Strategies to manage water 'faulty'

A KEY subcommittee of the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) has attacked the National Water Resources Policy Committee’s water management strategy ahead of it being presented to Cabinet for consideration next month.
“It does not genuinely respond to the goals of the country’s water resources management,” the EIT Water Sources Engineering subcommittee said in a statement yesterday.
According to the subcommittee, the drafting of the strategy has failed to significantly take into account people’s opinions despite public forums being held. Many parts of the recent draft seen by the subcommittee have also failed to comply with laid-down framework.
“Most members sitting on the committee have stuck to the old mindset of the use of project-based budget. They fail to prioritise work that needs to be done,” it said.
It demanded that relevant agencies explain to the public how they came up with long-term projects under the strategy.
It said given that the draft strategy was by no means a master plan, the identification of long-term projects definitely ran against the academic principle, just like what the Yingluck Shinawatra-led government had done for its Bt350-billion water management modules.
Those modules ended up attracting stiff opposition and were scrapped.
The subcommittee urged the government and government agencies against approving a budget for any long-term project under this strategy, as after the ongoing reforms were completed many planned projects would likely need revisions.
The statement was released in response to reports that quoted National Water Resources Policy Committee chairman General Chatchai Sarikulya as saying that the final draft of the water management plan would be submitted to Cabinet soon.
In the first two years alone, the strategy is going to require a budget of Bt240 billion.
Bancha Kwanyuen, who chairs the EIT Water Sources Engineering Committee, said recommendations from the EIT had gone unheeded even though they were recruited to panels preparing the strategy.
“So, we reserve the right to not approve this water management strategy,” he said.
Before this, prominent water expert Royol Chitradon lamented that the water management plan seemed to focus on using a budget of more than Bt990 billion.
“I don’t see how it will tackle water-related problems in critical areas,” he said.
Pramote Maikald, former chief of the Royal Irrigation Department, also disagrees with the strategy.
“There is no solid academic information to back that this strategy is carefully prepared,” he said.
He suspected that it was designed to use the available budget, rather than focusing on delivering long-term solutions to the country’s water-related problems.