Praphat Dejharn from Regional Office of the National Water Resources discussed with the head of the community on rehabilitating and reconnecting oxbow lakes to Yom river in Phrae province on 7 July 2020 Copyright: TGCP-Water, GIZ Thailand

ONWR, GIZ, and the research team visited the study sites under the Joint Research Partnership (JRP) on Monitoring and Evaluation of the benefits of ‘living weir’ as an Ecosystem-based Adaptation measure in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces on 10-11 November 2020. Copyright: TGCP-Water, GIZ Thailand

• Integrate adaptation to the impacts of climate change and the concept of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into key policy and planning processes of Thailand’s water management at national and river basin scale.
• Advocate and enhance knowledge on EbA among stakeholders from national to local levels and across sectors as means to enhance climate resilience and mitigate the impacts of water related disasters in Thailand’s 22 river basins.
• Enhance our partners’ capacities to monitor and report on adaptation measures in water resources management.
• Identify and recommend options for public and private financing of climate change adaptation measures in the Thai water sector.

The project is part of the “Thai-German Climate Programme (TGCP)” that was launched in January 2018. The Thai-German Climate Programme – Water (TGCP-Water) is supporting the Thai water sector in the implementation of the water-related targets of Thailand’s NDC and NAP for a transition towards climate-resilient water resources. The cooperation between GIZ and the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) along with several other government agencies and other partners particularly promotes climate-sensitive Integrated Water Resources Management (climate-sensitive IWRM) and EbA solutions in order to enhance water security and increase climate resilience. The project advises the Thai Government on integrating adaptation to climate change in national water policies and in river basin planning processes and promotes institutional and technical skills development for climate-sensitive IWRM in two pilot river basins.

• Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) / Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
• Climate Change Adaptation

• The Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR)
• Department of Water Resources (DWR)
• Department of Public Works & Town and Country Planning (DPT)
• Royal Irrigation Department (RID)
• River Basin Committees
• Stakeholders and communities at the Yom and Sakae Krang river basins in Phrae and Uthai Thani

• Interagency cooperation between the agencies in charge of climate change (ONEP) and water (ONWR) has been strengthened through various joint efforts such as a joint Policy Dialogue on climate-sensitive IWRM and EbA and the development of a joint policy brief series.
• Capacity needs assessments were conducted for the ONWR national office and in two pilot river basins – the Yom and Sakae Krang river basin in the lower North and the western part of Thailand – based on the foundation of multi-stakeholder dialogues to further support climate risk informed IWRM planning and the development of EbA measures at the river basin scale.
• A Joint Research Partnership between ONWR, GIZ and five Thai universities and several water-related government agencies has developed pilot methodologies for the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of EbA measures and is set up to further cooperate on enhancing evidence on the impacts and benefits of EbA in the future.
• A Capacity Development Programme has been developed in which River Basin Committees, and relevant water-related agencies in two pilot river basins have enhanced knowledge and understanding on the climate change impacts in the water sector and the benefits of adapting to climate change using ecosystem services.
• A working group set up by ONWR and TGCP-Water is conducting  a joint study on the climate finance landscape and private sector engagement for climate change adaptation in Thailand’s water sector

• Thai Water agencies join forces to discuss solutions for adaptation to climate change
• Water sector collaborates with other sectors to achieve Thailand’s climate goals
• Thailand, Australia and Germany pool their efforts to strengthen data management and M&E of adaptation in Thailand’s water sector
• ONEP and ONWR intensify cooperation to mainstream climate change adaptation into the Thai water sector
• In fighting global warming, the most important weapon is knowledge about Climate Change
• Potential of Oxbow lakes ecosystems in Yom river basin assessed for mitigating flood and drought risks
• Thailand stimulates know-how for climate-resilience in river basins
• ONWR joins with universities and GIZ in developing a methodology to monitor and evaluate the benefits of nature-based flood and drought measures
• ONWR – GIZ to empower Thai youths for climate-sensitive water management
• Towards a Climate-Resilient Water Sector in Thailand

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 integrating climate change adaptation into water resources management is therefore needed to increase water security and climate resilience in Thailand’s 22 river basins.

The Capacity Development Programme (CDP) has been developed by the Thai-German Climate Programme-Water (TGCP-Water) together with the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) to promote cooperation management for climate-sensitive Integrated Water Resources Management (climate-sensitive IWRM) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in the two pilot basins: Yom and Sakae Krang River basins.

The programme will strengthen knowledge among the River basin Committees, and water-related government agencies on both institutional and technical aspects, including the impacts of climate change on the water sector, the benefits of adapting to climate change using EbA, and multistakeholder approaches.

At the end, the programme will produce a Process Toolbox comprising of a comprehensive set of concepts, guidelines, and tools for stakeholders to run and facilitate an effective and participatory process for climate-sensitive and risk-informed RBMP development and project planning.

“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).

To generate more evidence and knowledge of the benefits of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures in adapting to the climate change impacts in the Thai water sector, the Joint Research Partnership (JRP) is an initiative of the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR), GIZ, and five Thai universities – Chulalongkorn University, Naresuan University, Mahidol University, Prince of Songkla University, and Walailak University.
Two pilot projects under JRP have been underway with an aim to develop Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) methodologies for two commonly used nature-based water management approaches in Thailand. The two pilots include natural and semi-natrual floodplains in Yom river and living weirs in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkla provinces.

By the end of JRP, several knowledge products will be published to advance greater knowledge of EbA M&E in Thailand including technical paper on M&E methodology for floodplains and living weirs, community briefs which highlight long-term engagement with local communities in the M&E processes, and the synthesis paper which extract key lessons from the JRP and provide guidance for the Thai water sector on how to develop future M&E for EbA.

“We are convinced that the work under the Joint Research Partnership will enable us to assess the benefits of EbA measures and help us to make well-informed decisions on applying EbA all over Thailand in the future. This is in line with our national goal to reach water security, as well as with our international goals to achieve SDG6 and implement Thailand’s climate change targets under the Paris Agreement.”, Mr. Pradab Kladkempetch Deputy Secretary-General of ONWR for the Signing Ceremony of Letter of Intent (LOI),On Tuesday 15th September 2020.

“To make the best possible investments we need to know which impacts ecosystem-based solutions have. The Joint Research Partnership can be a powerful and long-lasting initiative to strengthen the evidence base on EbA and increase climate resilience in Thailand’s water sector.” , Mr. Jan ScheerDeputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs at the German Embassy in Bangkok