Thailand must improve approach to water resource management

Pakamas Thinphanga

Special to The Nation

BANGKOK: -- With the recent passing of the Loy Kratong festival, Thai people paid their customary respect to the goddess of the waters by floating candlelit offerings along the Kingdom's waterways.

And when Thais usher in their new year in April, water will again take centre stage as festival-goers use everything from water guns to buckets to douse each other with the precious commodity for good luck.

Water holds a special place in the psyche of Thais but has increasingly carried negative connotations as rapid urbanisation has highlighted huge economic costs associated with flooding. Images of cities and farmland submerged under water in 2011 attest to the power of flooding in recent times in a nation that frequently wrestles with drought.

Shifting weather patterns, exacerbated by climate change, are partly to blame for increasing water-related problems in Thailand, but there is one human element we must not ignore: mismanagement of water resources.

Thai cities are feeling the strain as an explosion in industrial growth and tourism takes its toll on water reserves, an essential input for preserving livelihoods and the broader economy. Phuket is but one example: the 8 million-odd tourists who visited the palm-fringed island last year put water resources under massive pressure from over-usage and pollution.

Across Thailand, unregulated use of urban land, where waterways are filled up and deforestation occurs to make way for new housing projects and factories, is depleting water tables and seriously compromising quality.

Thailand has long adhered to principles associated with the so-called integrated water resources management (IWRM) process, which favours coordinated development and management of water and land resources to promote economic and social welfare. Although in its early stages, the IWRM approach has been incorporated into practice. River basin committees (RBCs) have been established, along with river basin plans, empowering local communities to collaboratively manage water resources.

After earmarking Bt350 billion to address flooding issues after 2011, the government now has a golden opportunity to go beyond spending on infrastructure projects and to channel funds towards building up the IWRM approach.

Useful steps to take would include directing resources to strengthen RBCs and fostering collaboration and partnerships between them and local communities. Efforts are already being made at the grassroots level, powered by non-profit organisations that are piloting innovative projects aimed at helping Thailand's most vulnerable communities.

One such project in Chiang Rai municipality is focused on rehabilitating urban water bodies to preserve water reserves. Under an initiative run by the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, environmental experts have been restoring a two-kilometre section of the Kok River, which has dried up steadily over the past two decades.

As part of wider efforts to address its water problems, Chiang Rai plans to facilitate climate change-urban development-water management dialogues with stakeholders from neighbouring Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong cities to plan and implement integrated water resource management strategies across the Kok River Basin.

Such projects are crucial to the long-term sustainability of Chiang Rai, given the city shares its main water source - the Kok River Basin - with rapidly expanding Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong, and the farmers who depend on water from the river.

The importance of getting water resource management right can be seen by assessing conditions faced by the city of Udon Thani, a key economic hub in northeastern Thailand which is positioning itself to serve as a gateway to Laos, Vietnam and China.

The Huay Luang reservoir, the largest water body and main water source in Udon Thani province, was reported to be only a third full in November. Predictions point to little rain in the months ahead, fuelling fears that the agriculture sector may suffer as water is diverted to urban communities.

In northeastern Thailand, rice farmers - an important mainstay of Thailand's farm-dependent economy - are already being told to refrain from growing off-season rice crops. Many of these farmers rely on credit to buy seed and fertiliser and are already finding it hard to repay their debts.

Without alternatives to growing rice, these farmers will fail to grow crops and generate income, creating dual risks for cities that rely on their produce for food and which will increasingly act as a magnet for farmers in search of jobs.

This begs important questions related to water distribution, availability and demand. How much is needed and what will be available in the near- to long-term?

Thailand urgently needs to gather data on population growth and how the urban-rural landscape is changing in order to implement safe water management plans.

Under a programme initiated by the Mekong-Building Climate Resilient Asian Cities project (M-BRACE), funded by USAID, Udon Thani is carrying out important research related to water resources management. Stakeholders in the city are also thinking about their urban and industrial future as well as water demand and availability and land-use changes.

Still, while we can point to spotty progress, far more needs to be done to properly address Thailand's water-related issues. We urgently need to push ahead with steps like providing financial support for the rehabilitation of waterways, watershed protection and doing more to preserve river basins. We also need to foster collaboration between local government and communities.

Only if we improve on our approach at every level can we hope to tackle our problems in the long term and prevent farmers and city-dwellers in Thailand from bearing the brunt of our inability to manage water resources well.

Dr Pakamas Thinphanga is a Bangkok-based senior researcher with the Thailand Environment Institute, and also oversees climate-change adaptation projects related to the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network.

-- The Nation 2012-12-12

Thai newspaper editorials project the idea that they are on an intellectual expedition to raise the same old issues without ever proposing steps and points. Rooting out by identification and exposure , the criminals and offenders who stand in the way of progress for self centered gain.

Well i am 100% sure there are going to be big water shortage

problems this year, as up here in Chiang Mai the rainfall this

year has been minimal,I have 10 steps down to a small river

at the rear of our house ,most years it reaches the top step,

last year it flooded over, this year the water never even reached

the bottom step.and this has never happened in the 25 years

I have lived in this house.

So I am prepared,have the water tank filled,and pump serviced,

regards Worgeordie