On 22 May 2023, Dr Thaweesak Thanadachopol, Deputy Director-General for Operation and Maintenance of the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), chaired the Inception Workshop of the Enhancing Climate Resilience in Thailand through Effective Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture (E-WMSA) project. Representatives from RID, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, community leaders and farmers from Phitsanulok, Uttaradit, and Sukhothai participated in the one-day workshop.

“Climate change has affected rainfall, leading to increasingly severe and frequent floods and droughts affecting agricultural activities and water management in the Yom-Nan river basins. For this reason, the RID, UNDP and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) are working together to implement the E-WMSA project,” Dr Thaweesak said.

Supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the aim of this initiative is to improve climate information and cross-sectoral coordination, optimise water management through strengthened infrastructure complementing Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), and reduce the volatility of agriculture livelihoods in drought and flood-prone areas through strengthened extension support and local planning.

The E-WMSA project will be piloted in seven districts in three lower-northern provinces of Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, and Uttaradit, covering over 125,000 rai land plots in the Yom-Nan river basins (approximately 49,421 acres) during 2023-2026.

To further develop water management practices, the E-WMSA project will be implemented through the following three interconnected components:

1. Improve climate information and cross-sectoral coordination;
2. Improve water management through strengthened infrastructure complementing Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures;
3. Reduce volatility of agriculture livelihoods in drought and flood-prone areas through strengthened extension support and local planning.

GIZ is mainly involved in implementing Component 2, which is improving the Yom-Nan River Basin management to cope with the severe drought and floods that will occur. This will be achieved through strengthening and increasing the efficiency of the grey infrastructure with EbA measures and integrating EbA guidelines with policies and planning for water resource management to be more efficient. The results and outcomes will be linked to other components accordingly.