Integrity Required In Climate-Change Mitigation Plans: Thai Editorial

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EDITORIAL
Integrity required in climate-change mitigation plans
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's plans for flood prevention and coping with natural disasters are not up to scratch; much more needs to be done by all parties concerned.

Extreme heat, rainstorms, floods in the South and drought in provinces in the North and Northeast. In a matter of two weeks, our weather forecasts have changed rapidly. This points to one thing - the need for a thorough plan to manage water resources and mitigate the negative effects of climate change.

Last year the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), as a member of the committee in charge of maintaining water levels at the big dams, was under pressure to release water stored at some dams following heavy rainfall. The government apparently feared that the rainwater could reach the level seen in 2011 just before much of Thailand was paralysed by one of the worst flood disasters in its history.

Eventually last year the rain stopped sooner than expected, squeezing the accumulated rainwater by 5 per cent from the median level and 18.1 per cent down from the 2011 level.

As of March 1, big dams in the North that supply water for consumption in the North and the Central regions have held only 17.8 per cent of their capacity, against 40.1 per cent for the same period last year. The water level of dams in the Northeast is worse, at 13.1 per cent of capacity against 31.2 per cent for the same period last year.

To date, about 4 million rai has been affected by drought, 95 per cent of this being rice fields. Starting last November, TMB Analytics forecast that the drought could extend to May, and that overall this year's drought could be more severe than expected. Compared to 2005, when 13.7 million rai of agricultural land was affected, Thailand's agricultural gross domestic product has shrunk by 2.7 per cent. If TMB is right, the situation could get much worse, in light of the low water reserves at the big dams.

Policy-makers cannot adopt a business-as-usual approach, because the frequency of flood and drought is heightened by climate change and is affecting the quality of life of millions of people. Aside from the loss of agricultural produce, many rural people are left without money for daily survival. Tax money is being disbursed to ease their troubles, but a chunk of it is being snatched away by heartless vultures.

Thanks to technological advancements, Thailand could do better in reducing the negative consequences of extreme weather and natural disasters. The Bt350-billion water-management master plan should provide some assurance, but the government could find difficulties in implementing the plan, given public doubt.

Doubt emerged when the committee in charge of the plan decided to reduce the number of development modules from 10 to 9 after the qualification process was completed. Then questions flew following the Japan International Cooperative Agency's claim that the government could actually save more than 60 per cent of the allocated sum. The Japanese agency, which has completed a separate water-management master plan for Thailand, said some of the proposed modules are unnecessary and are not planned in an integrated manner.

Over the next decade Thailand will require huge amounts of money just for climate-change mitigation alone. More investment is required for embankments in key coastal cities, including Bangkok, if scientists' forecast of higher sea levels becomes fact. The standards for, and quality of, some construction materials will need to be improved, particularly for those provinces that are at risk of heavy storms, since the government cannot always afford subsidies for replacement materials. Importantly, money and commitment are required if Thailand wants to show the global community it can reduce carbon emissions. Aside from raising public awareness, the tax structure must be changed if we are to properly promote fuel-efficient vehicles instead of gas-guzzling pickup trucks and four-wheel drives. All energy subsidies must also be erased.

All of these efforts must be carried out in a coordinated and transparent manner if the government is serious about flood prevention and mitigation of natural disasters. There must also be integrity in ensuring no corruption. Climate change is affecting all sectors of society. Thus everyone must support well-thought-out and transparent plans that can reduce the various negative effects it will bring.


-- The Nation 2013-03-07

[OzMick]

Integrity is a strange commodity in this country. Quite rare, but not highly valued.

[chainarong]

Integrity. Now there;s a word that's not used often around the government of the day, its in the dictionary under I

[Pimay1]

Maybe they can ping NASA for a little weather related advice saying . That is when hell freezes over.

[bender92]

Integrity required...

[Pimay1]

Oh gee....

Climate change and floods......

Are you telling me that Algor also invented flooding??????

...come to think of it, we never had floods before on earth....

Speaking of climate change and Algor take a look at this. The sky is falling.

The Washington Post

The Arctic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at Bergen, Norway

Reports from fishermen, seal hunters, and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes.

Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared.

Very few seals and no white fish are found in the eastern Arctic, while vast shoals of herring and smelts which have never before ventured so far north, are being encountered in the old seal fishing grounds. Within a few years it is predicted that due to the ice melt the sea will rise and make most coastal cities uninhabitable.

This report was from November 2, 1922, as reported by the AP and published in The Washington Post - 90 years ago.