Climate Change Impacts to theWater Environment: Thailand

Wijarn Simachaya, Ph.DPollution Control Department
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment1
http://www.pcd.go.thOverview of Presentation
Introduction
 Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources Impacts of Climate Change in Thailand Potential Impacts of Climate Change to WaterQuality
 Thailand's Position on Climate Change Thailand's Five-Year Strategies on Climate Change(2008-2012)
 Adaptation Options and Measures Conclusions and Recommendations
2

Introduction
Climate provides fundamental limits on andopportunities for human activities and ecosystemfunctioning within the region. A changing climate
could lead to alterations in the frequency and severityof droughts and floods; water supply; air, soil, andwater quality; ecosystem health; human healthandresource use and the economy as well as quality oflife.
 Thailand produces only 0.8% of the world’s carbon
dioxide emissions, and has a lower per capita
emission rate than the global average (3.25 metrictons in 2002, compared with 3.97 per capita
worldwide).
3

Climate Change in Thailand
1994: baseline of 286 million t CO2-eq/yr4
 1999-2004: GHG emissions grew by 30%
 2008: Thailand ranks 24th emitter country 2030 Projections: 840 million t CO2-eq/yr (50% power, 50%industry and transport)
70Countries with Largest Percentage Increase in Emissions: 1994-2004

60

1994-1999
1999-2004

Percent

50

40

30

20

100

Malaysia

Thailand

China

Iran

Spain

India

Saudi
ArabiaTurkeyEgypt

UnitedArabEmirates

Indonesia

Climate Change Impacts on
Water Resources
Freshwater resources and it ecosystem are highly sensitive tovariations in weather and climate.
 The changes in global climate that are occurring as a result of
the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere willaffect patterns of freshwater availability and will alter thefrequencies of floods and droughts as well as water quality.
 Climate model simulations and other analyses suggest that
total flows, probabilities of extreme high or low flow
conditions, seasonal runoff regimes, groundwater-surface
water interactions and water quality could all be significantly
affected by climate change.
 The distribution of precipitation in space and time is very
uneven, leading to tremendous temporal variability in water
resources worldwide5

MeanAnnual
Rainfall inThailand

Researcher at the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute6Impacts of Climate Change in Thailand
Source: SEDAC, Columbia
University, 2008

Impact: Sea level
Effect Æ Inundation
 Impact: Sea temp.
Effect Æ Acidification
 Impact: Precipitation
Effect Æ Flooding Impact: Droughts
Effect Æ Bad harvests
 Impact: Ecosystemchanges
Effect Æ Sub-tropicallife zones disappear

7

Vulnerability to Climate Change

Water Environment: The Case of the Mekong Basin
45,000Lancang Basin

40,00035,000Total Rainfall(mcm/month)

30,000

Upstream Lancang subbasin China, to expect
20% less rainfall

25,00020,00015,00010,0005,000
01Source: Southeast Asia
START Resource Centre

23456Month7891xCO22xCO2
10 11 12y Increased vulnerability due to floods –potential for more intense floods in the Korat
Plateau and southern lowland (especially in
September and October)y Decreased Water Supply – in the long term it
is predicted that there will be a significant
reduction in the supply of water in the upper
Mekong (Yunnan) region. There will be water
shortages in the Southern landforms due to thelonger dry season.The Increasing of Sea Level

During 30 years Thailand’s coast was eroded about 21% of the coastal
area

9

Severe Drought in the Central of North-East Regions

Climate change cause the water quantity
decrease 5-10 % which effect agricultural
productivity (TEI)

10

Severe Flood

Even overall the average rainfall decrease but in recent year the frequencyof severe rainfall increase caused the flood in many areas

11Incidence of Disasters

12

Potential Impacts of Climate Change to Water Quality

The health of a waterbody is dependent upon its ability toeffectively self purify through biodegradation. Thus,increases in low-flow episodes could reduce assimilative
capacity. Stream flow reduction will be less dilution ofpollutants.
 Higher water temperatures and changes in the timing,
intensity, and duration of precipitation can affect water
quality.
 Higher temperatures reduce dissolved oxygen levels,
which can have an effect on aquatic life.
 There will be extended thermal stratification and lessmixing, increasing the potential for anoxia, and anincrease in the metabolic rates of invertebrates andmicrobes.
 Increased frequency and intensity of rainfall will produce
more pollution and sedimentation due to runoff

13

Impacts of Climate Change to Water Quality(Cont.)
Increased the salinity of coastal rivers causing
saltwater intrusion, movement of saline water into
fresh-water resources especially for the sea level rise
phenomena.
 Changes in water quality could have implications forall beneficial uses of receving waters.
Freshwater bodies have a limited capacity to process thepollutant charges of the effluents from expanding urban,industrial and agricultural uses.
 Water quality degradation can be a major cause of water
scarcity.
14

Thailand's Position on Climate ChangeConvention
Thailand Signed the UNFCCC in June 1992 at UNCED and Ratified the UNFCCC inDecember 1994; andKyoto Protocol


Thailand signed the Kyoto Protocol in February 1999 and Ratified in August 2002.

CDM Project

The Government supports the projects which contribute to the GHGs emission reduction
under CDM (Clean Development Mechanism)

OthersParticipation in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and theMontreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as well as otherinternational co-operations.
Organization
The government has established the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Organization, to deal
specifically with the clean development mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol.
15

Thailand s Vision Statement“Thailand is a climate-resilient society
and cooperates with the global
community to mitigate climate changebase on the principle of sustainabledevelopment”

16Thailand's Five-Year Strategies on Climate
Change (2008-2012)
The measures of Thailand’s Strategies on Climate Change
include:- Building capacity to adapt and reduce vulnerability toclimate-change impacts;- Promoting greenhouse-gas mitigation activities based onsustainable development;- Supporting research and development to better understandclimate change, its impacts, and adaptation and mitigation
options;- Raising awareness and promoting public participation;- Building capacity of relevant personnel and institutions andestablishing a framework of coordination and integration; and- Supporting international cooperation to achieve the goal ofclimate-change mitigation and sustainable development.
17

18

Thailand: Livestock Waste Management Program

The project aims to improve the livestock waste management practiceand take advantage of the captured renewable energy in the form ofbiogas in 10 swine farms with the total of 130,000 animals
The project is expected to reduce GHG emission by 530,000 t CO2e by
2019.
The project will convert open anaerobic lagoons to covered lagoons tocapture and utilize methane to generate electricity for consumption
within the participating swine farms and sell to electricity authority

Public Participation and Awareness Raising
School for Better Climate Program

20Adaptation Options••••

Adaptation is a process by which
individuals, community and countries
seek to cope with the consequences ofclimate change and variability.
Prepared for socio-economic andenvironmental adaptation
Identify and propose adaptation options
Immense opportunities for private sector(new markets, new technologies, and new
business models….Green Economy)

21Adaptation Measures
Assessing and evaluating potential adaptation
measures Choosing preferred adaptation measures
 Developing action plans that contain a portfolio ofadaptation measures and incorporate means toaddress barriers to adaptation
 Implementing adaptations
 Monitoring impacts and adaptation measures foreffectiveness Reassessing adaptation measures22

Conclusions
Global warming will detrimentally affect water
quality, thus challenging our longstanding historicaluse of the surface water.
 Depending on changes in the amount and seasonal
distribution of precipitation, watersheds may
experience an increased likelihood of winter flooding
and reduced late summer flows. Saline intrusion into
coastal aquifers and freshwater ecosystem are likely
to become an increasing problems as a result of sealevel rise. This may impact on aquatic ecosystems
and water quality.
 The possible impacts of climate change throughenhanced institutional flexibility and consideration ofclimate-related risks in the planning process could bedetermined.
23

Conclusions (Cont.)
Warming will cause hydrologic changes thatwill affect freshwater resources. These areamong the most significant potential impactsof climate change.
 Climate change will present challenges towater utilities, and planning now could prevent
freshwater crisis in upcoming years.
24

Recommendations











Prepare for vulnerability in the ecosystem: protect river flow for keyhabitats
Restore and maintain watershed as integrated strategy for managing
water quantity, water quality and its ecosystem
Acknowledge the interactions of ground and surface waters
Emphasis on adaptation practices rather than just getting the policies
in place.
Building up the capacity to support assessments, research, community
engagement, and implementation of adaptation measures
Develop the information on the scientific basis for climate change andthe implications for hydrology.
Consider emerging issues with increasing the pressure: Climate Changeand Adaptations in the region, Coastal erosion / mangrove degradation, theNeed for integrated water resources management (IWRM), Co-benefits of25water environment and climate changes management

Think Big,Take Small Steps

26