| Session Details | |
| Section | HS - Hydrological Sciences |
| Session Title | River Basins and Environmental Change |
| Main Convener | Dr. David Higgitt (National University of Singapore, Singapore) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Xi Xi Lu (National University of Singapore, Singapore) Dr. Alan Ziegler (Pang Khum Experimental Watershed, Thailand) |
| Session Description | High fluvial suspended sediment loads in Asian rivers are driven by the active tectonic setting, rapid weathering rates, high rainfall and human activities which promote erosion. However, recent reservoir construction has significantly reduced downstream sediment conveyance and altered water quality dynamics. These competing influences of recent human impact result in a number of water-related management issues in large river basins, including channel instability, water resource problems, ecological impacts, sedimentation and altered biogeochemical cycles. Furthermore these recent human-induced impacts are superimposed on systems that have, or still are reacting to Quaternary environmental change and neotectonics. In many parts of Asia the response of river basins to longer term environmental change has received little attention and is poorly constrained by dating. This session therefore calls for papers concerned with analysis of climate change and human-induced impacts in river basins and their implications for integrated basin management. |