Bangkok – January 26, 2025 – Chulalongkorn University, in collaboration with the public and private sectors, academia, and international experts, hosts the forum “Water Resilience: Urban Adaptation under Climate Volatility” at the Engineering Auditorium, Chulalongkorn University.
The forum seeks to present pathways for Thailand’s cities to survive and adapt, proposing a five-dimensional plan to elevate the country’s capacity to manage water crises through a systematic preventive approach. This approach emphasizes the use of a single, unified national data set; planning and command based on river basin systems rather than ministerial or provincial boundaries; and the integration of budgets, policies, and responsibilities.
At the same time, the “Water Resilience” Center has been officially established as a central mechanism to coordinate knowledge, research, data, and public communication, with the aim of protecting cities and safeguarding the future of the next generation.
Professor Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, Chairman of the Chulalongkorn University Council, delivered the opening remarks, stating that water-related disasters are not merely about damage to homes or property but about the destruction of entire lives—including educational opportunities, mental health, family stability, and social security—while exacerbating inequality.
If flooding were to occur in Bangkok’s inner economic zones, the country’s economic hub, the damage could reach 10 million baht per minute, alongside immeasurable social consequences.
“Chulalongkorn University possesses strong interdisciplinary expertise across engineering, architecture, science, political science, law, economics, social sciences, communication, and more. The university also has the capacity to connect networks among educational institutions, government agencies, the private sector, communities, and international partners. This collective strength underpins the establishment of the ‘Water Resilience’ Center as a leading platform for systematic and sustainable water management solutions.”
According to Professor Dr. Wilert Puriwat, President of Chulalongkorn University, the establishment of the “Water Resilience” Center goes beyond an academic role—it reflects the responsibility of higher education institutions to society.
The Center will serve as a central mechanism translating knowledge into action by communicating water-risk information in an accessible way, coordinating multi-sector collaboration, and integrating global expertise with lessons learned from real-world contexts in Thailand.
Associate Professor Dr. Witaya Wannasuphoprasit, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, explained that Thailand is facing increasingly severe climate patterns, driven by upstream floodwaters, sea-level rise, extreme rainfall, and prolonged rainfall events.
As much as 80% of annual rainfall can now fall within a single area in just one week, creating unprecedented risks of flash flooding. The impacts are wide-ranging, affecting both economic stability and quality of life. The 2011 Great Flood caused damages totaling 1.43 trillion-baht, equivalent to 70% of the national budget that year, with over 90% of losses borne by the private sector, including direct damages and lost business opportunities.
The “Water Resilience” Center is tasked with communicating and coordinating proactive water-risk prevention based on scientific data, strengthening collaboration across all sectors without duplicating or replacing government functions. Its goal is to reduce losses from water-related crises and enhance long-term urban resilience.
Five Dimensions Toward a “Resilient Metropolis (and Nation)”
Dr. Witaya proposes a five-dimensional framework to manage long-term water risks through integrated infrastructure, technology, innovation, and social participation:
Dimension 1: Reinforced Engineering Infrastructure (Reinforced)
Strengthening existing infrastructure—including drainage tunnels, river embankments, and pumping stations—by integrating advanced forecasting models, artificial intelligence (AI), real-time data, and digital systems. This enables accurate early prediction and effective preparedness to cope with extreme rainfall events under increasingly volatile climate conditions.
Dimension 2: Integrated River Basin Management (Integrated)
Expanding flood and drought mitigation from the urban scale to the river basin level through the application of hydrological and hydraulic modeling, big data analytics, AI, and satellite technologies. This approach enables early assessment of both excess water volumes and water scarcity risks, supporting proactive water management before flows reach Bangkok. In particular, the Lower Chao Phraya River Basin Flood Mitigation Plan is emphasized to ensure that urban safety does not rely solely on measures within city boundaries.
Dimension 3: Global Innovation and Lessons Learned (Inspired)
Learning from international best practices, such as the Netherlands’ coastal defense systems, Japan’s massive underground drainage tunnels, and sponge city concepts from China and Singapore, while integrating local wisdom and adapting solutions to Thailand’s context.
Dimension 4: Adaptive Living with Water (Adaptive)
Shifting from “fighting water” to “living with water” through blue-green infrastructure, flexible urban planning, and strengthening public climate literacy.
Dimension 5: Evidence-Based Water Governance and Decision-Making (Evidence-based)
Using research and spatial data to inform policymaking, develop context-specific innovations that create economic opportunities, and foster collaboration among government, the private sector, and communities—ensuring targeted and sustainable risk prevention.
In addition, Chulalongkorn University has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, to develop an integrated, technology-driven water management project that enhances economic value alongside environmental conservation. The initiative is being piloted in four provinces representing different segments of the river basin:
- Nan (Upstream): Conserving watershed forests and reducing disaster risks to mitigate economic impacts.
- Chainat: Promoting behavioral change among farmers to increase income while reducing vulnerability to floods and droughts.
- Nakhon Pathom: Improving water quality management to enhance the province’s economic value.
- Bangkok: Developing accurate and rapid rainfall monitoring and forecasting systems to strengthen urban safety.
Dr. Sumet Tantivejkul, Chairman of the Chaipattana Foundation under Royal Patronage, emphasized that His Majesty King Rama IX consistently stressed that water problems cannot be solved by a single project. Instead, the entire system—from upstream to midstream to downstream—must be understood and managed through continuous long-term planning.
“Water management is a matter of national security, not the responsibility of any single ministry. Thailand must invest more in prevention than in post-disaster repair.”
Dr. Sumet proposed an integrated water management framework for policymakers and future governments, covering short-, medium-, and long-term horizons. He stressed the need to dismantle silo-based operations and called for structural reform in water governance by:
- Using a single, unified national data set
- Planning and commanding based on river basins, not bureaucratic or provincial boundaries
- Integrating budgets, policies, and accountability
He noted that the “Water Resilience” Center would play a critical proactive intermediary role—connecting knowledge, research, spatial data, and public communication with government decision-making—ensuring that national water prevention efforts deliver real, practical outcomes rather than ending at forums or academic reports.
The “Water Resilience” forum was also honored by the participation of Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok; Ms. Arocha Nanthamontri, Governor of Nakhon Pathom Province; and international experts from the Netherlands, Japan, and MIT, who shared lessons and experiences to jointly drive Thailand’s preparedness for water crises in a concrete and sustainable manner.
Read more at: https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/284404/
Read more at: https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/284404/
