Thailand introduces water management reform

In his televised national address on the program "Return Happiness to the People,” on 18 March 2016, the Prime Minister said that 22 March each year marks World Water Day, which is an international observance and an opportunity to learn more about water related issues.

He said that Thailand was fortunate to have Their Majesties the King and Queen, who had initiated many projects concerning water resources and forest conservation. Her Majesty the Queen once said, "His Majesty is the water, I shall be the forest, which remains loyal to water. His Majesty builds the reservoir, I shall create the forest.”

The Prime Minister urged the people to save water and keep water sources clean, while replanting forests and conserving watershed areas for future generations. In the water resource management reform, the Government will adopt guidelines from royal advice to cover all water-related issues.

For instance, watershed areas must be rehabilitated. All communities and schools in rural areas will have access to tap water, and water source development will be carried out to ease shortages of water for the production sector. The quality of water must be maintained. Technology will also be adopted for water resource management, both inside and outside irrigation areas.

He stressed the need to reduce risk by giving the first priority to the use of water for consumption. The agriculture sector should opt to grow crops that require less water but give high production value. In this regard, the Prime Minister said that the country’s economic system must be reformed. Thailand must not heavily depend on income from agricultural exports. Research and development, as well as innovation, must be accelerated. Agricultural processing should receive greater attention in order to add value to products.

Emphasis will be placed on production for domestic consumption and the surplus will be exported. Production costs must be reduced, so that Thai products will be competitive in the world market.

He said that Thailand needs to reduce exports of agricultural products, such as rice, sugar cane, tapioca, and rubber. These crops need a great volume of water and production costs are high, making it difficult for farmers to get high prices in the global market.

The Prime Minister said that if Thailand did not rectify this situation, the country’s income would be affected, and farmers would face difficulties. Impacts from drought and climate change in the next decade would be a challenge for Thai people. The question is how Thailand will be able to cope with this situation.