A disaggregated assessment of national water security: An application to the river basins in Thailand

Abstract

Achieving water security is a global concern in the age of changing climate, population increase, urbanization, intensive socio-economic development, and land-use change. Addressing water security challenges is most appropriate at the river basin scale since hydrological boundaries at which water flows differ from administrative boundaries, and it can provide policymakers and decision-makers key insights to better support water management practices. This study carries out a disaggregated assessment of national water security by applying an indicator-based framework to evaluate water security conditions in all twenty-five river basins of Thailand from 2007 to 2015. The framework comprises five broad dimensions and eleven indicators. The study results revealed that the overall water security condition in Thai river basins has improved during this period. However, a fine-grained analysis at the dimensions and indicator level of water security shows that water productivity and the watershed health dimension are of concern in most river basins. The agricultural water productivity and the wastewater treatment capacity have deteriorated over the years in most basins. Likewise, it emerged that basins need to enhance their water resource management plans to account for future water challenges. The water security assessment framework presented in this study links well to the plans, policies, visions, and strategies developed for water resource management in Thailand. Thus, it can act as a decision-support tool to monitor the effectiveness of these plans and policies developed and arrive at interventions to enhance Thailand's water security.