COMMUNITY’S WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN UPSTREAM CATCHMENTS OF LARGE RIVER BASIN : A CASE STUDY IN PUA WATERSHED, THAILAND

摘要

The Pua Watershed locates in the Upper Nan River Basin upstream of the Sirikit Dam’sreservoir in Nan province, Thailand. The typical problems are often seen such as water shortage with notcope for all utilization of agriculture, consuming, water supply during dry season. Moreover, flood andmudslides often overflow and destroy severely erosion of the river banks and flooding in urban areas andagriculture lands during wet season as well as water quality degradation and poor efficiency management oftheir irrigation systems. Even though the government already constructed with some small to medium scalewater resources development project and alarm systems installation in some risk area of flood and droughtbased on top-down policy with lack of people participation. The problem still occurs, because those systemscould not resolve their needs from local people in their communities. Thus, research for integrated waterresources management for local communities in the upstream catchments of large river basin such as Puawatershed has been carried out based on their needs and participation from those local peoples as bottom-uppolicy. The learning processes of data collection of local watercourses were conducted at firstly as for use tobalance of demands and supplies water resources in Pua watershed. The results show 626 watercourses withannual storage capacity of water of 4.8 million cubic meters which could be served for their own agriculturalarea of 5074 ha and population of 45173 people. Moreover, the watershed produces outflow not only Puaitself but also to downstream watershed as for other users in Nan Province too. Therefore, the strategicplanning to manage water resources based on balancing of natural resources and environment were assignedwith 6 strategic plans, 19 target active plans, and 71 projects within various periods i.e. short, medium, andlong terms, respectively. There were 37 members as for the management council establishment as the aim forefficiently driven those plans and look after as the integrated water resources management in Pua watershed.