EVENT [REPORT]: Book Launch 'The Water-Food-Energy Nexus' [Bangkok, 21 May 2019]

On 21 May 2019, the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) hosted a book launch for "The Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Power, Politics, and Justice". The book launch event discussed the topics related to the book's themes, inviting two panelists who are the authors of the book.

Carl Middleton from Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University and Dipak Gyawali from Nepal Academy of Science and Technology introduced the book, positioning it vis a vis of the global hegemonic nexus narratives - if nexus thinking is to attain poverty reduction goals, it needs to pay more attention to whose food, water, and energy is secured, clarifying by which means the needs of the marginalised will be prioritised.

They draw on insights from “dynamic sustainability” to show how in nexus approaches often “static” thinking rather than “dynamic” thinking prevails. Overall, in the book, the authors follow a pathways approach, seeking to broaden out the inputs to planning processes and appraisal methods, and open up the outputs to decision making and policy to recognise the different pathways to sustainability around the nexus.

The discussion was joined by Kasira Cheeppensook from Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, as Chair, as well as Dr. Takeshi Ito from Graduate Program in Global Studies, Sophia University and Dr. Supawan Visetnoi from Chulalongkorn University School of Agricultural Resources (CUSAR) as discussants.

The shared presentations from this discussion can be accessed here. The discussion was broadcast on Facebook Live and can be viewed at the above link.

*Report written by Anisa Widyasari, Communications Coordinator at CSDS

EVENT [RESOURCES]: Saving the Mekong [Bangkok, 19 February 2020]

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB OF THAILAND

On Wednesday, 19th February 2020, Carl Middleton from Center for Social Development Studies, was one of the presenters on the panel discussion held in Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand (FCCT), titled “Saving the Mekong”.

Other panelists on the event include:

• Brian Eyler, author of Last Days of the Mekong and director of the Stimson Center’s Southeast Asia program, who traveled along the river from China’s Yunnan province to its delta in southern Vietnam to explore its modern evolution. (via Skype)

• Pianporn Deetes, Thailand Campaigner for International Rivers, which led the campaign against blasting rock shoals in the Mekong.

• Pou Sothirak, Executive director of Phnom Penh-based CICP, a think tank focusing on regional issues, and a former Cambodian ambassador to Japan.

You can watch the video of the event below.

EVENT [RESOURCES]: Mega dams, sand mining and renewable energy: Navigating a new course for the mighty rivers of Southeast Asia [Bangkok, 12 June 2019]

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand

On Wednesday, 12th June 2019, Carl Middleton from Center for Social Development Studies, was one of presenters on the panel discussion held in Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand (FCCT), titled “Mega dams, sand mining and renewable energy: Navigating a new course for the mighty rivers of Southeast Asia”. Carl talked about the future relationship between the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the Lancang Mekong Cooperation (LMC)

Other panelists on the event include:

• Dr. Leonie Pearson, senior research fellow, Water for Stockholm Environment Institute: A renowned ecological economist and expert in sustainable development, landscape water management, livelihood policy and urban-rural integrated assessments.

• Marc Goichot, WWF-Greater Mekong Water Lead, who has spent two decades in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos working on water stewardship, hydropower, disaster risk reduction and climate change.

• Rina Chandran, land and property rights correspondent, Thomson Reuters Foundation and a former business journalist in India, Singapore and New York with Reuters News, Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

You can watch the video of the event below.

EVENT [RESOURCES]: CU Graduate Student Seminar Series 'The Water-Food-Energy Nexus' [Bangkok, 21 May 2019]

The inaugural interdisciplinary seminar highlighted ongoing graduate student research related to the water-food-energy nexus. Students presented cross-cutting research in the areas of political ecology of water, bioenergy, agriculture, and the politics of water allocation in Southeast Asia.

Presentation:

• "A political ecology of Bangkok waters: the institutional interplay between subsidence, floods and water infrastructures" by Thanawat Bremard, ABIES, AgroParisTech, France

  Bangkok’s position in the Chao Phraya River delta confronts it to the risks of flooding from three fronts: local rainfall, the tidal cycle of the Gulf of Thailand and the cumulated waters from upstream during rainy season. As the urbanisation of the capital progressed, the city left its aquatic nature to adopt a terrestrial paradigm of development focusing on roads, polderisation and infrastructures that keep the city dry from the floods. The flooding vulnerability of Bangkok is further enhanced by the subsidence caused by groundwater over-extraction and building weight. The research, at the confluence of urban political ecology, historical geography and institutional analysis, aims to study the leeway, conflicts and interests between varying organisations dealing with flooding and subsidence risks. The thesis will focus on the underlying trade-offs and the fragmentation of policies and institutions regarding the management of the various waters of Bangkok by looking into how the situation evolved since the 2011 great floods and the efforts to limit subsidence by controlling the usage of groundwater within Bangkok and its vicinity.

  Download the presentation here.

• "Alternative approaches toward agriculture and energy nexus thinking: historical, geographical and political processes of socio-‘techno’-nature interactions" by Hiromi Inagaki, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore

• "The politics of water policy making process in Indonesia" by Tanaporn Nithiprit, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

• "Industrialization and water quality in Rayong Province, Thailand: are international, national and local water management strategies complimentary or contesting?" by Wipawadee Panyangnoi, GRID Program, Chulalongkorn University

  How is water allocated, who benefits, and who is impacted by the cycle of Thailand’s industrialization?

  Download the presentation here.

Discussants:

• Dipak Gyawali, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

• Dr. Takeshi Ito, Graduate Program in Global Studies, Sophia University, Japan

Join your fellow graduate students for an engaging exchange of ideas in a relaxed atmosphere! To be updated about the next events, you can follow the CU Graduate Student Seminar Series Facebook Page here.

EVENT [RESOURCES]: Book Launch 'The Water-Food-Energy Nexus' [Bangkok, 21 May 2019]

Presentation can be accessed here. For more information about the book, as well as open access chapter and where to get it, please visit the link here.

Speakers:

• Dipak Gyawali, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

• Jeremy Allouche, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex (by Skype)

• Carl Middleton, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Discussants:

• Dr. Takeshi Ito, Graduate Program in Global Studies, Sophia University

• Dr. Supawan Visetnoi, Chulalongkorn University School of Agricultural Resources (CUSAR)

Chair:

• Dr. Kasira Cheeppensook, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Video feed from the discussion:

PUBLIC SEMINAR: "Water Scarcity and Disaster Recovery in Hakha Town, Chin State, Myanmar: Technical Problem or Governance Challenge?"

In recent years, the population of Hakha town, Chin State has faced growing water insecurity. This has created great hardships for the local population, especially in the dry season. For those who cannot access water from private springs, or afford to buy water, they must queue sometimes for hours to collect relatively small amounts of water. Compounding the difficulties faced by Hakha’s population, in June 2015, Hakha town suffered a major landslide. As a result, over 4000 people living in at-risk places were moved, many permanently to a new settlement. In the settlement, the government has provided land or houses, yet basic services including water and schools were lagging behind.

Two presentations reflected on the production of water insecurity, and increasing resilience to landslide risks:

• “Water insecurity in Hakha Town, Chin State, Myanmar” by Asst. Prof. Dr. Carl Middleton (Director of CSDS) and Orapan Pratomlek (CSDS project coordinator) [Download PPT]
• “Lessons learned from landslide disaster recovery in Hakha town, and how to strengthen resilience” by Hlawn Tin Cuai (Master Student of Architecture (IMARCH), Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University; and ex- Operation Manager of Hakha Rescue Committee, September 2015 to February 2016) [Download PPT]

Discussant comments were offered by Pastor Lai Cung (Hakhathar Baptist Church) and Van Bawi Lian (CSDS researcher).

The seminar can be watched on Facebook live here.

More details on our research project on water insecurity in Hakha town can be found here.