Data communication for efficient water resource management among multiple stakeholders: A case study in the bago river Basin, Myanmar

Cross-sectional communication for data sharing among multiple stakeholders involved in disaster responses is one of the fundamental non-structural measures that directly influence the performance of disaster risk reduction. Taking the event of the 2008 Cyclone Nargis as the watershed experience, Myanmar has been developing a nationwide disaster risk reduction scheme. Transition from the past structure of a vertically divided administration to cross-sectional interaction is underway, making use of lessons learned from past disaster events, yet many challenges remain in communications among stakeholders. To address the issue, this research proposes a communication scheme for data sharing among multiple stakeholders to complement the current scheme for better decision making of the stakeholders during both normal times and emergencies. The proposed scheme is evaluated by the stakeholders, and it is shown that the benefits would include not only the strengthening of the current scheme for decision making but also a contribution to the design of long-term plans in areas such as agriculture, irrigation, and disaster preparedness. This research anticipates further development of the scheme by employing more concrete needs of the stakeholders by reiterating contextual inquiries as well as by physically modeling a database taking case scenarios into account for its design.