Bridging the concept of groundwater governance to the reality: the case study from the project of enhancing groundwater knowledge and governance for sustainable groundwater management in thailand

The Project of Enhancing Groundwater Knowledge and Governance for Sustainable Groundwater Management was initiated by Department of Groundwater Resources (DGR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Enviroment in order to investigate and apply a concept of groundwater governance in five selected groundwater basins comprising of Lower Chaophraya basin, Chiang Mai -Lumpoon basin, Udonthani Sakolnakhon basin, Hat Yai basin, and Rayong basin. In this project, each basin was studied under the collaboration among DGR and five Thai universities which were Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, Khon Kaen University, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, and Prince of Songkla University. The main objectives of this study are (1) to investigate and analyze a suitable approach of groundwater management under a conc pt of groundwater governance in five groundwater basins; (2) to develop a groundwater network and its database and communication system; (3) to enhance and promote groundwater knowledges; and (4) to propose a strategic and action plan for developing groundwater network. In this research, both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed to discover and understand a complicated interaction among stakeholders involved in Thai groundwater management which are households, industries, farmers, local governments, central governments, groundwater drillers, and non-profit organizations. In terms of research method, this research utilized questionnaires and focus group meetings to obtain responses from groundwater users and related stakeholders and agencies in Thailand. Furthermore, in-depth and semi-structured interviews of key informants were included in order to examine real insider perceptions as it is meaningful properties of the social reality and find a better way to create a groundwater network and sustainable groundwater management. The results from the study demonstrate that most aforementioned stakeholders lacked groundwater knowledge, especially in terms of technical, management and legal issues as groundwater is invisible resources. More importantly, the process of groundwater management in each groundwater basin is not static, but dynamic, and is also highly complex, varying according to hydrogeological, socio political and cultural contexts. Furthermore, this study suggests that in order to strengthen groundwater governance in Thailand, more adaptive and flexible management and participatory approach which is appropriate for each groundwater basin should be applied and studied in every basin and sub-basin. Therefore, enhancing groundwater network and knowledge dissemination is essential to support sustainable groundwater management under the governance perspective in Thailand.