Transboundary river catchment areas of developing countries : potential and limitations of watershed models for the simulation of sediment and nutrient loads : a review

Study region: The management of transboundary river basins is challenging given frequent divergences in political, cultural, developmental and conservation priorities of countries that make up the basin. In the Lower Mekong River Basin where multiple countries are beneficiaries of its water resources, ensuring good quality of the river waters is crucial for sustainable development, and for protecting the integrity of its ecosystems. Study focus: The focus of this paper is on identifying an appropriate decision support tool for assisting the management of in-stream nutrients and sediment concentrations taking into account the abilities to (i) satisfactory simulate hydrological processes and pollutant loadings in a time continuous manner; (ii) simulate the effects of various land use change scenarios; (iii) handle issues of data scarcity and compatibility stemming from different development policies and priorities of each administrative jurisdiction; (iv) have a record of previous applications in a large transboundary river basin; and (v) have a track record of use by government agencies to support decision making. These criteria guide in-depth analysis of 250 peer-reviewed journal papers. New hydrological insights for the region: Four models meet the pre-determined criteria, with eWater Source providing a comparative advantage of prior use in a transboundary catchment larger than the Lower Mekong River Basin.