Education is the first step towards sustainable water management, seminar told
Thailand's small and medium-sized enterprises can start working towards sustainable water management by learning about it, a senior sustainability officer at Indorama Ventures, a chemical manufacturing company, told a World Bank seminar last month.
Chief sustainability officer Anthony Watanabe, a panelist at the seminar on flood and drought management, said education is a low-cost, easy-to-implement initiative for starting sustainable water management.
"We have to recognise that we are part of the community, and water is a shared resource," Watanabe said, adding that we all must participate in the process of water management.
People are a significant part of the process, he stressed, adding that they can be in government, academia, large and small businesses, or employees.
People are essential to establishing an effective long-term plan to deal with floods and droughts, Watanabe said.
Education and awareness will eventually lead to each individual and small business asking themselves what they can do to save water in the reuse, reduce, recycle approach, Watanabe said.
"At a certain point, there might have to be an investment in technology ... However, even in a small firm, there are simple strategies to get the proper attitude and make employees more worried about this, which is education," he added.
According to recent World Bank research, countries around the world will likely experience increased frequency and intensity of both floods and droughts as a result of climate change.
Thailand is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impact of climate change due to its location and topography, so it requires effective public-sector policies for water management.
Some Thai authorities, such as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, have robust water management policies and practices, but the country needs to do more to prepare for floods and droughts, World Bank staff said.
