Story and Photos: Phongnarin Sukcham /E-WMSA
The Enhancing Climate Resilience in Thailand through Effective Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture (E-WMSA) project hosted a foundation training on the topic: “Selection and Prioritisation Criteria for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Measures.”
Held at Mayflower Grand Suite Hotel, Phitsanulok Province, the fourth session of foundation training marked a significant step of the project’s capacity building initiative aimed at enhancing knowledge on criteria for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures, integrated water resource management and agricultural resilience among related stakeholders.
The one-day training session focused on the six steps of EbA cycle, crucial for assessing and prioritising adaptation measures, as well as selecting the most suitable EbA strategies for the agricultural and water sectors. Over 20 participants from diverse sectors, including farmers, officials from the Royal Irrigation Department, and representatives from relevant government agencies. Alluvium Consulting and Thailand Environment Institute supported the training as outsourced experts on water resource management and activity facilitation.
Mr Somjitthipong Amonatsarn, Director of Royal Irrigation Office 3, presided over the opening ceremony to provide a speech highlighting the importance of collaboration between farmers as key water utility users and government agencies in a bid to bridge awareness and alignment of effective water resource management. He also emphasised the necessity of applying appropriate criteria for selecting EbA measures, ensuring alignment with local contexts.
The morning and afternoon sessions comprised lectures from experts in the field and group discussions based on the following core topics:
- Identification and selection of ecosystem-based adaptation strategies suitable for different areas
- Application and prioritisation criteria for EbA measures on water and agricultural resource management
After the lecture session, participants actively engaged in group discussion by sharing experience and expertise to identify suitable EbA approaches. They all agreed that implementation of EbA measures required not only about utilisation of ecosystem services, but also community ownership. Community participation is the key to the success of effective water resource management and sustainable agriculture.
At the end of the training day, participants presented outcomes from group discussions, and reflected that collaboration among farmers, water utility users, government officials, academics, and project staff is needed to ensure that practical, community-driven solutions will be developed to effectively implement EbA measures and will help create practical, community-based solutions to support EbA activities and improve how communities deal with climate change in the long run. ■
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