Planning for the management of conflicting water uses in Thailand watersheds: a case study

This paper presents part of the results from a project for Study of Environmental Situation in Upper Watersheds of Chiang Mai Province, carried out in 1998-2002 for the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning. The Huai Mae Tia Watershed, one of selected watersheds in the project, represents a watershed with serious conflicting uses at different times of the year. It critically needs planning and implementation for watershed management plan which assigns appropriate allocation of the watershed’s water resources to achieve efficient optimal overall use. A watershed management plan has been developed which features integration of public participation in the planning and implementation processes. A core planning team including representatives of stakeholders in the watershed has been formed for developing the plan. This team was then modified to suit the needs for plan implementation.