Comparative assessment of ecosystem services provided by wetlands in lower Chao phraya river basin (Thailand) and Bago area (Myanmar) | |
| Author | Pauk Kyaing Sahm |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-19-16 |
| Subject(s) | Ecosystem services--Thailand--Chao Phraya River Ecosystem services--Myanmar--Bago Wetland hydrology--Thailand--Chao Phraya River |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Identification of main trends in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes and in other important drivers of change in the selected study areas, made through (a) historical Landsatbased LULC map comparison for the period of 1990-2018 and (b) rapid water quality and pollution surveys in wet and dry seasons, allowed for the following conclusions. It can be concluded that most of the municipal development in the SW and SE Nakhon Sawan areas (integral hydraulic part of the Greater Boraphet lake) until recently took place in high elevation areas inaccessible to flood water. Hence it can be consequently concluded that further inevitable municipal development will take place at the expense of wetland areas. Therefore, it must be concluded that conservation of wetlands should be prioritized with a view to retaining these important parts of the City in the imminent process of municipal development. LULC analysis showed that the area of wetlands has increased 2.5 times by 2018 as compared to 1990 and dry land area in the inner Moeyungyi lake decreased. Rapid water quality survey results coupled to the Landsat mapping interpretation revealed that area of highly turbid water of the inner Moeyungyi Lake has increased 2.5 times from 1990 to 2018 from 38 to 88 NTU. Historical Landsat maps revealed that area of degraded mountainous forest at upstream Moeyungyi Reserved Forest with enhanced soil erosion it can be safely held responsible for highly excessive turbidity. It became obvious that highly invasive alien species of South American origin, Suckermouth sailfin catfish, has already found its way to the Lake over the last 2-3 years, apparently during floods. It can be concluded that this species presents a serious future hazard to the VEC of Water Quality. DPSIR framework was applied to assess current environmental impacts and drivers of change in Greater Moeyungyi lake, which was chosen as study area due to its similarities to Boraphet lake. It can be concluded that prioritization of development and appropriate management plan must be necessary for the G. Moeyungyi Lake. Supportive toolkit for policy planners and decision makers, TESSA, was used in this study to perform economic valuation of main ecosystem services. Total economic value provided by main ecosystem services of the Greater Boraphet lake was found to be 4.06 million USD/year and of the Greater Moeyungyi lake is 3.37 million USD/year. It can be concluded that in order to sustainably maintain these values the lakes should follow appropriate management plans and regulations. Calculated economic value for the flash flood mitigation services that can be provided by three proposed low-cost flash flood check dams in the Northern Yom River Basin was found to be USD 646,720 /year. In this study, certain practical interventions were proposed for the Greater Lake Boraphet area and for the Northern Yom River Basin. Capitalizing on previously obtained data on pollution patterns in South East and South West Nakhon Sawan, historical LULC changes maps and chemical analysis showed the amounts of NH3-N and NO3-N discharged from growing housing estates into of SE Nakhon Sawan wetland in 2019 and were projected for 2030. ‘Multifunctional pollution control zones’, total of 451.45 ha in SW and 26.86 ha in SE Nakhon Sawan were proposed as buffers attenuating municipally discharged waste nutrients and returning them into highly productive wetland ecosystem food web. Evaluating processed Digital Elevation Model maps and LULC maps, feasible locations of check dams/temporary water retention depressions for implementation of low-cost flash flood mitigation have been identified in Mae Rak River basin within Yom River basin. It was concluded that proposed check-dams can potentially protect not only downstream area of Mae Rak River from flash flood damage, but it also decreases the level of flooding at downstream Yom River Basin. Comparison of findings from Thailand and Myanmar provided cross learning opportunities for both countries in such issues as (a) pollution mitigation, (b) invasive species and (c) low-cost flash check dams. |
| Year | 2019 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shipin, Oleg V.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thammarat Koottatep;Vilas Nitivattananon ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Norway ; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2019 |