“The Capacity Development Programme is a good opportunity for government officers, water users, and communities to contribute to the development of climate-sensitive water management at the river basin scale. With this training course, participants from the national to local levels as well as from different sectors will be able to understand and apply relevant tools for climate-resilient and sustainable water resources management that truly respond to the needs of local people in the context of climate change,” noted Mr. Atthapong Chantanumate, Director of the Master Plan and Policy Division, Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR).

The Thai water sector is increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change such as more frequent floods and prolonged droughts. The effects on availability and quality of water resources affect all water users, communities, businesses and ecosystems. A systematic and integrated approach to integrate climate change adaptation into water resources management are therefore needed to increase water security and climate resilience in Thailand’s 22 river basins.

Against this background, the Thai-German Climate Programme-Water (TGCP-Water) together with ONWR has developed a “Capacity Development Programme (CDP) on Cooperation Management for climate-sensitive Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA)” that will be rolled out in five phases in 2020 and 2021 encompassing stakeholders from the national level as well as from the Yom and Sakae Krang river basins, the two pilot basins of TGCP-Water.

CDP Phase 1 was held on 1 – 4 December 2020 in Phrae with more than 40 representatives from national and sub-national levels of water-related government agencies and the river basins as well as from other related sectors. The participants gained more in-depth knowledge of the impacts of climate change on the water sector and the benefits of adapting to climate change using ecosystem services. Technical inputs and group exercises introduced aspects of climate-sensitive IWRM and strengthened understanding of multistakeholder approaches. The participants discussed challenges and ways forward in developing climate-sensitive River Basin Master Plans, the key strategic documents to managing water at the river basin level.

Phase 2 of the CDP is planned for Quarter 2 of 2021 and will provide more technical insights into adaptation planning and implementation approaches, such as climate risk vulnerability assessments, cause-impact chain development and key elements of EbA.