17 August 2001                                         Press Release No. G/31/2001
For use by media; not an official record.

PREVENTION MEASURES GO LARGELY UNHEEDED

LANDSLIDES IN THAILAND; WHY IT IS NOT TOO LATE

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) --- ESCAP recommendations for flood control made some twelve years ago have largely gone unheeded, UN ESCAP's Executive Secretary Mr Kim Hak-Su said in a statement today.

"Twelve years ago southern Thailand experienced a similar type of disasters as what is going on now in the north. An ESCAP expert team at the invitation of the Government had visited the area, and made a number of recommendations.  It appears that the recommended measures for prevention of such hazards elsewhere in the country have gone unheeded," said Mr Kim.

Arresting the deterioration of the forest cover, flood warning systems and a central flood authorities were among the comprehensive measures recommended.

With the northern and northeastern provinces of Thailand severely affected by heavy rainfall and associate landslides, causing considerable loss of lives and extensive damage to property, Thailand needs to revisit these safety measures. "Many other parts of Thailand face similar hazards and lessons must be learned from the past and present disasters in order to take adequate and appropriate preventive measures against such hazards," added Mr Kim.

ESCAP had recommended short-term and long-term measures, when the southern part of the country experienced extensive landslides.  The ESCAP team included seven experts from five disciplines, namely, water resources and flood protection, geology, agriculture, environment, and human settlements. The team's recommendations to the Government in early January 1989 were as follows and bear relevance today.

• Deterioration of forest cover needs to be arrested and, with immediate effect, reforestation activities are recommended.  Proper watershed management and appropriate agricultural practices need to be introduced.  A survey of the environmental conditions at the damaged areas should also be made.
• Considering that the area is still vulnerable to similar flooding, establishment of flood forecasting and warning systems in the area should be considered.  There is a definite need for more raingauges and streamgauging stations.
• Serious consideration should be given to establishment of a central flood control authority with countrywide responsibility for planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of flood control activities and works.  Such a central flood control organization could be particularly effective in river basins shared by two or more provinces.
• There is a need for basin-wide development plans which would clearly indicate the priorities to be assigned to various development activities, including undertaking of reclamation activities, construction of dams, provision of bank and river protection and implementation of other flood control works.  In vulnerable areas where human settlements exist a geologic map should be made to provide detailed information on the probable landslide and the associated risk to people and property.
• Consideration should be given to development of supporting information systems for environmentally sound forest management and watershed management together with a mapping system in order to make the management practices more specific to the prevailing environmental conditions.  Furthermore, such information should be made available to all organizations concerned and be incorporated into the respective fields effectively in order to secure appropriate coordination of their activities.

                                                                         -- UNIS --