2.8 Myanmar
1 | Country Information
Table 2.8.1 Basic indicators
Land Area (km2)

676,552 (2018)*

Total Population

53.04 million (2019)**

GDP (current USD)

86.93 billion (2019)**
1,407 (2019)**

GDP per capita (current USD)
Average Precipitation (mm/year)

2,340 (2008–2017)*

Total Renewable Water Resources (km3)

1,168 (2017)

Total Annual Freshwater Withdrawals(billion m3)

33.2 (2000)***

Annual Freshwater
Withdrawals
by Sector

Agriculture

89% (2017)

Industry

1% (2017)

Municipal(including domestic)

10% (2017)(Source: ADB 2017, *CSO 2018, **World Bank 2020, ***FAO 2016)

in the dry season (CSO 2018). The catchment area of
Myanmar’s eight principal river basins is approximately
737,800 km2, and there are two major natural lakes,
the Inle Lake and Indawgyi Lake. Constructed reservoirs
have a capacity of 15.46 km3. The potential volume ofgroundwater resources in the country is 580 km3, of
which the estimated total renewable volume is 1,046
billion m3 and per capita total internal water resources
is 24,046 m 3 /capita/year (FAO 2016). Total water
development is 33.2 billion m3, which represents 3%of the total renewable water resources in Myanmar.
Approximately 91% of the total water withdrawal
comes from surface water and 9% from groundwater.
Groundwater is mostly used for domestic purposes (ADB
2017).

3 | State of Ambient Water Quality
3.1 Rivers
Myanmar is heavily dependent on inland surface
waterbodies for domestic use, agricultural irrigation andindustrial production. Water quality monitoring data of
Bago River, Shwegyin River, and Sittaung River revealed
that water environment conditions in these three rivers
are generally good, however they vary from river toriver. According to the water quality monitoring data in
2020, NO3-N concentrations range from 97 μg/L in Bago
River to 780 μg/L in Shwegyin River. In contrast, PO4-P
concentrations in Bago River water are around double
those of Shwegyin River and Sittaung River (Figure 2.8.2).
Wastewater and sewage from settlement areas is themain source of high levels of phosphorus, while nitrogencomes from run-off of fertilizers from agricultural areas(NIWR 2018).

3.2 Lakes and Reservoirs

Figure 2.8.1 Irrawaddy River in Nyaung-U, Myanmar

2 | State of Water Resources
Myanmar has an abundance of water resources, which
are distributed unevenly spatially and temporally. Around
80% of the average annual rainfall of 2,340 mm falls
during the monsoon season (May–October) and 20%

88

Myanmar has a number of natural lakes, including
Indawgyi Lake, Inle Lake, Inya Lake and Sunye Lake, which
serve as source of waters for various purpose, and theirbiodiversity and scenic beauty make them popular tourist
attractions. However, in recent years these lakes have
faced degraded lake environments, such as increased
water pollution, deforestation and illegal dumping of
garbage. Inle Lake is the second largest natural lake. It
has a surface area of 116 km2 and total water inflow
volume of 1,132 million cubic meter per year and is oneof the major sources of water in the lake basin area.
Annually it receives more than 0.3 million tourists (NIWR

Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

1,000

5.8

5.5
5.4

150

PO4-P (μg/L)

NO3-N (μg/L)

5.6

600
400

120

China

BOD (mg/L)

180

800

5.7

90
60

5.3

200

Bago
River

Shwegyin
River

30

0

Si�aung
River

Bago
River

ShwegyinRiver0Si�aung
River

Bago
River

ShwegyinRiverSi�aung
River

Indonesia

5.2
5.1

210

Cambodia

5.9

Figure 2.8.2 Water quality of selected rivers in Myanmar, 2020 (Source: FRI 2020)

parameter

1

Turbidity (Degree)

value (2017rainy season)

value (2018rainy season)

9.0

9.9

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)

5

5

3

Chemical Oxygen
Demand (COD) (mg/L)

1210(Source: Yuasa et al. 2019)19

2

Mandalay

21,25781

18

1

Magway

552

81

17

2

(Source: Pavelic et al. 2015)

4 | State of Wastewater Treatment

Thailand
Viet Nam

Underinvestment in urban wastewater treatment
infrastructure has resulted in significantly deficientwastewater treatment services throughout Myanmar.
Only around 10% of wastewater generated is treated(United Nations World Water Assessment Programme2017), and there are only two sewerage systems, one
in each of the major cities of Yangon and Naypyidaw,
which can collect only small amounts of the wastewater
generated. The current capacity of Yangon city’s sewage
treatment facilities is 12,302 m3/day (ECD 2019) covering
only 7% of the city’s population. That of Nay Pyi Taw
city is 1,600 m3/day, which services about 20% of the
newly developed area of Naypyidaw, and 80% of areas
still reply on septic tanks or pit latrines with slab (ECD2019). Mandalay is a major city in central Myanmar witha population 1.2 million but lacks a central wastewater
management system. Rapid growth of industrial
sectors also increases the risk of water pollution due toinsufficient capacity to manage industrial wastewater.
A total of 41 industrial zones have been established in
Myanmar, most of which lack centralized wastewater
treatment facilities, although new industrial zones areplanned to be equipped with them. In recent years theGovernment of Myanmar has undertaken several projects

Sri Lanka

Groundwater is a vital source of water in many parts ofMyanmar, and in some areas provides 80% of drinking
and irrigation water supply (Viossanges et al. 2017).
However, the limited amounts of data make it difficult toform a picture of overall groundwater quality (van Geenet al. 2014, Bacquart et al. 2015), and the usability ofgroundwater is affected by water quality issues. Elevatedarsenic concentrations in groundwater exceeding the
WHO guideline value for drinking water (10 µg/L) havebeen reported in many areas. Table 2.8.3 shows that of
the 30,420 samples tested in the Dry Zone, 2% of themexceeded the arsenic value set in the National Drinking
water Guideline (50 µg/L), whereas 80% of samples

79

Philippines

3.4 Groundwater

8,611

Nepal

Myanmar has a 2,400 km long coastline bordering the
Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Pollution of costal water
comes from coastal land as well as far inland. Major
pollutants in coastal water include chemicals, nutrients,and heavy metals carried from farms, factories, andcities by streams and rivers into the sea. The marine
water bodies around the country are also sometimes
deteriorated by oil spills and leaks.

Sagaing

Myanmar

3.3 Coastal Water

Total
samples

Malaysia2<10 µg/L 10–50 µg/L >50 µg/L
Percent of total sample

RegionLao PDR

no

Table 2.8.3 Arsenic concentration in groundwater ofSagaing, Mandalay and Magway Regions

Republic of Korea

Table 2.8.2 Water quality of Inle Lake, Myanmar, 2017–2018

exceeded the WHO guideline value of 10 µg/L. In somelocations, fluoride, nitrate, salinity, iron, manganese, andaluminum also exceeded WHO drinking water guidelines(Pincetti-Zúniga et al. 2020).

Japan2017). However, degradation of the lake environment is
set to hinder its ecosystem services, and a water quality
survey conducted during 2017–2018 raised concerns
over water quality deterioration. It also reported that thevalues of COD were high for both 2017 and 2018 (Table
2.8.2), which indicates continued organic pollution.

89

with the support of development partners, such as aproject to upgrade the current capacity of wastewater
treatment to 112,000 m3/day in partnership with theJapan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a project
to establish an industrial wastewater treatment facility
in Mandalay city under an environmental cooperationagreement with Japan, and a project to construct a
central industrial wastewater treatment system withcapacity of 230 m3/day in Mandalay Industrial Zone (2)with financial aid from the Responsible Business Fund(Win 2019).
Table 2.8.4 Domestic wastewater treatment practices inurban areas
City
name
YangonPopulation(million)
5.2

Wastewater management
practices
i. Centralized wastewater treatment(12,302 m3/day)ii. Septic tankiii. Pit latrine

Nay Pyi Taw

0.9

i. Centralized wastewater treatment(1,600 m3/day)ii. Septic tankiii. Pit latrine

Mandalay

1.2

i. Septic tankii. Pit latrine(Source: ECD 2019)

5 | Frameworks for Water
Environmental Management
5.1 Legislation
The current legislative framework for water environment
management in Myanmar is shown in Figure 2.8.3.
Maintaining a healthy and clean environment andconservation of natural and cultural heritage forthe benefit of present and future generations is theobjective Environmental Conservation Law 2012. Article
7 stipulates that EIAs and SIAs must be carried out
for projects that may cause significant impact on theenvironment, the EIA process of which – according toEnvironmental Impact Assessment Guideline 2015 –must start with submission of project proposals to theEnvironmental Conservation Department. The National
Environmental Quality (Emission) Guidelines wasapproved in 2015, which provide the basis for regulationand control of noise and vibration, air emissions, andliquid discharges from various sources in order toprevent pollution for purposes of protection of humanand ecosystem health, and includes industry-specificguidelines on air pollution, wastewater, noise and odour.
The objectives of the Conservation of Water Resources
and Rivers Law 2006 are to conserve and protect water

Environmental Conserva�on Law 2012
Purposes:-To enable to emerge a healthy and clean environment
and to conserve natural and cultural heritage for the
beneﬁt of present and future genera�ons.

Myanmar Na�onal Water Policy
Purposes:-To achieve sustainable water governancein all sectors

Water environment
conserva�on

Environmental
Impact Assessment Procedure(2015)Na�onal Environmental
Quality (Emission)
Guidelines (2015)

The Conserva�on of Water Resources
and Rivers Law 2006
Purpose:i . to conserve and protect the water resources andrivers system for beneﬁcial u�liza�on by the public;ii. to smooth and safety waterways naviga�on along
rivers and creeksiii. to contribute to the development of State economy
through improving water resources and river
system;iv. to protect environmental impact

Figure 2.8.3 Legislative framework of water environment management in Myanmar

90

Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countries

Table 2.8.5 Institutional arrangement for water environment management in Myanmar
Department

Ministry/organization

Responsibilities

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and
Irrigation

Provision of irrigation water for farmland

Water Resources Utilization Department

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and
Irrigation

Irrigation and rural water supply

Directorate of Water Resources andImprovement of River System

Ministry of Transport and Communication

River gradging, navigation and prevent riverwater pollution

Directorate of Industrial Supervision andInspection

Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry

Industrial water use and discharge

Department of Metrology andHydrology

Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry

Water assessment of major rivers

Department of Urban and Housing
Development

Ministry of Construction

Domestic water supply

Department of Public Health

Ministry of Health and Sports
Environmental Health,

Water quality assessment and control

Department of Development Affairs

Ministry of Border Areas Development
Affairs

Rural water supply and sanitation

Department of Research and Innovation

Ministry of Education

Formulation National Standards

Water and Sanitation Department

City Development Committees (Yangon,
Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw)

Water supply and sanitation in city areas

Viet Nam

Although there is no water quality standard in Myanmar,
ECD and the Forestry Department of MONREC are

ThailandWater quality monitoring framework

Sri Lanka

Myanmar currently has no ambient water quality
standard. However, with the objective of stipulating
national standards, as provided for under Paragraph (10)of the Environmental Conservation Law (“the Ministry
may stipulate the suitable surface water quality
standards, water quality standards for coastal andestuarine areas, underground water quality standards,
atmospheric quality standards, noise and vibration
standards, emissions standards, effluent standards, solid
waste standards and other environmental quality
standards”), the Environmental Conser vation
Department of MONREC in cooperation with other line
ministries and international experts has been working on
a draft of the surface water quality standard. Part of thisprocess involved conducting a review of the standards ofneighboring countries and developed countries, which
led to over 600 parameters being selected for thescreening process. Progress was then made on developing
a draft for surface water quality standards. The draft was
submitted to the National Surface Water Quality
Standards, which include 36 parameters with thresholdvalues for protecting aquatic ecosystems and humanhealth. The Environmental Conservation Department(ECD) of MONREC aims to put into effect the National
Surface Water Quality Standard in 2021 to thus establish
a surface quality standard.

Philippines

Ambient water quality standards

Nepal

Irrigation and Water Utilization
Management Department

Myanmar

Reforestation and conservation of forest
including watershed areas

Malaysia

Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironmental Conservation

Lao PDR

Forestry Department

Republic of Korea

Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironmental Conservation

Japan

Environmental Conservation
Department

Formulation of national environmental quality
standards, including water quality standards,
water quality monitoring, enforcement

5.3 Ambient Water Quality Standards

Indonesia

In Myanmar, several ministries deal with water
environment management. Table 2.8.5 shows a list ofagencies and their responsibilities for water environment

China

5.2 Institutional Arrangement

conservation. Control of the disposal of wastewaterfrom residences, office buildings and factories is the
responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironmental Conservation (MONREC). The Ministryof Planning, Finance and Industry is responsible forregulating industrial water use and discharge, and theCity Development Committee is responsible for watersupply and sanitation respective cities.

Cambodia

resources and river systems for beneficial public use
and smooth and safe navigation, and contribute to thestate economy through improving water resources andmitigating environmental impacts.

91responsible for managing water quality monitoring. As
such, ECD monitors river water quality at 15 sampling
points, lake water quality at 21 monitoring points andgroundwater quality at three monitoring points quarterlyor twice a year for 18 water quality parameters. The

Forestry Department monitors water quality for 30
parameters at 26 sampling points for rivers and eight
monitoring points in dams. Details of the water quality
monitoring framework are shown in Table 2.8.6.

Table 2.8.6 Water quality monitoring framework of ECD and Forestry Department
Item

ECD

Forestry Department

Monitoring parameters

Temperature, Turbidity,
Total dissolved solids (TDS), Conductivity, pH,
Dissolved oxygen (DO), COD, BOD, Salinity,
Total Ammonia, Total Nitrate, Total Phosphate,
Copper, Lead, Arsenic, Mercury, Iron, Cadmium

pH, Conductivity, Color, Total Alkalinity, Turbidity,
BOD, COD, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium,
Chloride, Sulfate, Ammonia, Fluoride, Nitrate, Nitrite,
Total nitrogen, Total phosphorus, Bromine, Mercury,
Copper, Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium, Nickle, E.coli
Bacteria, Orthophosphate, Silicon, Chromium

Number of sampling points

Rivers: 15 sampling points
Lakes: 21 sampling points
Groundwater: 3 sampling points

Rivers: 26 sampling points
Dams: 8 sampling points

Frequency of monitoring

Seasonal (quarterly or twice/year)

Bimonthly

Frequency of publishingmonitoring reports

Quarterly-

5.4 Effluent Standards
Effluent standards

The National Environmental Quality (Emission)
Guidelines (NEQEG) was released on 29 December 2015.
These guidelines provide the basis for regulation andcontrol of noise and vibration, air emissions, and liquid
discharges from various sources in order to prevent
pollution and provide protection for human and ecosystem health. A total of 71 industry-specific effluent
levels have been set out in the NEQEG. The guidelines for
effluent levels cover thermal power, geothermal power,
wind power, oil and gas, petroleum refining, natural gas
processing, natural gas liquefaction, crude oil andpetroleum product terminals, electric powertransmission and distribution, gas distribution systems,
petroleum-based organic chemicals manufacturing,
plantation industrial/crop production, annual crop
production, mammalian livestock production, poultry
production, aquaculture, forest harvesting operation,meat processing, poultry procession, fish processing,food and beverage processing, dairy processing,vegetable oil production and processing, sugar
manufacturing, breweries and distilleries, textiles

manufacturing, tanning and leather finishing, sawmillingand manufactured wood products, board and particlebased products, pulp and/or paper mills, printing, large
volume inorganic compounds manufacturing and coal tar
distillation, petroleum-based polymers manufacturing,coal procession, nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing,
phosphate fertilizer manufacturing , pesticide
manufacturing , oleochemicals manufacturing ,pharmaceuticals and biotechnology manufacturing,
glass, and glass and mineral fibre manufacturing, ceramic
tile and sanitary ware manufacturing, base metalsmelting and refining, integrated steel mills, foundries,
metal, plastic and rubber products manufacturing,semiconductors and other electronics manufacturing,solid waste management facilities, wastewater treatment
facilities, health care facilities, and others.

Effluent inspection procedure
The Pollution Control Division of ECD, General
Administration Department, Directorate of Industrial
Supervision Inspection, and Directorate of Industrial
Collaboration are responsible for inspection of effluent
quality. Table 2.8.7 describes the responsibilities of each

Table 2.8.7 Effluent quality control agencies and their responsibilities
Agency92

Responsibilities

Pollution Control Division of ECD

Monitor the effluent quality regularly

General Administration Department

Manage and issue liquor licenses

Directorate of Industrial Supervision Inspection (DISI)

Encourage the development of private industrial enterprises inaccordance with the Industrial Enterprise Law

Directorate of Industrial Collaboration

To formulate policies and laws to accelerate growth of industries

Chapter 2: Country Profiles of Water Environmental Management in WEPA Countriesiii. Ongoing project for establishing a National Water
Quality Monitoring System and Building the
National Laboratory to Improve the National
Capacity for Water Quality Management in
Myanmar.

Enforcement challenges

i. Lack of human resources and capacity ofregional offices
ii. Lack of incentive policies

i. Recruit new human resources and arrange
capacity building training.
ii. Formulate incentive policy for enforcement ofenvironmental pollution.

Resource and financial challenges

i. Lack of financial capacity for establishinglaboratory and technical training

i. Enhance cooperation with development
partners to establish laboratory and capacity
development training program on water andeffluent quality monitoring.

Viet Nam

i. Organize monitoring and inspection teams
at national, state, regional, city and townshiplevels, including relevant departments.

Thailandi. Formulation of environmental water quality
standards, monitoring and inspection of waterand effluent quality

Sri Lanka

Institutional challenge

Philippines

Actions to be taken

Nepal

Description

MyanmarBased on the current state of water quality managementin Myanmar, some key management challenges are
identified as follows:

Malaysia

7 | Challenges and Future Plans

Lao PDRiv. Implementation “Integrated Water Resources
Management – Institutional building and trainings”
project by Forestry Department, with specificoutcomes of (1) ecological water quality statusassessment; (2) functioning Myanmar National
Water Quality Laboratory; (3) database and data
user interface tools, for communication ofenvironmental status by FD; (4) implementationof the Myanmar National Water Framework
Directive - in selected Myanmar sub-basins; (5)development of monitoring and risk assessment
plans in areas of mining activities.

Republic of Korea

The Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP)
2018–2030 is a document laying out a vision for thecountry toward sustainable development, and Goal 5emphasizes sound management of natural resourcesand environment for prosperity of the nation. The
National Environmental policy of Myanmar (2019) sets
a vision for a clean environment with a healthy andfunctioning ecosystem to ensure inclusive development
and wellbeing for all people in Myanmar. Myanmar
National Water Policy (NWP) sets its vision as, “in 2040
Myanmar will become water efficient nation with welldeveloped and sustainable water resources based on a
fully-functional integrated water resources management
system”. The objectives of the NWP are to establish
an Apex body for strengthening inter-ministerial
coordination for water management, invest in watersector infrastructures, institutions and capacity building,
improve efficiency on the water supply and demandsides, and enhance water information, knowledge,
technology and cooperation.

ii. Implementation of Project on Capacity
Development in Enforcement and Promotion ofEnvironmental Compliance.

Japan

5.5 Major Policies on Water Environmental
Management

i. Drafting of the national surface water quality
standard. ECD aims to finalize and complete theapproval process of the draft national surface
water quality standard in 2021.

Indonesia

When violations of effluent standards are found, awritten warning is sent to industries to correct current
activities to comply with the relevant laws and effluent
guidelines. If this fails to solve the pollution issue, anoperation suspension notice is issued.

There are several developments in government policies
that will have significant impacts on water environment
management, as follows:

China

Measures against non-compliance

6 | Recent Developments inWater Environmental Management

Cambodia

agency. DISI performs monitoring using an online
monitoring system for wastewater discharged fromalcohol factories. Local and regional offices of ECD aretasked with regular monitoring of effluent quality, andECD headquarters is directly involved in effluent
monitoring upon notification of major environment
pollution issues.

93