16
2016
On March 16, MIID held a workshop in Naypyidaw with The Nature Conservancy, WWF and DFID titled Balancing Energy for People and Nature: Strengthening the Development Impact of Hydropower Investments through System-Scale Planning. The presentations from TNC and WWF showed how basin scale hydropower planning should incorporate a variety of environmental, social and economic factors. In this way energy goals can be satisfied while minimizing conflict and harm to the environment.
The model being developed uses the Myitnge River Basin as an example of how planned hydropower projects could be adjusted to improve overall performance. The presentations also included the success and mistakes in hydropower planning from other countries including Brazil, Chile, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
In attendance were representatives from 12 government departments across five ministries including the Ministry of Electric Power, the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. The research will lead to a report to be published later this spring that details the findings of this research funded by DFID.