SEI teamed up with Kasetsart to run WEAP for Thai officials

Monday, 19 November 2007 02:00

On 6-7 November 2007 SEI, in collaboration with Kasetsart University (KU), conducted a 2-day training workshop for the Thailand Department of Water Resources (DWR ) in Bangkok on WEAP - the Water Evaluation and Planning System for Sustainable Water Analysis.

This was for two projects - “Training Course in Supporting and Strengthening the Capacity of the DWR Officers in the Water Resources Development and Operation & Maintenance Divisions” funded by the DWR and “Development of Water Evaluation and Planning System as a Regional Tool for Sustainable Water Analysis in the Mekong Project” funded by the SEI Institutional Programme Support (IPS) Grant. The training workshop participants were forty DWR officers from southern, north-eastern and central parts of the country. Dr. Chayanis Krittasudthacheewa and Dr. Chris Swartz from the SEI and Mr. Teerapong Pintong from the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) of Thailand acted as the resource coordinators for the workshop. The aim of the workshop was to build up the capacity of DWR officers in applying WEAP to their water system analysis work.

Evaluation by participants showed that it had been very useful in increasing their knowledge of the WEAP concept and capability. The participants expressed interest in exploring opportunities for applying WEAP to their routine work, because of its functionality, user-friendly interface, flexible framework and good supporting documentation. To help support a growing user community in Southeast Asia the WEAP program, website and supporting documents are being translated into Thai by the SEI.

Over the last decade, an integrated approach to water development has emerged that places water supply projects in the context of demand-side issues, water quality and ecosystem preservation and protection. WEAP incorporates these values into a practical tool for water resources planning. WEAP is distinguished by its integrated approach to simulating water systems and by its policy orientation. Over the past fifteen years, WEAP has been applied to many projects around the world. In the Mekong sub-region around two hundred people have registered as users on the WEAP website. In Thailand, WEAP was successfully used as a planning tool for water resource management in “the Pilot and Demonstration Activities for Thailand: Bang Pakong Dialogue Initiatives Project”. In the Mekong river basin WEAP is currently being used for the basin-wide scenario exercise to help determine the likely water related changes and impacts of the envisaged development under the Mekong Basin Focal Project.

It is envisaged that the development of WEAP as a regional tool for sustainable water analysis in the Mekong project will be implemented in five phases over five years. The phase this year has focused on the identification of key priority areas to be enhanced: a pilot development of the regional irrigation water demand module and development of the relevant capacity/skill of SEI-Asia. As one of the outcomes of this phase a new rice model suitable for rice plantation schemes and wetland management in the region has been incorporated into the current WEAP (v.2.2) released in September 2007. At the training workshop the new rice model in WEAP, developed as a result of user feedback, was unveiled.

To continue their efforts in supporting and strengthening the technical capacity of WEAP in Asia SEI is planning to organise another regional training workshop on WEAP in May or June 2008. This forum will be conducted mainly in English and is open to any interested organisations or individuals. The agenda, venue and schedule will be announced soon.

For further information, please contact Dr. Chayanis Krittasudthacheewa