ASSESSMENT OF THE STATUS OF AGRICULTURAL WATER RESOURCES IN HIGHLAND AREAS: A CASE STUDY OF HUAI TONG WATERSHED, CHIANG MAI
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/jesm.2024.3Keywords:
Water resource status index, Agricultural, Highland watershed, Huai Tong watershedAbstract
This research aimed to develop an index and method for evaluating the status of agricultural water resources in highland watersheds. The Huai Tong Watershed was chosen as a representative watershed to study the spatial water situation through participatory research with the community. The results of the assessment of the status of water resources in the Huai Tong River watershed found that the status was in Regression Stage. Indicators that reflected the root cause of the problem included: (1) the ability to produce water and runoff yields decreased during the dry season because the forest area became smaller due to the expansion of agricultural area. (2) the water storage system was not sufficient for growing crops in the dry season. The Pond is lower than agricultural area, damaged and unable to store water and the Huai Tong Reservoir is shallow and can only hold water at 30 percent of its capacity. (3) the use of water for growing crops in the dry season lacked water balance by more than 1.30 million cubic meters. (4) water management lacked a participatory water management structure with communities and local government agencies. The evaluation results provide valuable spatial factors that can contribute to sustainable planning for addressing water resource problems in the Huai Tong watershed, including conservation, restoration, and maintenance of forest resources, increasing the potential of water storage and distribution systems, management of agricultural production areas, and development of local groups for the management of the Huai Tong watershed.
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