Mititgation and Management Strategies for Reducing Eutrophication in Tropical Humid Regions

Extensive growth of algal blooms as a consequence of eutrophication may bring serious health effects to humans including fatalities. Several attempts in reducing the eutrophication or algal blooms in waterbodies have been implemented in past few decades. However, most of the control methods were focused on temperate systems rather than tropical systems. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop a mitigation framework for reducing eutrophication and algal blooms in tropical regions. This work focusses more on humid tropic systems because there is a lack of research resources in this region. The study involved four main work packages: (a) systematic review study to track the available eutrophication control techniques; (b) development of eutrophication framework; (c) assessment of seasonal water quality in Durian Tunggal Reservoir (DT) and Jus Reservoir (Jus); and (d) evaluation of eutrophication management framework using DT and Jus reservoir as case study.
The study starts with systematic review study to track the available eutrophication control techniques. Findings from the systematic review were used to develop the eutrophication framework by providing the established method that can be used to mitigate the eutrophication problem. The framework consists of two stages; a pre-selection stage and a selection stage. The pre-selection stage requires the decision maker to evaluate the condition of the waterbody. Meanwhile, the selection stage is where suitable control techniques are suggested based on Multiple Criteria Analysis (MCA). The performance of the framework was demonstrated by using a case study of two reservoirs in Malaysia. The results presented in this thesis show that the framework that is proposed using MCA as a decision support tool allows for the selection of robust investments in eutrophication and algal bloom management. The integration of scenario analysis can provide complementary insights into sustainability and cost efficiency for eutrophication management and policy for developing countries by giving the best available techniques according to the selected criteria