Climate change adaptation strategies are required specifically in response to climate change related-hazards like “floods, droughts, heat waves, and seal-level rises”; along with the impacts of climate change upon Thailand’s “urban dwellers, the urban eco-system, urban infrastructure and services”. Climate change issues are becoming increasingly prominent at a broader-scale across Thailand, which in turn is increasing the vulnerability amongst rural and urban communities to climate change. As an outcome, climate change vulnerability is affecting human settlements in Thailand’s rural and urban areas, which in turn is leading to community displacements and forced migrations. To address these climate change vulnerability issues at a national level, there were joint discussions on February 27, 2018, between officials from different sectors for strengthening the adaptation strategies in Thailand. The joint collaborations led to the formulation of the “New Urban Agenda”, which aims to “strengthening the resilience in cities and implementing adaptation measures”. During the discussions, Dr. Raweewan Bhuridej, Secretary General of Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), Mr. Anawat Suwannadej, Deputy Director General of Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning (DPT) and Mr. Heinrich Gudenus, Project Director of Risk-based National Adaptation Plan (Risk-NAP), proposed strategies for enhancing “adaptive urban planning and climate resilience in the human settlement sector”. The February’s meeting provided a roadmap for formulating the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed in June.

On 1 June 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Mr. Monthon Sudprasert, Director General of DPT, Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Dr. Raweewan Bhuridej. To reflect upon the MoU, Mr. Monthon Sudprasert, highlights the active role of the DPT for enhancing sustainable urban cities across Thailand. Here, Mr. Sudprasert argues, “DPT is committed to plan and design sustainable cities in response to the consequences of climate change to increase the resilience and robustness of the cities as well as decrease the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission”. During the drafting phase of the MoU, German International Cooperation GIZ Thailand assisted the two agencies ONEP and DPT in the drafting and incorporation of a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) roadmap within the MoU.

There are two major strengths of the MoU through which the climate change adaptation efforts in Thailand can be enhanced. One such strength is the joint collaboration between the ONEP and DPT agencies. Joint collaboration from both agencies is likely “to move forward Thailand to climate resilient development”. The second strength is the facilitation of a concrete National Adaptation Plan (NAP) roadmap. Here, the NAP roadmap is likely to be included with the broader “development and spatial plans”. By doing so, the MoU is likely to create a well-designed NAP for Thailand, which will “increase the resilience and robustness of the society and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in all levels”. Finally, there are two key limitations of the MoU. One limitation is that specific budget allocations required for implementing adaptation projects are not clearly outlined in the MoU. The second limitation is that specific timeframes with respect to the MoU’s implementation phases are not clearly mentioned. However, despite the limitations of the MoU, government officials like Mr. Sudprasert and Mr. Bhuridej are optimistic about the vast potentials of the MoU to strengthen Thailand’s climate change adaptation efforts in the long-run.

To learn more about the joint meeting on February 27, 2018 please visit the March 27, 2018 report by the German International Cooperation GIZ, at http://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/news/content/412

To learn more about the MoU signed in June 1, 2018 please visit the report by the German International Cooperation GIZ, at http://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/news/content/418