Participants pose for a group photo.

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) organized a training course to enhance the knowledge, skills, and experiences of 10 Thai government officials on water resource management from 19 to 23 August 2019 in Bangkok followed by an exposure visit to the Netherlands.

Unplanned use of water resources can result in negative impacts on humans and the environment. Thus, it is critical to understand and manage water resources in order to mitigate hazards such as flooding and drought.

With this particular aspect in mind, the course targeted strategist officers and coaches who are involved in strengthening Thailand’s water resources in one way or the other.

The course was customized to the needs of the strategist staff and coaches to strengthen their understanding of concepts in water resource management and applied their understanding to assess the key implementation issues and requirements in the context of Thailand.

The second part of the course involved an exposure visit to the Netherlands from 1 to 7 September where the Thai government officials visited Waver polder areas─close to Amsterdam─to explore polder hydrology, subsidence and emergency storage to safeguard Amsterdam.

Mr. Roelof Stuurman from Deltares explains polder hydrology, subsidence and emergency storage to safeguard Amsterdam.

The training was implemented under the Program on Strategist Development on Water Resource Management, in collaboration with the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) and the Office of the National Water Resource (ONWR).