Ms. Areerat Wijitpatcharaphon from Thailand
Hello. My name is Areerat Wijitpatcharaphon from Thailand. I
am spending six months as a visiting researcher at the ADRC to learn
about the Japan's disaster management system.
In recent years, many unprecedented natural catastrophes
have occurred in regions around the world. Asia has suffered numerous
disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, wind storms, droughts, floods, and landslides. In otherregions of the world, large numbers of people have been killed every year by many different typesof disasters. The statistics show that over the last 30 years, Asia has been the mostdisaster-affected region in the world, accounting for about 90% of those affected by natural
disasters, and more than 50% of the total fatalities and economic losses. Furthermore, thestatistical trends suggest that the incidence of natural disasters is going to rise in the future. It istherefore vital that the countries of Asia take actions to address this situation and that theylaunch such actions immediately.
Like the other countries of Asia, Thailand faces threats from natural disasters such as
droughts, floods, landslides, cold spells, fires, and wind storms. Geographically, Thailand is locatedat the middle of a tropical zone called Mainland Southeast Asia. The total land area of Thailand isapproximately 513,115 km・, and it has a population of 65 million. Thailand shares borders with Laos,Myanmar, Cambodia, and Malaysia. It consists of mountainous regions in the north, a plateau innortheast, an alluvial plain in the center, and virgin forest in the south. Before 2004, Thailand had
never experienced any large-scale natural disaster. The gigantic tsunami of 26 December 2004
caused financial losses of more than USD 2 billion and caused overall GDP growth to fall by 0.4%. In
spite of the negative impacts of this disaster, it served as reminder that Thailand needs to pay
attention to its disaster risks and prepares for unexpected disasters that might occur in thefuture.
Disaster risk reduction can be achieved through mutual assistance between developed
countries and developing countries. Fortunately, Asia has the ADRC, which serves as a key
institution for the exchange of knowledge, technology, and information on disaster management.
Before I joined the ADRC, I had been working in Thailand as an official involved in policy
and plan analysis of the Research and International Cooperation Bureau, Department of Disaster
Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Ministry of Interior of Thailand. My main responsibility was tocoordinate disaster management activities between national and international actors.
During my term at the ADRC (January-June 2009), I will be studying the Japanese flood
prevention system. I have chosen to focus on flooding because it is the most devastating type ofdisaster in Thailand in terms of economic losses. I personally believe that Japan is one of the mostadvanced countries in the world in terms of effective flood management. I am also interested inlearning about the flood prevention systems that have been adopted in other ADRC member
countries. What I learn from my study here should be useful for the future development of flood
prevention measures in Thailand.
As the ADRC has been known for its expertise in the field of disaster risk reduction, I am
certain that I can learn a great deal while working here as a visiting researcher. At the same time,I am committed to sharing what I have learned from my work at the DDPM with the ADRC so that
I can help strengthen and sustain the important work performed by this Asian disaster reduction
institution.
* Country Report of Thailand
http://www.adrc.asia/countryreport/THA/2008/thailand2008.pdf