Securing a lifeline for the people
Fresh water is not only essential for life, but key to agricultural production and food security.
Crop production, livestock farming, and food processing all need clean water in sufficientquantities. According to the World Bank, about 70 percent of the total water withdrawn
worldwide is used to irrigate crops. But the reality of the supply side does not correspond tothese needs. Although an astonishing 71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water,
only 2.5 percent of that is fresh and one percent of that, accessible.
For a predominantly agricultural country like Thailand, therefore, a high premium has always
been placed on fresh water. More significantly, a lot of efforts have been invested in how tomanage those resources to ensure that the people and the nation have the means to thrive.
It is little wonder therefore, why successive Thai monarchs have consistently expressed a keeninterest on the issue. In fact, they have been personally and heavily engaged in advancing
different methods – given the varied circumstances – of securing this ‘lifeline’ for theirpeople.
Prior to 1857, it was about managing people to suit the water conditions – either moving
people away from or closer to water sources. The conclusion of the Bowring Treaty in 1855
led to demands for rice exports that required enough water for irrigation. Therefore, King
Mongkut focused on developing canal systems in the Chao Phraya river delta for bothirrigation and transportation. King Chulalongkorn, or Rama V, followed suit by upgradingthem into more systematic irrigation and drainage systems, which led to the establishment ofthe Canals Department in 1902. Under King Vajiravudh, the Canals Department became theBarrages Department in 1914, as it expanded its work to construct the first large-scale barrage
across the Pasak River in Ayutthaya, named the Rama VI Barrage.

Photo: Rama VI Barrage/Dam, which began construction in late 1915 and was completed inDecember 1924. Its function is to supply water to 680,000 Rai of agricultural land in every
part of the Rangsit canal area.
(Source: Touronthai.com)

-2Post 1932, when Thailand became a Constitutional Monarchy, work in all areas was pursued
slightly differently as the King no longer had executive power over state administration. This
did not necessarily mean that the people’s interests had suddenly changed overnight.
Moreover, the work of the monarchs prior to this change spoke for itself. The Thai monarchs
had built up a strong bond between the monarchy and the people and fostered a genuine trust
in an institution that had for centuries, spared no effort to develop and advance the nation into
the future. So the monarchy was able to rally and retain full public support for their public
interest endeavours, in a manner that was complementary to the government’s efforts, without
being tied to party politics or factional interests.
Indeed, when King Bhumibol acceded to the throne in 1946, Thailand was already a leading
rice exporter and rice farmers accounted for around 80 percent of the country’s 17 million
people. But by that time, the impact of the perennial paradox of experiencing both drought
and flood seasons had become more severe due to excessive and uncontrolled timber logging.
For farmers, dealing with dry and cracked land that was unsuitable for growing crops was justas painful as having crops almost ready for cultivation completely submerged under floodwater.
When the King and Queen visited the Isan region in 1955, the Northeastern region of Thailand
was plagued with drought. Rainfall could only support one single annual rice crop. The King
witnessed the problems experienced by the farmers firsthand and it inspired him to devote hisattention and energy to achieving effective water resource management for Thai farmers
everywhere. He would go on to instill water conservation and awareness in his children.
For the rest of his 70-year reign, the King engaged in countless projects related to water indifferent aspects. He spent almost 15 years developing a working formula for artificial rain toaddress drought and improve water resource management. He also invented the patented
Chaipattana Aerator, a low-cost mechanical device for treating wastewater.

-3-Photo: Drawing of Chaipattana Aerator.
(Source: https://www.changpuak.ch)
In the North, the King focused on preserving watershed areas and creating check dams, suchas the Mae Kuang Udom Thara Dam in Chiang Mai. In the northeast, the work wasconcentrated more on setting up a water network system, such as the 740-meter long water
delivery system that siphons water from Huai Pai Reservoir in Mukdahan to Lam Payang
Reservoir in Kalasin. This project benefited 736 hectares of irrigable area, increased glutinous
rice production from 270 kilogrammes per rai to 480 kilogrammes per rai and made yearround farming possible. In the south, projects such as the Bang Nara River Basin
Development in Narathiwat effectively addressed the problem of drought, flood, saline, andacidic water.

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Photo: (from left to right) Huai Pai Reservoir in Mukdahan, water delivery system, and Lam
Payang Reservoir in Kalasin.
(Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand and Office of Royal Development Projects Board)

Having traveled throughout the country, no one understood better than the King that there
was never one formula or one solution to address all needs. So he dedicated his time to
studying each locality in depth in order to come up with a tailor-made solution for different
regions, and placed local residents at the centre of his approach. He considered the social
geography of the area, the culture, traditions and lifestyles of the local people. Most
importantly, the people had to be included in whatever solution was pursued in order tonurture a sense of ownership. The King was convinced this was the only way to ensure thesolution was sustainable and he passed on these lessons to his children.
Since he was Crown Prince, King Maha Vajiralongkorn learned about the importance of water
resource management from his late father, and has continued to treasure, preserve and buildon the Royal Development Projects initiated by King Bhumibol. He completed several ofthem, including the construction of 7 reservoirs around Pa Sak Jolasid Dam, as well as
expanded the irrigation network to cover more agricultural areas. In Chanthaburi, the King
alleviated water problems petitioned by the villagers with the Royally-Initiated WeirConstruction Project at Khao Daeng Pattana Village, which increased water supply for 320
hectares of farm land. In 2017, the King also commissioned the Royal Guard Units, related
government agencies and teams of volunteers to remove garbage and weeds clogging thecanals in various communities, which was essential for flood water drainage in the Bangkok
and Metropolitan area.

-5-Photo: Weir at Khao Daeng Pattana Village.
(Source: salika.co)Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the King’s first born, has also taken an interest in complementing
water management through her ‘Friends in Need (of “PA”) Volunteers Foundation’ – PA
being her nickname. Through this foundation, she set up telemetering systems in 80 watershedareas in 11 provinces, using a comprehensive management approach involving the localcommunity. The new telemetry collects data from real time sensors, processes theinformation, and provides warnings. This timely warning enables reservoir operators toreduce water levels, people to reinforce their homes, and authorities to be prepared. TheFoundation plans to install another 510 telemetering systems across Thailand.

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Photo: (from left to right) Automated Telemetry Station in Pongyeang sub-district, Mae RimDistrict, Chiang Mai Province and interface of ThaiWater mobile-application that has been
integrated for general use.
(Source: Matichon)
To this day, the lifeline of the people continues to occupy an important place in the work of
the Thai monarchy, as out of 4,877 Royal Development Projects, nearly 70% of them, or3,386, are water resource development projects.
But the work is far from done. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Thailand ranks
9th in countries most affected by extreme weather events between 2000 – 2019. Furthermore,
research conducted by Thammasat University found that the 6 provinces of Loei, Udon Thani,Sakon Nakorn, Nakhon Phanom, Roi Et and Ubon Ratchathani are at the risk of repeatedsevere floods, while Khon Kaen, Mukdahan, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima and Surin areprone to repeated drought. Thailand’s current efforts on preventing floods and drought will
not be enough. Every year, drought affects about 9.71 million people and 411,360 hectaresof irrigable land, causing about 20.34 million USD of damage. Floods, on the other hand,cause damage to 1.2 million hectares of farmland worth 167 million USD annually, with 4.5
million people in 63 provinces affected.
All sectors in Thailand have to work together and harder on sustainable and effective water
resource management, and look into using new technology. Indeed, the King has alreadycommissioned further studies into utilising the full potential of the river basin. Some agencies

-7and academic institutions have already begun looking into how to use water for irrigation
more efficiently. Indeed, it is equally important to raise public awareness of the issue, so thatevery person living in Thailand may use water and water ways sensibly and sustainably, andhelp to nurture this lifeline for generations to come.
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Dr. Sumet Tantivejkul
Dr. Sumet Tantivejkul is the Secretary-General of the Chaipattana Foundation, which was establishedby His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great with the vision to provide prompt, timely andnecessary responses to problems affecting the Thai people through various development projects. Heis often seen in photographs of King Bhumibol as he served the King closely for 18 years at the Officeof the Royal Development Projects from 1981 until 1999, when he resigned and continued to serve
His Majesty as Secretary-General of the Chaipattana Foundation—where chaipattana means “Victoryof Development.” Dr. Sumet is also an adviser to the government’s water management committee
and has advised the committee to follow His Majesty’s guidance in understanding both thegeographical and social landscape of the country to best respond to the development needs of each
locality.