Problems and Community Participation in Water Management: A Case Study of Paknamchawang Sub-District Municipality, Thailand

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the problems and community participation in water management. This is the qualitative research using the in-depth interviews and group discussions from the key informants twice. The key informants are purposively selected. The tools used in the study are structured in-depth interview forms and group discussions. The data is analyzed by content analysis revealing that: 1. Regarding the problems of water management, the flood is found to occur every year and last long time causing a lot of problematic consequences. As some parts of the area are the river basins, most areas encounter the flood problem and the water management is not systemized., 2. Regarding the community participation in water management, it is found that the community participation is not organized as the community people always help one another. Therefore, for the approaches of community participation in water management, as the community participation is not organized, the form of participation in water management should be changed to be clearer by developing from the original form of participation of the community and the public relations for assistance request. There should be the establishment of networks of voluntary personnel in the community to aid in the community flood problems covering all areas. Moreover, the development plan on water management should also be made among the villager leaders, community, and locality to become more systematically with the plan to support the aid, alert, and evacuation from the flooded areas.