Watershed Classification of Thailand - Assignment Example

Natural resources and environmental vulnerability assessment for watershed protection: Watershed ification of Thailand Introduction: Before starting the discussion of watershed management issues in Thailand, it would be relevant to begin with what the term ‘watershed management’ actually means. As Tantasirin (2007) defines, watershed is “an area of land that collects and discharges water into a single main stream through a series of smaller tributaries.” Watershed management deals with the planned use of these drainage basins. It also includes the analysis, protection, development, operation and maintenance of land, vegetation and water resources of the drainage basins. In order to protect and restore watersheds, sustainable water management involves several implementations such as (Jain, 2004): Rain water harvesting Ground water recharge Maintenance of water balance Preventing water pollution Economic use of water Watershed management contains multiple usability of maintaining, protecting as well as increasing high-quality water resources of a watershed. In order to achieve specific objectives on watershed lands, the management is required to encompass all the natural, agricultural and human resources involved with the drainage basins while focusing on the relevant social, economic and institutional factors. Above all, the main goal of watershed management is to provide clean and sufficient water as well as protect the natural resources. In order to identify high-risk and sensitive areas, various methods are implemented by watershed management. Watershed classification is important for categorizing and prioritizing sub-watersheds by integrating various watershed characteristics and water quality measurements. Such classification is useful in identifying various areas at risk - low risk, moderate risk, high risk and extreme risk areas. This methodology works effectively in assessing the sub-watersheds and thus operating watershed management efficiently. The main activities of watershed management in Thailand includes the following factors as pointed out by Tantasirin (2007): Protection of forest areas Ecosystem rehabilitation Further, watershed classification in Thailand has recognized the following areas, Protection forest Commercial forest Agro-forestry Highland farming Upland farming Lowland farming Among these, highland areas have been recognized by the National Watershed Classification of Thailand as the most sensitive part of the overall watershed area. Especially, the watersheds in Northern Thailand are at the frontier and hence, require specific attention from the watershed management. Some basic facts: With an area of about 512,000 sq. km, Thailand can be divided on the basis of water resources, into 25 major river basins along with further division of 254 sub-basins (Nitivattananon, 2005). The nation is grouped into five different regions: Central, Eastern, Northern, Northeastern and Southern regions. The main agencies involved in Thailand’s water management are: Ministry of Natural resources and Environment (MONRE) Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) Ministry of Interior (MOI) Ministry of Industry (MOInd) Ministry of Energy (MOE) Private sector including Eastern Water Resource Development Co. Ltd. Various NGOs Northern Thailand covers most of the highland areas that are more sensitive than other watershed areas. The northern part of Thailand covers 17.1 million ha of which 50% are highlands, 35% uplands and 15% lowlands (Randhawa and Kanchanadul, 1996). The highlands were previously covered with fertile forestry, which is now destroyed by a comparatively higher population pressure. More population in the area means more requirement of agricultural land. Steep hillsides have been used intensively for agricultural production by the residents, which eventually resulted in land exploitation. Poor management practices in the steep slopes have further resulted in “severe soil erosion and land degradation” (Randhawa and Kanchanadul, 1996). Further, to make matters worse, intensive farming and forest destruction have left its people striving against insufficiency of water resources. In other words, active planning and implementation of watershed management is the primary need of residents in Northern Thailand. Issues and constraints: There are several factors needed to be taken into account while discussing watershed management in Thailand. First of all, pollution control is the most significant concern of the Thai government, private sector as well as those involved in watershed protection. There is evident variation in surface water quality across different regions in Thailand. Water quality monitoring systems are not fully capable of detecting pollution levels. A huge contribution to the problem is global warming or more specifically ‘the greenhouse effect’. Excessive flow of greenhouse gas emissions (mostly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) has put higher pressure of global warming effect on hydrological processes of the nation. Climate change has resulted in deforestation along with a strong indication of the requirement of constructive planning for watershed management. Soil erosion and deforestation have made Thailand lose a substantial amount of forest cover over the last three decades. The primary reason for deforestation can be attributed to the conversion of forest lands into agricultural lands by the rapidly increasing population in an attempt to collect food for survival. Moreover, cultivation of commercial crops is also expanding in these areas. At the same time, frequent floods and draught (occurring annually) pose as more serious problems affecting lives and economy of the nation. This also contributes substantially to the degradation of water quality as well as water deficit. Active participation of people as well as the government and private sector is very important to deal with the increasing water pollution problem in Thailand. The cabinet resolution in December 2003 focused on the integrated river basin management plan, which is concerned with the production, consumption and disaster prevention of watersheds in the country (Nitivattananon, 2005). Public awareness of clean water supply is very important for the successful implementation of watershed management plans. Some of the case studies discussed following will be able to shed significant light on the issue. Case studies: One of the interesting case studies of integrated watershed development is the Phu Wiang project in the Northeastern Thailand. The main issue in Phu Wiang is its increasing population. A lot of deforestation has been conducted for making way to agricultural lands. As reported by Ginneken and Thongmee (2003), the valley of Phu Wiang now covers 32 villages encircled b paddy fields. Due to the unreliable rainfall and prolonged draught, the villagers can harvest only one season of rice cultivation. The nearby forested mountain slopes are the only source of wood, wild vegetables and bush meat. these are the main issues why deforestation is happening in the valley at a fast rate. The Phu Wiang watershed is one of the few remaining forested areas with approximately 60% of the area under forest cover (Ginneken and Thingmee, 2003). The main objectives of watershed management were, a) ecological improvement and conservation of forest resources, and b) socio-economic development of the local population. This required public participation to a great extent. Moreover, open communication between people and management authority was also required. The project recruited volunteers from the villages most of whom were educated young people. Several meetings and video shows were held in order to bring awareness of the importance and protection of natural resources among the volunteers and villagers. The project also provided job opportunities for the local people. Another notable case study is the watershed classification project of the Lower Mekong basin (Kohler and Breu). The classification process includes new technologies such as the Digital Terrain Model (DTM), which digitally stores topographic information. The model provides conceptual support on developing natural resources management as well as watershed management. After all, technological advancement can provide relevant information on watershed protection as well as the maintenance of other natural resources. Integrated watershed management is important in Northern Thailand. Trebuil et al (2003) provide a precise definition of the term ‘integrated watershed management’. It is a collective management of the land that is concerned with ecological dynamics and social processes in order to ensure sustainable use of renewable resources. In other words, it is a collective learning process for everyone associated with watershed and other natural resources. Coordination among people and the stakeholders is very important in order to understand and recognize the ecological issues affecting watersheds and natural resources. Trebuil et al (2003) mention about a multi-agent system (MAS) that can be applied to understand interactions between crop diversification and land degradation at the watershed level. The MAS model includes a number of entities such as village, farmers, plots, crop succession, rain, practices, and so on. A combined effort from all these entities can effectively reflect in planned watershed management. The model has already been implemented in Chiang Rai province in upper Northern Thailand (Trebuil et al, 2003). Conclusion: Watershed management can be considered as an effective and collective step to be taken by people, governments as well as the public sector with a vision to protect natural resources from destruction. As most of the watersheds in Thailand show variety in water quality, it is important to use new technologies to effectively monitor the water supply management system. Public awareness is also equally significant. Because, increased population is behind most of the deforestation and water pollution cases in Thailand. Expansion of more agricultural lands is taking place at the cost of clearing off the forest covers, which is threatening the wild life and other natural resources. Moreover, water pollution problems are creating water deficit as well as the growing scarcity of drinkable water supply. Integrated watershed management is the answer to the protection of endangered watersheds and environmental balance. Thai government and public sector are now focused to develop a higher level of communication between the natural resources management projects and people. Because local participation in the projects is very necessary for protecting the environmental balance. Besides, previous projects have also acted as learning lessons for the concerned authorities to direct a more integrated management research in order to gain public support and eventually success in protecting the ecosystem. References: Dulyapach, S. (1998). “Roles of local organizations on highland watershed management, Northern Thailand.” The World Bank. 17 February, 1998 . Ginneken, P. V. and Thongmee, U. (2003). “Attempting integrated watershed development in Phu Wiang, Thailand.” FAO. 21 August, 2009 . Jain, P. C. (2004). “Watershed Management.” Kerala Calling. July, 2004 . Knie, C. and Möller, K. (1999). “Watershed Classification with GIS as an Instrument of Conflict Management in Tropical Highlands of the Lower Mekong Basin.” Mekong Info. 12 August, 2009 . Kohler, T. and Breu, T. “GIS based Watershed Classification in the Lower Mekong Basin.” Centre for Development and Environment. 12 August, 2009 . Nitivattananon, V. (2005). “Thailand water management - issues and challenges.” World Citizens Assembly on Water. 21 August, 2009 . Randhawa, S. and Kanchanadul, V. (1996). “Sustainable agriculture systems in the highland area of Northern Thailand.” Tropical Forestry in the 21st Century. 21 August, 2009 . Tantasirin, C. (2007). “Watershed Management and Climate Change in Thailand.” 12 August, 2009 . Trebuil, G., Shinawatra-Ekasingh, B., Bousquet, F. and Thong-Ngam, C. (2003). “Multi-agent systems companion modeling for integrated watershed management: A Northern Thailand experience.” Proceedings of the III Symposium on MMSEA 25-28 August 2002. 21 August, 2009 . Wittayapak, C. (1995). “Local institutions in common property resources: A study of community-based watershed management in Northern Thailand.” 21 August, 2009 . Read More