Drought management, local resilience, and disaster risk governance in the Northern Thailand: A case study of phan district, Chiang Rai Province

Abstract

Due to a climate change, nowadays, the rainfed lowland areas in Northern Thailand began to develop drought during the rice-growing season. The research provides understandings of drought management implemented at the local level in Phan District, Chiang Rai province in Thailand by examining the local farmers’ knowledge and perception to drought to develop coping mechanism, policy that existed in Thailand, and how the policy was implemented to the local level in the district to support the local community. In the sub-sections below, the background to the drought as disaster event is provided, followed by the impacts of the disaster on Chiang Rai’s local farmers population. The literature review offers a discussion about local government to respond to drought as separate topics between government and disaster. In fact, it would appear to be intertwined and complementary concepts. The research focuses on identifying disaster risk governance that cannot be discussed separately from disaster management policy and practice, especially in drought management in Thailand. Data will be analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative methodology. Content analysis will be used to explore types and proses toward gender mainstream. The survey results were analyzed descriptively using SPSS Statistics 22.0, specifically identifying the frequencies and key factors in determining the social, economic and environmental impacts of drought on local people. To demonstrate the drought-related policies and implementation in Phan District. This is a reflection of how local governments are engaging with communities in drought management. The findings of the report include: 1) Personal Characteristics, 2) Farming Activities, 3) Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts (Farmers’ Knowledge, Farmers’ Coping Mechanism, Social Impacts, Economic Impacts, and Environmental Impacts). From the study, the finding demonstrated root causes, dynamic pressure, and unsafe living conditions explaining Thai farmers' social vulnerability to drought. The root causes implicated the rice system in Thailand is characterized by rain-fed lowland where the water supply is unpredictable by too much and too little water in the same season.Dynamic pressure involved the government's policy-related drought management response, which was not adequately responsive to safety nets and social protection assessment in strategic plans and actions. Furthermore, rural Thai are less likely to migrate, particularly poor farmers and families with limited income, exposing them to unsafe conditions from consecutive droughts. As climate change impacts result in more extreme drought events, it is also crucial to understand the institutional context of governance responding to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in broader livelihoods diversification strategies. In the case study of drought in the Phan district, the National governments also promulgated and implemented drought-relief programs, laws, and regulations at the macro level, frequently enlisting international assistance. Those international organization are in charge of alleviating suffering by coordinating relief efforts, giving loans, and creating employment opportunities for sufferers. Local governments at the meso level’s perspective are aim to reduce drought by considering national opportunities, such as building network and cooperation and local challenges to have risk perception and awareness. As a result, micro-level management is critical, such as farmers' reactions to drought. Social, institutional, cultural, religious, economic, environmental, hydrologic, geographic, educational, and political elements all have a role in designing efficient drought management policies.