Open letter to Hr.Ms. Ambassador to Thailand Mr. Joan A. Boer
His Excellency,
Thai news sources and television are currently reporting in a grand and impressive fashion on the flooding and flooding that has affected large parts of Thailand ravage. Without a doubt, you are aware of that and have even more detailed information information than what is published.
I just pick some news facts, without wanting to be complete:
- In an official update of the flood damage released yesterday, 465,792 residents of 2,820 villages in 69 districts of 16 provinces have been affected, while 3,681,912 rai of farmland and 29 key roads have been flooded or damaged.
- There are more than 80 deaths to regret, in the provinces more than 160.000 households are affected by flooding. Affected provinces include: Sukhothai, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, Chai Nat, Ubon Ratchathani, Sing Buri, Nakhon Pathom, Suphan Buri, and Nonthaburi.
- The roads to the popular historical sites in Ayutthaya are still passable, but the situation could quickly deteriorate when the Chao Phraya River bursts its banks. Emergency measures have been taken to prevent damage to historical sites and temples.
- In Phitsanulok, a mudslide destroyed many homes and left at least 2 dead. Ministers from the current cabinet have visited and offered financial aid.
- Many canals and river sections cannot adequately drain the water mass due to silting and siltation of the soil.
It can be assumed that many authorities in the country are doing their utmost to limit the damage as much as possible and to provide assistance to the population. However, they all seem like actions à la Hansje Brinkers, who tried to close a hole in a dike with a finger to prevent a dike breach and flooding.
All measures may help in the short term, but a sustainable solution for water management in Thailand is still a long way off. I therefore remind you that earlier this year there was a mission of Dutch experts in Thailand to gain more insight into water management in Thailand and to possibly come up with recommendations for improvement. The mission was organized by the Netherlands Water Authority (NWA) in consultation with and cooperation of the Dutch government, several Thai authorities and was supervised by the Agricultural Council of your Embassy. The mission report and other documents are undoubtedly present at the Embassy and you may have already taken note of them. As a result of the mission report, I wrote three articles on thailandblog.nl, which also received many reactions.
With all the bad news in Thailand, I recently inquired with the NWA whether there has been a follow-up to the mission or whether there is other news to report. Without (being able to) go into detail, I was told that “some developments are underway”. I found that disappointing, because the Netherlands in particular would be very well able to provide direct aid to alleviate the worst need, but above all it also has the expertise and experience for longer-term solutions.
The new Prime Minister of Thailand, Mrs. Yingluck Sinawatra, has already announced in some news reports that she wants to tackle the problem properly. Money does not seem to be an immediate problem, much more there are hurdles to overcome due to the great fragmentation of Thai authorities, who are involved in water management in some way. This conclusion can also be read in the mission report.
As the new ambassador, you have already demonstrated a firm attitude and an open mind. I would like to suggest that you contact Mrs Yingluck personally - assisted by your Agricultural Council - to see how the Netherlands can help Thailand in sustainable water management in the short and long term. I am not a specialist in this field, but when I read about the silting up of canals and rivers, I just think that Dutch dredgers could start “tomorrow”, so that the rainwater can be drained more quickly.
Yours sincerely,
Albert Gringhuis
Pattaya
Let it be especially clear that farang's advice cannot be accepted completely, or at all.
After all, that would mean a terrible loss of face.
And that is not possible….
I think!
@HansNL: exchange (sale if you like) of experiences, know-how is an international event. Each country uses it as needed. In Thailand, too, foreign knowledge and craftsmanship are used – rightly so – in all kinds of fields. There is no loss of face!
Very good action from Gringo
My compliments.
Gerrit
Water management in Thailand is a personal hobby of HRH. I therefore think that a lot of water will flow through the Chao Praya before Thailand will accept help from abroad, let alone ask for it. In any case, it is worth a try. By the way, good letter. Looking forward to the reaction of our Ambassador.
As far as I understand there are close ties between the Thai and Dutch Royal Houses. The crown prince has pledged his hard work to 'water', both drinking water and the growing concern about water in general.
If both the King of Thailand and Prince Willem-Alexander are so committed to water, a contact between them could do wonders and, above all, open doors.
Unfortunately I don't have WA's phone number, but the ambassador can easily find out.
In short: involve both royal houses in this problem, which indeed desperately needs a drastic and structural solution.
Neat letter Gringo.
I am also curious about the response of the ambassador, but actually much more about the (re)actions of the Thai government. How many water threats, flooding and casualties still have to occur before something REALLY happens.
In January of this year we visited Ayutthaya. During the ride to Ban Pa In we came across roads where “dikes” of about a meter high were built next to them. So indeed some action is being taken on the roads to the tourist attractions.
But now comes the strangest part. There was an excavator working next to it that was removing all the "dikes" again. We also thought it was strange that the dikes were not everywhere. It will certainly not be intended to make room for a permanent flood defence. And when you see the wooden houses (or even worse, the corrugated iron "houses") behind the "dikes" on the river, you really wonder how people will have to live here at the moment if the water lets them through again. the waters are expelled and what remains of their property after the waters recede.
WA may be passionate about water, but the industry will have to solve it or provide advice. And of course as a normal project for a normal payment. The ambassador should not be given magic power in this either. And WA won't pay for it privately either. The old saying “No money, no Swiss” also applies here. You can assume that this problem, which has been going on for years, has also been discussed many times by the current governments. Who are we to interfere with that?
@Joseph: It's not a matter of "meddling". The mission earlier this year came about on the initiative of Thailand and my intention is only to open doors faster through the Ambassador and/or WA (good idea, by the way, Rob Piers!) in order to get to work decisively with sustainable solutions.
In my earlier articles “Water management in Thailand” I already read that money is not really a problem. I therefore think that good business can be done for engineering firms, dredgers, etc. The biggest problem, as I see it, is the fragmentation of all kinds of Thai authorities that have something to do with water. There should be a “Rijkswaterstaat”. It sometimes happens that one Service takes a decision that is good for a problem that occurs, but at the same time has a negative effect on another Service.
I don't expect miracles in the short term, but who knows!
Albert,
Neat. I appreciate your effort. I feel the same way and I think many others do, but you took the plunge. I wonder whether or not there will be a response and then I hope not just a message to you, that they have received and read your letter.
I do indeed think that the Royal Houses together can give the Thai Prime Minister a big push in the right direction. With that support she can get to work and realize one of her plans. Yes, there will be pride in some former rulers, but put it aside if you can perhaps save hundreds if not thousands of human lives.
I fully support this. Good Gringo!!! Hope our crown prince also reads the Blog !
Ruud
With all due respect for the involvement of Bert Gringhuis, we must not grant magic to the ambassador, nor will WA, as a water expert, open his own purse. With the current austerity measures, the Dutch government will also not provide subsidies. The industry can do work and use work, but will still want to be paid for it. May assume that this annually recurring problem has been discussed more often with the various Thai governments. They simply will not have the money to solve this no small problem.
Thailand has previously attracted the help of a Dutch hydraulic engineering expert in the person of Homan van der Heide, during the reign of Rama V. That was not an unqualified success. I wrote a blog about that last year. I'll ask Khun Peter if he sees anything to post it.
In any case, the Dutch media is not concerned with it at all, but that is of course because they were all too busy with the commemoration of 10/9 in the past 11 days.
All I saw on the news was that a number of cities in Pakistan had been flooded.
Albert,
my compliments for the action. This testifies to a real integration in Thailand.
After all, you are really concerned with the progress of the country and the prevention of future disasters.
Indeed, we Dutch are the masters of water management. Let's all hope that both the Dutch ambassador and the new prime minister (who I haven't read much negative about lately) come to the same conclusion as you (and me) and that a multi-year plan will now be put in place to prevent flooding. in Thailand is dealt with constructively.
The chance that there will be a “water management” following the Dutch example is, I think, a utopia. But even if all the authorities were to sit together, centrally controlled by the prime minister with Dutch advice, it would already be a great improvement.
Isn't it about time Willem Alexander paid a state visit to Thailand?
There's no need for WA to go there. It sounds arrogant, but the Dutch reputation in the field of water management is so highly regarded that they naturally end up with us.
The knowledge of the Dutch about this is expected to become a major source of income in due course.
Hello, I just want to temper the euphorism, the Netherlands is willing, but the government and the banks do not want to come along. First and foremost companies operating in international markets
operate must have a D4 or D5 certificate, which they must advance for the work they do abroad, so in this case 40% or 50%, this guarantee
Netherlands no more
Incidentally, the large dredging companies have sometimes been silently sold to foreign investors. Volker-Stevin was already sold to England in 1984 and now it is
Boskalis sold to Saudi Arabia six months ago. Also with shipbuilding
and i mean dredgers have been built in china for 4 years as hull and in
The Netherlands has been further phased out, the same with the once-large IHC that supplies the pumps
built, now also in China and Lips ship propellers and so on
What Thailand needs is good land surveyors who can measure out just like in the Netherlands
to create or, according to very old custom, scupper bowls
Taking in water at high tide and draining it at low tide, then you don't need dredgers. What is urgent now are brake seats for the foundations of bridge piers
are placed, now those bridge pillars become unstable and major disasters can happen
with collapses
By the way, something else and that will surprise many Belgium is the largest dredging company, after that
Korea The Netherlands is in sixth place
@Luc Dauwe: I am well aware that (business-wise) solving problems in water management is not the same as, for example, buying a car with cash. But if you are already dreading all kinds of rules from the government, banks, etc., it will be very difficult to do business successfully.
Belgium is indeed the largest dredger in the world, but my Open Letter was addressed to the Dutch ambassador and of course I mention the Dutch dredgers.
Those “floodplains” or rather drainage areas are certainly there in Thailand. Unfortunately, many of these drainage areas are abused by, for example, allowing agriculture in dry times or even building houses there. The case that Jan Willem describes above about Ban Na is an example of this. It can again be traced back to that fragmentation of powers of Thai authorities in the field of water management.
@Gringo
Follow this link: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/04/15/national/More-water-projects-to-be-launched-for-Kings-birth-30153189.html
I am missing information about the not insignificant role of HRH in the field of water management in Thailand. Last year he made gigantic areas (own land) available at Suphan Buri as temporary floodplains, in the hope of protecting BKK from flooding.
Does the above article in the Nation mean that light is beginning to dawn?
Thailand is not the same as the Netherlands. I think these words broke off the last talks. And indeed Thailand is not like the Netherlands. It is important here that these are large projects so that a lot of money can be earned by various people. It is also important that people see that they are involved in the distribution of aid by the influential people. This will allow them to get the required votes for their next term the next time around.
And after the rainfall comes the dry period. Then nobody will worry about the latest floods anymore.
Take Nongkhai, which was flooded by the Mekong 3 years ago. One of the consequences was that the sewers were full of sand. They have been removing this sand since July this year. Because the sewer is closed, Nongkhai also had a meter of water standing last month after heavy rainfall of 21,5 cm in 8 hours. This water could have easily flowed away with open sewers to the Mekong, which was not high at the time. Fortunately, this could be pumped out within 2 days with gpote pumps. However, the damage to residents and shopkeepers is enormous.
Like the master of you, I am very concerned about the annual floods and the needless deaths they cause. In my opinion, this is completely unnecessary, if only measures are taken.
Somewhere in the back of my mind is Bangladesh. You used to hear nothing but about floods there. I think the Dutch came up with a solution. I never hear about flooding there again. Can someone inform me about this????
My girlfriend has been in Thailand since Saturday and has just traveled by train from Bankgkok to Chiang Mai, I am quite worried about the situation there.
How/what/where can I view/monitor this?
Kind regards, Mark
Dear Marc,
the train is currently stopping in Lampang, as part of the rails in Lamphun have been washed away by the rain and landslides!
From Lampang bus station to CNX there is no problem via Highway.
Fortunately, my girlfriend arrived safely.
I can't imagine anything happening.
Thanks for quick response.
Indeed, the Netherlands is no. 1 expert in the field of water, just look at the Zeeland Bridge (if I'm not mistaken).
They need the money way too much to subsidize cars for people who want to buy a car for the first time. Up to 100.000 Baht subsidy for a car up to 1 Million Baht. That is much more important than structural solutions for flooding.
Not to mention the 800.000 computer tablets that they plan to distribute in primary schools, without first conducting research at a number of test schools to see if it is really such a good idea. No, this government is doing a good job. The only thing that needs momentum is getting Thaksin home.
In an e-mail from the Dutch Embassy to the registered Dutch citizens about the flooding, the following paragraph is stated next to warnings:
Dutch assistance
The embassy has offered Dutch knowledge and expertise because of the floods. Two projects have been offered together with the Dutch knowledge institute Deltaris:
(1) provision of a Dutch engineer for 3 weeks to the emergengy center of the Thai government
(2) a study for a medium and long term approach to the flood problem.
The Dutch expert has years of experience in Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, among others. He has now started and will advise the Thai government on immediate measures to control water flows and limit damage where possible.
The second project is a study for a Master Plan aimed at an integrated approach to water problems (controlling water storms, reservoirs and irrigation). A Memorandum of Understanding is being negotiated by the institutions involved with the Thai government.
I think that's good news!!!
Deltares, which is mentioned in the text of the Embassy, is a Dutch independent knowledge institute for water and soil. Check out their website, which impressively outlines what the institute has to offer in terms of knowledge.
I wrote the Open Letter to the Ambassador not so long ago and not that I imagine that the Ambassador has become active on that basis - he does not need me for that - but he has indeed not been idle. Something is happening from the Netherlands.
I have now approached Deltares to get some more information about the expert, his duties in Thailand and any further plans and I received a response almost immediately from Tjitte Nauta, a project manager at Deltares, who informed me about the following:
“I have just returned to the Netherlands from Bangkok and I can inform you that Deltares is indeed currently providing technical advice to the government of Thailand. We recently received this request and almost immediately we sent our river and flood expert from Vietnam to Bangkok. He will be working in the Emergency Center for the foreseeable future. It has been agreed that responsibility and communication lie with the Ministry of Science and Technology.
In addition, we are also working on setting up a National Plan for Integrated Water Management to come up with an approach for drought, water quality, coastal erosion, etc., in addition to flooding. In the field of water, the Netherlands can mean a lot to Thailand and we hope that we will soon be able to use our unique Dutch expertise.”
I have more or less agreed with Mr. Tjitte Nauta that he will give me some more information on his next visit to Thailand.
I'll definitely come back to that later.