Participatory water quality monitoring : comparison of Thailand and New Zealand programs

Abstract

Environmental education is a fundamental way to empower individuals with environmental management skills in their communities. Since environmental education aims to direct people towards more environmentally responsible behaviour, it plays an important role in increasing environmental awareness and broader public participation. It is manifestly clear from the research that public awareness and community involvement in water monitoring are important factors in successful sustainable water resource management.

Sustainable water resource management is one of the most important aspects of sustainable development. As humanity struggles to overcome the crisis of water scarcity and water quality, many countries are incorporating the world's agreements on sustainable water management into their policies. It is widely accepted that sustainable water resource management can be achieved when local people and the community are provided with the knowledge, skills and opportunity to get involved in water management.

In an effort to increase public awareness, the Thai government encourages public participation in several projects, even those which have been initiated by NGOs or the private sector. The RSPY project is one example. Using a survey and SWOT analysis, this research identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this project in comparison to the Waterwatch program in Canterbury, New Zealand.

The research found that the respondents who are involved in the RSPY project shared a common view that they obtained valuable knowledge and experience in approaches to environmental teaching. They also believed that this project is useful for students since it raises environmental awareness and motivates students to look after their rivers. This project also encourages young people and communities to take part in monitoring their rivers and to be concerned about water pollution caused by their activities. However, there are a number of constraints such as the project's funding, lack of project continuity and workload issues for teachers who implement this project.

Based on the research findings, the five following recommendations have been made in order to suggest suitable water quality monitoring programs for schools and communities in Thailand. 1. The Thai government, the MONRE should provide funding for each of Environmental Office to set up expert team to support schools to implement the RSPY project as one part of environmental education. 2. In the long term, the RSPY project's activities should be integrated into the school curriculum at a political level. 3. To enhance public participation, the government should provide knowledge and skills for local people and communities to manage their rivers. 4. Low-cost monitoring techniques should be used and developed to assess water quality accurately. 5. Finally, decentralised and empowered local authorities are the key to achieving sustainable water resource management.