A press release from the UNDP: More than a quarter of a million people in Myanmar will benefit from a project that will equip farmers with timely resources, knowledge and tools and enable them to have good harvests despite changing weather patterns, says the UN Development Programme’s Nicholas Rosellini.The USD$7.9 million, four-year project, “Addressing Climate Change Risk on Water Resources and Food Security in the Dry Zone of Myanmar,” was launched in Mandalay today by the Chief Minister of the Mandalay Region, H.E U Ye Myint and the Union Minister for Environmental Conservation and Forestry, H. E U Win Tun, the UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Nicholas Rosellini.
The project will be conducted in central, lowland Myanmar. Over the past 150 years, environmental degradation, compounded by global warming, has transformed this land into one of the most climate-sensitive and resource-depleted regions in Myanmar, now known as the Dry Zone. The Dry Zone is home to 34% of the country’s total population. Water scarcity, resulting from longer and more severe droughts is the biggest threat to livelihood here. A majority of the households spend most of their time and effort fetching water for drinking and other uses, depriving them of income generating opportunities.
Through the project, small scale water management infrastructure such as canals, community ponds, and water pumps and tube wells will be put in place to ensure a continuous supply of freshwater during the dry season in 280 villages. Five thousand hectares of watershed area will be rehabilitated to improve erosion control. The project also aims to provide timely and accurate climate risk information that would enable farmers to better plan crop planting during the dry season....
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