the costs and benefits of water buffering

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Continuation and maintenance of the Pasak Ngam project proved to be sustainable. As it is thevillagers who drive the project (with support from outsiders), it has truly responded to their needs.They have developed a sense of belonging, awareness and responsibility for what they have builtwith their own labour. Moreover, given their past experiences, they are now much more sensitive tothe importance of water-availability to the quality of their lives.A few years after the implementation of the project, little by little, the villagers began to experiencechanges:••Streams and gullies started to have more and more water. Some of the rehabilitated streamsnow have water all year round, again.••Check dams contributed to conserve water for domestic use, tending water for cattle andagriculture.••Since there is water for agriculture, the villagers do not need to travel to the city to look for jobs.They can stay in the village with their family. Moreover, the villagers have made natural trailsand opened their village for eco-tourism and study visits, as an additional source of incomewithin their own village.••Forest areas recovered and gradually increased canopy cover. Furthermore, when the forest andbiodiversity are restored, forest foods, medicinal plants, and natural materials are abundantlyavailable for villagers to collect. This creates extra income and reduces expenses of thehouseholds all year round.••Soil humidity has increased.••Vegetation cover and forests have grown more dense.••The occurrence and severity of forest fire has reduced significantly.••Biodiversity of the area is improved. Villagers have observed that insects, fish, crabs, and birdsin the area have increased in numbers. Moreover, they have noticed the return of many speciesthat had been disappeared for years.Financing mechanismsThe people of Pasak Ngam received funding for the check dams through cash and in-kindsupport from their partner institutes, networks and connections, such as Huay Hongkhrai RoyalDevelopment Center, Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand, Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute and theSiam Cement Group. The construction of check dams was supported by different organizations fromboth private and public sectors. Labour was mostly contributed by the villagers themselves. Manycheck dams were also built solely by the villagers without support from the outsiders. Some werebuilt by volunteers from schools, non-governmental organizations and private companies.Successes and challengesPerseverance and collaboration among the villagers were key to the success of the project. Withthe help of Huay Hongkhrai Royal Development Center, villagers have built more than 300 checkdams at the headwaters of the seven main streams around the village. Since then, 500-1,000 checkdams have been successfully constructed across water routes annually. As yearly maintenance is47
important, villagers take turns every year in surveying and repairing check dams and spillways.Further, the villagers established a “forest conservation and protection group” which watches outfor forest fires and illegal logging. The group helped to plant the forest and to construct firebreaks.Community rules for gathering forest food and forest materials were collectively drafted andwritten down. This was done to minimize conflicts among the villagers and lessen the impacts ofhuman activities on the environment.The improved water regulation in the upper part of the watershed of Pasak Ngam village is notonly significant to the Pasak Ngam villagers, but also to those who live downstream in Chiang Maiand Lampoon provinces. This is because the Maekuang Udomthara reservoir provides water fordomestic and agricultural uses in both provinces.In the case of semi-permanent and permanent check dams, it is important to consider the strengthof the dam in the context of the problem of erosion from heavy rain or flooding. The foundationshould be strong and there should be a sufficient number of spillways to release floodwaters, so thatthey do not damage the dam.Check dams should be constructed after the rainy season. Around them, it is recommended to planttrees that can grow well in damp areas (such as the Willow-leaved Water Croton). Their roots helpsecure the soil around the dams. Once these trees get established, reforestation in a wider area canbe started.Check dams that are built in steeper areas are recommended to be built over shorter distances.ReferencesHydro and Agro Informatics Institute (2010). The 3rd Competition of Community Water ResourceManagement according to His Majesty the King’s Initiatives; Bangkok [online] Available at: http://www.haii.or.th [Accessed at May 21, 2012]DNP. Checkdam project [online] Available at: http://www.dnp.go.th/Watershed/checkdam1.htm[Accessed at May 21, 2012]Pasak Ngam Project [online] Available at: http://www.pasakngam.ob.tc [Accessed at May 21, 2012]48
Page 2 and 3:
Profit from StorageThe costs and be
Page 5 and 6: EndorsementI wholeheartedly endorse
Page 7: 5 Cases 385.1 Sand storage dams, Ki
Page 10 and 11: Box 1: Examples of economic cost of
Page 12 and 13: esilience and impact multiply when
Page 14 and 15: over time reduces their capacity. I
Page 16 and 17: can help bridge even an unusually d
Page 18 and 19: 2.3 The practice of water buffer ma
Page 20 and 21: Many different types and technologi
Page 22 and 23: ImplementationSmall MAR systems are
Page 24 and 25: Costs and benefitsThe costs reporte
Page 26 and 27: ••Annual rainfall 3 is between
Page 28 and 29: levels. In other cases, the install
Page 30 and 31: Financing mechanismsThe choice of f
Page 32 and 33: Table 4. 3R solutions: use and scal
Page 34 and 35: Box 8: Self financed recharge movem
Page 36 and 37: 4 Calculating the costs andbenefits
Page 38 and 39: Box 10: Life-cycle costs of rainwat
Page 40 and 41: of a large number of roof top water
Page 42 and 43: improved integrated landscapes are
Page 44 and 45: It is important to mention that wat
Page 46 and 47: Table 5. Overview of cases in this
Page 48 and 49: Figure 16. Riverbed during the dry
Page 50 and 51: in siting and construction of sand
Page 52 and 53: Pasak Ngam is located in a part of
Page 57 and 58: 5.3 Improved karezesQila Iskan Khan
Page 59 and 60: Figure 22. a) Villagers taking rest
Page 61 and 62: 5.4 Water augmentationthrough manag
Page 63 and 64: Table 9. Costs of water (2011)Exist
Page 65 and 66: 5.5 Creating fresh waterbubbles in
Page 67 and 68: Figure 29. a) Well construction; b)
Page 69: ••Injection of pond water can c
Page 72 and 73: ••The depression is fed by a la
Page 74 and 75: To avoid contamination by animals t
Page 76 and 77: drains, that normally discharge the
Page 78 and 79: Financing mechanismsAt the moment,
Page 80 and 81: from the streams, and keep water fr
Page 82 and 83: Table 14. Climate change impacts an
Page 84 and 85: Water-spreading weirs are usually b
Page 86 and 87: possibilities and prerequisites for
Page 88 and 89: Table 16. World mulch film market,
Page 90 and 91: efore or after the mulch is placed
Page 93 and 94: 5.11 Soil and water conservationat
Page 95 and 96: There has been some additional supp
Page 97: ReferencesBerhane, G. et al. (2011)
Page 100 and 101: perpendicular to the direction of t
Page 102 and 103: Financing mechanismsThe contributio
Page 105 and 106:
5.13 Buffering highland andspring w
Page 107 and 108:
for about 15 years and a cheaper va
Page 109 and 110:
5. 14 Rooftop harvesting andmultipl
Page 111 and 112:
Wastewater from the kitchen, collec
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enter into an agreement with a micr
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Annex IClassification overviewof 3R
Page 117 and 118:
Annex IIThe 2 Step wiseapproach tow
Page 119 and 120:
Annex III Snapshot comparison ofthe
Page 121 and 122:
Annex IVSelect impacts of Kenya’s
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