Story and Photos: Phongnarin Sukcham/Agriculture and Food Cluster, GIZ Thailand
Thai irrigation experts are brainstorming integrated solutions towards water resource management to tackle the impact of climate change on diverse agricultural production, livelihoods and communities nationwide.
Up to 50 Royal Irrigation Department (RID) operational-level engineers across the country recently participated in a three-day active learning workshop entitled ‘Water Management, Grey Infrastructure Design, and Construction under Climate Change’. Hosted by the RID, in collaboration with GIZ, the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), and Alluvium, as an expert organisation in water and environmental resource management and knowledge transfer, the aim of the workshop was to enhance the capacity of operational-level water engineers (regarded as frontline officials dealing with the impact of climate change on water management) to effectively put into practice climate-risk assessments and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA).
Participants, for the first time, learned about the EbA strategy, which uses nature and its services, so called nature-based solutions (NbS) that complement the existing grey infrastructure, to help people adjust to the impacts of climate change, based on diverse case studies from a major flood in Japan in 2018 to recent big floods in Thailand.
Associate Professor Pongsak Sutthinon, Head of the Department of Water Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, said: “Natural disasters are happening more frequently and becoming more severe, affecting more communities and leading to economic and social losses. This is why we have to be more prepared for unpredictable situations. Risk preparedness and planning for sustainable water resource management is urgently needed.”
Thailand comprises 22 main river basins, each with unique localised challenges. The country also faces flooding, drought, water quality degradation, wetland loss and seawater intrusion into agricultural areas, as well as conflicts in water allocation between agriculture and industry, both of which require sustainable water resources.
Demand for water use in Thailand is estimated at 148 billion cubic metres each year according to the Office of National Water Resources. Of the total, 70-75% is used in the agricultural sector. However, Thailand has been facing worsening climate-related challenges, including floods, droughts and heat stress, which could result in an estimated loss of up to 7-14% of GDP by 2050. To reduce the impact of disasters on communities and infrastructure as well as economic and social losses, Dr Pongsak emphasised that a climate risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) map must be designed and available at the provincial level to identify vulnerable spots and enable not only RID officials but also local administrative bodies and communities to understand possible disaster scenarios and come up with effective preparation.
International expert agency Alluvium also shared EbA measures, focusing on waterflow management, river morphology restoration, vegetation management, and systematic water treatment. NbS-related case studies on riverside vegetation planning and the utilisation of natural methods to prevent riverbank collapses in Queensland, Australia were also presented. The aim was to expand participants’ understanding on the improvement of water quality and strengthening long-term ecosystem resilience.
TEI expert Dr Jeeranuch Sakkhamduang said watershed forest conservation and flood planning management must be continuously implemented by not only policymakers but also government officials, communities and individual households following ecosystem-based adaptation approaches.
During a group exercise session, participants were tasked with putting into practice collaborative learning by using the open-source data visualisation tool Looker Studio to design a hazard map for analysing flood-risk and drought-risk areas based on EbA and NbS approaches. Eventually they were able to come up with suitable and sustainable water resource management for diverse agricultural areas across Thailand.
Ms Araya Getsingnoi, Engineer, Irrigation Technology and Innovation Research Division, said the training gave her new knowledge on disaster preparedness planning and data visualisation technology beneficial for her career and communication with colleagues, related departments and other agencies.
Mr Wongsathit Boonthankorn, Head of Construction Division 3, Construction Project Office, Royal Irrigation Office 3, believed knowledge from the workshop would enable him to effectively communicate with local residents, farming households and community leaders. It would help them better understand statistical data and enable them to use it to address local issues in a sustainable way.
Principal advisor of the Enhancing Water Management and Strengthening Adaptation (EWMSA) Project, Ms Ketpharima Sansud, said the CRVA methodology and map for the Lower Yom-Nan River Basin had been developed in collaboration with the RID to provide essential data for related stakeholders to integrate climate and disaster risk information into water planning and investment decisions.
“Importantly, knowledge-sharing and scaling up the CRVA approach beyond the EWMSA project to irrigation offices across the country is essential for helping mainstream climate risk information in Thailand’s long-term water management strategy and practice,” she said. ■
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