wegge, P. (1976). Himalayan shikar reserves; surveys and management proposals. Field Document No. 5. FAO/NEP/72/002 Project, Kathmandu. 96 pp.
  • Wemmer, C., Simons, R. and Mishra, H.R. (1983). Case history of the cooperative conservation program: the Nepal Tiger Ecology Project. Paper presented at Bombay Natural History Society Centenary Seminar on Conservation in Developing Countries. Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay. 6-10 December 1983.
  • Willan, R.S.M. (1965). Rhinos increase in Nepal. Oryx 8: 156-160.



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Country Profile

Water profile of Myanmar

Geography and Population

Myanmar has a total area of 676,580 square kilometers (km2). It is situated at the juncture of the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. The country is divided into seven states, mainly covering the hill regions, and seven divisions covering the plains.

Topographically, the country can be divided into five regions. They are the northern and western mountains, the eastern plateau (Shan plateau), the central basin and the coastal strip. The country is mountainous, rising to more than 5,800 meters (m) above sea level in the far north, reaching an elevation of well over 2,000 m over much of Shan state in the northeast, and in Rakhine and Chin states in the west.

The cultivable area is estimated at 18.27 million hectares (ha), while the cultivated area amounts to 10.14 million ha, or 55 percent of the cultivable area. The cultivated area can be divided into fallow area (14 percent), net sown area (66 percent) and multiple cropping area (20 percent). The cultivated areas are concentrated in the Ayeyarwady River basin, while potential for further expansion lies mainly in upper Myanmar, namely in the Chin, Kachin and Shan states.

In 1996, the total population was estimated by the UN at 45.922 million inhabitants (74 percent rural). With a population density of 68 inhabitants/km2, Myanmar is well below the level of other countries in south and southeast Asia. The population growth rate is estimated at 1.87 percent. About 72 percent of the total labor force is engaged in agriculture, and 70 percent in the primary sector, including livestock, fisheries, and forestry. The agriculture sector contributes 50 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and generated 33 percent of total export earnings in 1994.

Climate and Water Resources

Climate

Myanmar's climate is tropical monsoonal in type. Rainfall is highly seasonal, being concentrated in the hot humid months of the southwest monsoon (May to October). By contrast, the northwest monsoon (December to March) is relatively cool and almost entirely dry.

The mean annual rainfall is estimated at 2,341 millimeters (mm). The most significant regional variations are those associated with the intensity of the southwest monsoon rains. Annual rainfall ranges from as high as 4,000-6,000 mm along the coastal reaches and in the mountains of Rakhine and Tanintharyi to as low as 500-1,000 mm in the central dry zone. Intermediate levels of rainfall characterize the Ayeyarwady Delta areas (2,000-3,000 mm/year), the Shan plateau (1,000-2,000 mm/year) and the transitional areas. As with the rainfall, 90 percent of the discharge flows between May and October.

River Basins and Water Resources

The north-south direction of Myanmar's mountain ranges is reflected in the flow of its major rivers, of which two are international rivers. There are six river basins:

  • the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin river basin, which is almost entirely located in Myanmar and drains 58 percent of the territory;
  • the Sittoung River basin, which is also entirely located in Myanmar to the east of the Ayeyarwady, drains 5.4 percent of the territory;
  • the Thanlwin (Salween) River basin, which drains 18.4 percent of the territory, mainly the Shan plateau in the east of the country. The river comes from China and after entering the country forms the border with Thailand for about 110 kilometers (km);
  • the Mekong River basin, which drains 4.2 percent of the territory in the far east and forms the border with Lao PDR. The Mekong River has 2 percent of its catchment area in Myanmar. Myanmar is not a member of the Mekong River Commission;
  • the Rakhine (Arakan) coastal basin in the west draining into the Bay of Bengal;
  • the Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) coastal basin in the south draining into the Andaman Sea.

The inflow from other countries is estimated at 128.2 km3/year from Chinese and Thai information and includes: 20 km3/year from India, 68.7 km3/year (Yuan Yiang) and 31.3 km3/year (Lancang) from China, and 8.2 km3/year from Thailand. The total surface water produced internally (total runoff minus inflow from other countries) is estimated at 874.6 km3/year. Groundwater resources have been estimated at 156 km3/year but a large part of this water (estimated at 150 km3/year) constitutes the base flow of the rivers and is also accounted for as surface runoff.

The Mekong River forms the border with Lao PDR over 170 km, from which 36.815 km3/year can theoretically be considered as an additional external resource. The total natural renewable water resources (including flow from incoming or border rivers) are estimated at 1,045.6 km3/year.

Lakes and Dams

There are few lakes in Myanmar. The largest is Lake Inle which covers an area of 155 km2. In 1994, there were 70 dams over 15 m high.

The theoretical hydropower potential has been estimated at more than 100,000 megawatts (MW), of which 9,000 MW with detailed feasibility studies. In 1995, 288 MW had been developed, which represented at that time 34 percent of the total installed power capacity of the country.

Water Withdrawal

Water withdrawal was estimated at 4 km3/year in 1987, of which 90 percent for irrigation purposes (Figure 1).

About 46 percent of the population have access to adequate protected water supplies. Extreme conditions persist in the coastal and delta regions where overall coverage rates are 10-13 percent. There is no wastewater treatment in Myanmar.

Irrigation and Drainage Development

Because of the rainfall and hydrological pattern of the country, the need for irrigation is highest in the central dry zone, while the delta is more concerned with drainage and flood protection problems.

It is thus logical that the first irrigation works should have been undertaken near Bagan (Pagan) in the central region in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They typically comprised diversion systems based on tributaries of the middle Ayeyarwady, and were designed essentially to provide security to the main season paddy crop. Storage reservoirs were also constructed for the same purpose. The ancient systems were subsequently modernized, extended, and operated in the traditional manner, with a greater emphasis on the upgrading and development of the existing flood protection and drainage facilities in the Ayeyarwady Delta. This enabled the development of paddy cultivation and made Myanmar a major rice-exporting country before World War II. Dam construction and irrigation network implementation were significantly accelerated in the 1960s, 1970s, and after 1990 (Figure 2). The irrigation potential is estimated at 10.5 million ha, considering both water and soil resources.

The irrigated areas are estimated at 1,555,416 ha. Irrigation expansion has been significant (up 50 percent) in the last five years.

Irrigated areas were traditionally supplied through weirs for river diversion or dams and tanks, but wells and pumping in rivers have developed quite substantially in recent years (Figure 3). Pump irrigation was promoted in the 1980s by programs implemented by the Agricultural Mechanization Department. Other types of irrigation water supply include windmills, watermills, watering with buckets, ponds, etc.

All irrigation in Myanmar is surface irrigation. Sprinkler and localized irrigation have been developed only on pilot farms, and altogether do not exceed 50 ha.

Two types of irrigation management coexist in Myanmar: public and private schemes. Government schemes account for 53 percent of weir schemes and 81 percent of the dams and tanks (all dams of and above 6.1 m). Wells and pump irrigation, although possibly originally implemented by the services of the Ministry of Agriculture, are mainly private.

Although farmers are responsible for implementation, management, and operation and maintenance (O&M) in the private schemes, both the Irrigation Department and the Water Resources Utilization Department provide technical and financial assistance. The main irrigated crops are paddy, oil crops, and fiber crops (Figure 4).

There are important groundwater aquifers in Myanmar. However, their exploitation has been limited to domestic water supply and to the intensive irrigation of vegetables and other high value crops from hand-dug wells. In the central dry zone, where most of the potential for economical run-of-the-river diversion schemes has been utilized, dams, irrigation projects and groundwater irrigation projects were started in the 1980s. Irrigation from groundwater was practiced on 55,175 ha in 1995, mainly for cotton, wheat, beans, and pulses. Groundwater is mobilized mainly by diesel pumps (Figure 5). Generally, one tube-well allows supplementary irrigation on 4 ha. Since the development of tube-well irrigation in 1992, 3,000 tube-wells have been drilled every year by the Department of Water Resources Utilization. Following this example, the private sector drills around 9,000 tube-wells each year.

Inland valley bottoms equipped for irrigation are generally known as maye land in the Myanmar classification of cultivated areas. In order to generate increased paddy production, a combination of paddy and fish farming on plots of 1-2 ha protected by embankments has been introduced in maye land areas, where rice yields were uncertain. Another type of water management is what is called kaing land in the Myanmar classification (flood recession cropping). These lands are generally cultivated with vegetables, mainly in the Ayeyarwady Delta.

In the Ayeyarwady Delta, drainage, salt intrusion and flood protection are major concerns. Embankments have been developed to protect large areas from both floods and salt intrusion. These embankments may have drainage facilities. There are a total of 318 flood protection works, both government and private, protecting a total of 1.2 million ha of cultivable land (Figure 6). A small portion of this area (less than 10 percent) is also irrigated by small lift pumps.

In 1995, 193,363 ha were reported as equipped with surface drainage networks. Drainage works are also considered a form of flood protection.

Salinization due to irrigation is mainly found in the central dry zone, near Meiktila in Mandalay Division, where groundwater is used for irrigation purposes.

After the decision of the Government to move towards a market-oriented economy, and the consequent freedom given to farmers to cultivate crops of their choice, agricultural cropping patterns have changed dramatically. Jute used to be the second most widely cultivated crop (after rice), but it has now been replaced by cash crops such as beans, pulses, sunflowers, chilies, and vegetables.

Farmers have to pay a tax of 25 kyatts/ha/year for irrigated areas (which is equivalent to US$4.1/ha/year at the official rate and US$0.2/ha/year at the open market rate), and 12 kyatts/ha/year for flood protected areas. Once collected, this revenue is channeled to the Revenue Department. The amount of the tax, decided in 1982, does not take into consideration the nature of the crop, cropping intensity or irrigation technique. It is not clear whether this tax applies to both public and private schemes.

Average irrigation development costs vary from 12,300 to 49,100 kyatts/ha (US$2,000-8,000 or 100-400/ha). Drainage and embankment development cost around 7,400 kyatts/ha (US$1,200 or 60/ha).

The Irrigation Department is responsible for the O&M of the government schemes, and the annual budget for both irrigated and flood protected areas is 200 million kyatts (US$33 million or 1.65 million).

Institutional Environment

The Ministry of Agriculture is the main ministry involved in water resources through its various departments:

  • the Water Resources Utilization Department, which is responsible for groundwater use (for both irrigation and rural water supply), irrigation by pumping in rivers, and the development of sprinkler and micro-irrigation;
  • the Irrigation Department, which is responsible for O&M of irrigation works, construction of new projects, and investigation, design, and implementation of proposed projects, as long as surface water is used;
  • the Settlement and Land Records Department, which is responsible for collecting agricultural statistics and land administration;
  • the Agricultural Planning Department, which is in charge of planning, monitoring, and evaluation of all agricultural projects, including irrigation and drainage projects.

The Meteorology and Hydrology Department of the Ministry of Communication, Posts and Telegraphs is in charge of collecting hydrological and meteorological data, while the Irrigation Department has also its own hydrological network. Hydropower generation is supervised by the Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise, within the Ministry of Energy.

Since the promulgation of the Land Nationalization Act (1953), all land officially belongs to the State. However, farm households benefit from a customary usufruct right to the land. There is no water law in Myanmar.

Trends in Water Resources Management

The Government has set a target of 100 percent for water supply coverage in 2000, but a more realistic objective considering the funds allocated for this program would be near 70 percent.

Within the framework of its irrigation policy, the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to undertake:

  • the construction of new reservoirs and dams;
  • the rehabilitation of existing reservoirs and networks of both government and private sectors, in order to upgrade the storage capacity and allow for an efficient delivery of irrigation water;
  • the development of flood protection by embankment, and irrigation expansion after flood recession;
  • the development of pump irrigation;
  • the development of an efficient use of groundwater for irrigation.

The official target for irrigation development is to irrigate 25 percent of cultivated areas before 2000, which is realistic regarding the ongoing and planned projects. Concerning the flood protected areas, no target has been fixed by the Government although some 400,000 ha in the delta are in need of reclamation.

All new projects related to dam construction are now multipurpose projects and include flood control, town water supply, hydroelectricity, and irrigation. The priority for multipurpose projects with hydropower is an indicator of the expanding demand for energy.

Further Reading

  • Central Statistical Organization. 1994. Statistical yearbook 1993. Yangon.
  • ESCAP. 1995. Assessment of water resources and water demand by user sectors in Myanmar, p. 40. United Nations.
  • FAO. 1995. Agriculture development and environmental rehabilitation project in the dry zone. Project MYA/93/004. Rome.
  • Irrigation Department, Ministry of Agriculture. 1995. Information and data on water resources development and flood control. Yangon.
  • Ministry of Agriculture. 1994. Report on Myanmar census of agriculture 1993. Yangon.
  • Ministry of Agriculture. 1995. Information on Myanmar agriculture. Yangon.
  • Tha Tun Oo. 1991. Environmental issues in land and water development in Myanmar (land). Paper presented at the regional expert consultation on environmental issues in land and water development, Bangkok, 10-13 September 1991. FAO/RAPA publication 1992/8. Bangkok.
  • U. Aung Myo. 1994. Improved operation and maintenance of lift irrigation systems and management of groundwater resources in Myanmar. Paper presented at the expert consultation of the Asian network on Water lifting devices for irrigation, Bangkok, 27 September - 1 October 1993. FAO/RAPA publication 1994/5. Bangkok.
  • U. Ohn Myint. 1991. Environmental issues in land and water development in Myanmar (water). Paper presented at the regional expert consultation on environmental issues in land and water development, Bangkok, 10-13 September 1991. FAO/RAPA publication 1992/8. Bangkok.
  • U. Zaw Win. 1993. Myanmar water resources. Irrigation Department, Ministry of Agriculture Yangon.
  • UNDP, World Bank, General Administration Department - Urban Water Supply Division. 1993. Water supply and sanitation sector review in Myanmar. Final report prepared by Cowater International Inc., Thant Syn Co. Ltd. Project MYA/86/012. Ottawa.
  • World Bank. 1992. Energy sector investment and policy review studies. Report 10394 BA. Washington, D.C.



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