Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

C H A O P H R A Y A R I V E R B A S I N , T H A I L A N D / 3 9 1Map 16.2: Basin mapSalweenChiang Mai2,600 m▲BhumipholdamPing◆Ping LampangbasinWangbasinTakWangYombasinMuangPhraeYom◆NanbasinPhitsanulokMuangNanSirikitdam▲ 2,316 mMekongPhetchabunMekongPrakan, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani are located. Similarly,there is a large concentration of population in the Upper Pingwhere Chiang Mai (the second largest city in Thailand) islocated. Overall, about 68 percent of the total population of thebasin is rural, but there is considerable variation with over90 percent of the rural population in the Upper Chao Phrayabasin compared to 45 percent in the Lower Chao Phraya basin. Itis projected that in the next decade, the rural population willdecrease by an annual rate of about 1.31 percent and that thepopulation growth rate will remain low at about 1 percent perannum. These trends should ultimately induce aggregation offarming land with a consequential increase in householdincomes. The average population density is 136 inhabitants/km 2 ,but varies greatly from 44 inhabitants/km 2 in the Nan sub-basinto 533 inhabitants/km 2 in the Chao Phraya sub-basin. Bangkokand its vicinity have the highest population density, with1,497 inhabitants/km 2 .BayofBengal◆◆1,805 m▲Khao LaemdamRamsar siteBiosphere reserveNational parkChao Phraya RiverbasinSub-basinsInternationalboundaryCitiesSrinagarinddamPingSakaeKrangbasin NakhonSawanNakhonPathomMaeKhlongTha ChinbasinBungBorophetChaoPhrayabasinGulfof ThailandPasakbasinMajor socio-economic characteristicsPopulation characteristicsThe Chao Phraya basin is the most important basin in Thailand.The basin covers 30 percent of Thailand’s land area, is home tosome 40 percent of the country’s population, employs 78 percentof its work force and generates 66 percent of its Gross DomesticProduct (GDP). In 1996, the total population of the Chao Phrayabasin was 23 million inhabitants. The basin can be divided intoeight sub-basins based on the natural distribution of its riversystem. About half the population (11.5 million) resides in theLower Chao Phraya basin, in which the highly populated areas ofBangkok Metropolitan Area (BMA) and its environs of Samut◆NakhonChai SiSamutSongkhramNoiNanChao PhrayaAyutthayaPasakNonthaburiBANGKOKSamutPrakanBang PakongChon Buri100 kmSource: Prepared for the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) by AFDEC, 2002.Economic activitiesAs Bangkok is located in the Chao Phraya sub-basin, this iseconomically the most important sub-basin, contributing78.2 percent of the total GDP of the basin. The sub-basins can bedivided into three groups based on their economic growth rate:■ Tha Chin, Chao Phraya and Upper Ping, which have highergrowth rates than the national average;■ Pasak and Wang, at about the national average; and■ the Lower Ping, Upper Yom, Lower Yom, Upper Nan, LowerNan and Sakae Krang sub-basins, all of which have lowergrowth rates.The division of the basin into a prosperous north and south and apoor middle is reflected in the socio-economic conditions (seetable 16.2). Formal employment and social services, such ashealth and education, are similarly concentrated in the BangkokMetropolitan Region (BMR) and the Upper Ping, and generallyhave a higher per capita provision. Considerable variation exists inthe Gross Provincial Product (GPP) and in the economic growthrates of provinces depending on the relative industrial andagricultural shares of sub-basin economies: high-growth subbasinsare industrial while low-growth ones are agricultural.Agriculture accounts for 5 percent of the GDP in the basin,manufacturing for 33 percent, and wholesale and retail trade for17 percent. The small overall share of the agricultural sector isdue to the large influence of the GDP of the Lower Chao Phrayabasin where urbanization and industrialization are intense.