Development of Budget Management for Water Resources Management in Thailand

Abstract

The water resource is of great importance to the livelihood and the balance of the environment. It is a crucial factor in economic activities in the agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors. Nonetheless, Thailand has experienced an imbalance in water demand and supply due to the continuous increase in population, the increasing production of the industry and agriculture. Moreover, the decreasing forests have caused drought and flood events in many areas. Therefore, Thailand has given importance to the management of the entire water system to develop the watershed management system as a whole. The objectives are to increase the country's water security and to ensure that the country's water resource management is practical following the national strategy (2018 – 2037) and the Water Resources Act B.E. 2018 through an appropriate and efficient government budget allocation process. However, Thailand had a current water management approach; it had to go through more or less a process of trial and error through past budget allocations. Therefore, this study attempted to extract lessons learned from the development of budget management in water resources management in Thailand from past to present to reflect on past management practices, including achievements, indicators, and benefits of budget expenditure.