An integrated approach to evaluate potential impact of precipitation and land-use change on streamflow in Srepok River Basin

Abstract

To manage water resources effectively at a local level, decision makers need to understand how climate change and human activity may impact local streamflow as a precious natural source of water use. However, the impact is often not well studied with locally obtained data such as monitored flow. This paper presents an integrated approach to study potential impact of precipitation and land-cover change on local streamflow over the next decades. The study area is the Srepok River basin, a tributary sub-basin of the Mekong River. A hydrological model was developed in the Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) environment and calibrated using local precipitation and streamflow data. Several scenarios were developed considering climate change and socio-economic development in a GIS environment, and streamflow in 2025 and 2050 was estimated for each scenario. The paper ends with discussion on possible adaptations for a given area.