Assessment of Catchment Conditions Affecting Water-related Ecosystem

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) is developed to ensures availability and sustainable development of water sanitation for all by 2030. SDG 6 includes monitoring change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time. Water-related ecosystems provide ecological functions and biodiversity for nature and humans, however, they are at risk from human activities. Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) also considers environmental water security as one of the key dimensions. It is reported in AWDO 2020 that an effective assessment of aquatic ecosystem health is vital to understanding this key dimension. The environmental water security in AWDO 2020 assesses the health of rivers, wetlands, and groundwater systems and measures the progress in restoring aquatic ecosystems to health on a national and regional scale which is divided into two main indicators which is catchment and aquatic system condition and environmental governance. This study focuses on catchment conditions including change in land cover, surface water area, and groundwater depletion that affect water-related ecosystem. The objective is to analyze changes in riparian land cover, surface water area, riverine connectivity, and groundwater depletion during 2009 – 2018 in Lower Chao Phraya, Tha Chin and East Coast River Basins. The data used for study riparian land cover and surface water area are obtained from satellite data. Riverine connectivity analysis is carried out using data from satellite and existing large-scale spatial data set (HydroSHEDs, HydroFALLS, HydroLAKES, GRanD, GOODD, WaterGAP, GRIP, GIEMS-D15, and DMSP-OLS), and the groundwater depletion data are from Department of Groundwater and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). The impacts from agricultural, livestock, and industrial activities as well as urbanization in the three river basins are prominent. Restoring ecological system and proper management of water resources to support livelihood and economic development are very important.