Government’s Short-Term and Long-Term Water Management

(02/09/2012)

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the Government has applied lessons learned from the 2011 flood crisis to water management, in both the short term and long term. The Prime Minister explained the Government’s water management plan and its preparations for coping with natural disasters at an exhibition on water management, held at the Bangkok Convention Center, Central Plaza Ladprao, Bangkok, on 31 August – 3 September 2012. She said that in working out the water management plan, the Government took into account climate change and global warming in order to increase efficiency in flood prevention and dealing with the changing situation. It has adopted His Majesty the King’s advice on effective water management as guidelines for operations. According to the Prime Minister, the water management plan is divided into four phases: protection, preparation, response, and recovery. In flood prevention, emphasis will be placed on ways to slow down the flow of water through reforestation, planting of vetiver grass, and construction of weirs. The Government now maintains the water level in all major dams at 50 percent on average, so that they will be able to accommodate a great volume of water. Moreover, it has prepared an area of 2.1 million rai, or about 850,000 acres, for water retention. Damaged sluice gates have been repaired, while various canals have been cleared to facilitate the flow of water. Economic zones and major industrial estates will be protected from flooding. The Prime Minister said that 17 agencies responsible for natural disaster prevention and water management were now working in a single command center, established by the Government for unified operations. In response to severe floods, senior officials have been instructed to take responsibility by mobilizing equipment and officials from various agencies to work in an integrated manner to ease the problem. In terms of recovery, the Government has established criteria for providing assistance to affected people. Regarding long-term solutions, the Prime Minister said that the Government had issued a royal decree empowering the Ministry of Finance to seek a loan of 350 billion baht to be used for water management on a sustainable basis. It had also worked out Thailand’s water management strategies and invited interested local and foreign consulting firms to propose a conceptual plan for Thailand’s overall water management. The Prime Minister stressed the Government’s determination to tackle the flood problem more effectively and explained that the exhibition on water management was intended to provide better understanding about its plan to the people and interested foreigners. According to the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Plodprasop Suraswadi, around 600-700 people died because of the severe floods in Thailand in 2011. The flooding also affected more than 20 million people and caused 1.4 trillion baht in damage.