Political boundaries shown may not be accurate
Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage

Population (M): 66
Geo. Area (Km2): 514,000
Irrigated Area (Mha): 5.56
Drained Area (Mha): 0.16
Sprinkler Irrigation (Ha):
Micro Irrigation (Ha): Major River Basins (Km2):
Director General of Royal Irrigation Department Royal Irrigation Department Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives 811 Samsen Road, Thanon-NakornchaiSri Dusit Bangkok 10300
National Committee Directory+
Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID)
Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID)
Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID)
Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID)
Country Profile-
Geography
Thailand is a Southeast Asian country located at Latitude 15° 00’ N, and Longitude 100° 00’ E. Thailand is the 50th largest country in the world with a total area of 514,000 Sq.Km. The north and the west of the country contain mountainous regions. The northeast is mainly plateau. The east occupies short mountain ranges alternating with small basins of short rivers. The eastern area is adjacent to neighboring Cambodia. The southern tip of Thailand is part of a peninsula located between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Central Thailand is a large basin releasing river water into the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand has 76 provinces besides Bangkok, which is a special administrative area, the capital.
Population and land use
The total population of Thailand was around 66 Million in mid-2019 as per the Population Reference Bureau, of which 66% lives in rural areas. Thailand has the 20th largest population and accounts for 0.90% of the total world population. The annual population growth rate is estimated at 0.97%, and the population density is about 134 inhabitants / Km2. Out of the entire area, 23.84 Mha is used for agriculture.
Climate and rainfall
Located 15 degrees north of the equator, Thailand has a tropical climate. The climate is mainly hot and humid across the entire region. There are three seasons in Thailand: (i) summer or pre-monsoon season (mid-February to mid-May); (ii) rainy or southwest monsoon season (mid-May to mid-October); and, (iii) winter or northwest monsoon season (mid-October to mid-February). The temperature ranges from 19 to 38 degrees C.
The northern part of Thailand usually is dry and gets less rainfall during winter. Maximum precipitation occurs in August and September. Rainfall is abundant in the southern part except during summer. The west coast gets the highest amount of rain during September, while rains in the east coast reach its peak in November. The average rainfall in Thailand is about 1,622 mm per annum.
Food and agriculture
About 30.22% of the total population of Thailand is engaged in agriculture. Thailand has about 23.84 Mha of agricultural land. Nearly 46% of the total area under cultivation is used for growing rice. The remaining area is under permanent crops. Major crops of Thailand are rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, and soybeans. Significant crops for domestic consumption are rice, maize, yams, chilies, cassava, eggplant, and beans. Major crops for export are rice, sugarcane, tobacco, rubber, coconuts, jute, and pineapples.
Water resources management
The country’s annual water requirement is around 147,749 Mm3. Agriculture requires 113,960 Mm3, which is about 75% of the total. Water reservoirs and irrigation systems account for 65,000 Mm3. The remaining 48,960 Mm3 is located outside of the irrigation zone and depend on rainwater for agriculture. Watershed areas in Thailand can be divided into 25 main watersheds and 254 small watersheds. The average annual precipitation is 1,379 mm. Total runoff is around 200,973 Mm3, which works out to 3,086 m3 per person per year. The runoff during the rainy season is 175,345 Mm3 (87.25%), and 35,628 Mm3 (12.75%) during the dry season. The total catchment capacity is 74,788 Mm3. The total internal water resources of Thailand add up to about 224.55 Km3/year. Thailand’s hydrology is highly variable due to the influence of monsoon and storm. This results in floods and droughts. The Mekong river constitutes an additional external resource for Thailand, which has been estimated as half the discharge of the river. The flow of the Mekong River at the point where it enters Lao People’s Democratic Republic is about 280 Km3/year. The contribution of Thailand to the Mekong River is an estimated 51.9 Km3/year. The estimated flow of the Mekong border river for Thailand is about 114.05 Km3/year. The Salween river on the border with Myanmar, with an estimated flow of 200 Km3/year, flows only over a relatively short distance on the border. Therefore, there is not much contribution from Thailand over the short span.
Irrigation and drainage
Thailand has a long history of irrigation development. Over the last seven centuries, weirs, canals, storage dams, conveyance systems, etc. have been constructed by the reigning monarchs. Modern irrigation development began in 1902 when King Rama V engaged a Dutch hydraulic engineer to draw up a plan for an advanced irrigation system. In 1957, the Chao Phraya barrage, the primary control structure of the project was completed. This was followed by the completion of the major storage reservoirs, Bhumibhol dam in 1964 and Sirikit dam in 1971. From then on, Thailand has constructed many large, medium and small-scale storage dams and weirs with canal systems to serve the expanded irrigated area.
Altogether, there are 682 dams across the region in which 33 are large dams; 517 dams with medium storage capacity account for a total storage of 4,799 m3, and 4,156 are categorized as small reservoirs.
River basins
Thailand can be divided into seven river basins, but it is generally divided into 25 sub-basins. The total surface water resources amount to 213.35 Km3/year. Aquifer recharge from rainfall is around 41.90 Km3/year (about 5-6% of the total precipitation). Approximately 30.70 Km3/year is estimated to return to the river system. Thailand shares three major river systems with its neighbors: the Mekong river forms the border with Lao People’s Democratic Republic in the north and east (about 18% of the total Mekong catchment area is located in Thailand). The Salween river is on the northwestern border with Myanmar. And, the Kolok river is on the southern border with Malaysia. The Kolok river, which originates in Thailand and borders between Thailand and Malaysia, is a very short river with a total length of just over 100 Km.
ICID and National Committee
The Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID) has been a founder member of ICID since its inception in 1950. The ICID past Vice Presidents from Thailand were: Late Mr. M.L. Xujati Kambhu (1964 to 1967); Late Mr. S. Raunglak (1983 to 1986) and Mr. Chaiwat Prechawit (2010-2013). The 67th IEC Meeting and the 2nd World Irrigation Forum were held from 6-12 November 2016 at Chiang Mai in Thailand.
Events+
Date | Details | Location/Country |
---|---|---|
Jul 01, 2022 - Jul 01, 2022 | 15th THAICID National e-Symposium 2022 Theme - Improving Water Governance for Flood and Drought Management Amidst Post Pandemic Crisis and Climate Change NC Contact : Mr. Praphit Chanma, President of THAICID, Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID), Director General of Royal Irrigation Department Royal Irrigation Department Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives 811 Samsen Road, Thanon-NakornchaiSri Dusit Bangkok 10300 Email : thaicid@hotmail.com, Website : https://www.rid.go.th/thaicid/ |
Bangkok, |
Nov 06, 2016 - Nov 12, 2016 | Second World Irrigation Forum (WIF2) Theme - Water management in a changing World: Role of Irrigation for Sustainable Food Production NC Contact : Mr. Praphit Chanma, President of THAICID, Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID), Director General of Royal Irrigation Department Royal Irrigation Department Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives 811 Samsen Road, Thanon-NakornchaiSri Dusit Bangkok 10300 Resources : Highlights of the Event |
Chiang Mai, Thailand |
Nov 06, 2016 - Nov 12, 2016 | 67th International Executive Council Meeting (IEC) NC Contact : Mr. Praphit Chanma, President of THAICID, Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID), Director General of Royal Irrigation Department Royal Irrigation Department Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives 811 Samsen Road, Thanon-NakornchaiSri Dusit Bangkok 10300 Resources : AGENDA ; AGENDA (French) ; MINUTES ; MINUTES (French) ; Highlights of 2nd World irrigation Forum and 67th IEC Meeting, Chaing Mai, 2016 |
Chiang Mai, Thailand, Thailand |
Nov 18, 1991 - Nov 23, 1991 | 8th Afro-Asian Regional Conference Theme - Land and water management in Afro-Asian countries. NC Contact : Mr. Praphit Chanma, President of THAICID, Thai National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (THAICID), Director General of Royal Irrigation Department Royal Irrigation Department Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives 811 Samsen Road, Thanon-NakornchaiSri Dusit Bangkok 10300 |
Bangkok, Thailand |
Awards+
# | Category | Title | Description | Winner(s) | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Innovative Water Management |
In 2004, Japan and other countries including Thailand formed a new body named the International Network for Water and Ecosystem in Paddy Fields, (INWEPF). The broad goal of INWEPF was to increase rice yield in a sustainable and ecologically sound manner. In August of 2012, the best practices of Alternate Wet and Dry Irrigation (AWDI) technique were incorporated with Smart Farming innovations as a new model. The model promoted the AWDI technique while managing practicalities in the real world, such as minimized labour intensity with maximum water-saving. Out of four wet and dry periods, only two wet and dry periods were used, resulting in 20-33% water-saving in paddy production. Under this adapted method, rice is submerged to a depth of 5 cm above ground level until the pollinated plant starts to bloom, then water depth is increased to 7-10 cm above the ground. In the next stage, when the plant is 35-45 days old, the cultivation area is not irrigated for 14 days. This period is referred to as the first dry period and the water level in the paddy field is expected to drop to 10-15 cm below ground level. Then the ground gets dry and cracks appear on the surface. After the first dry period, the area is irrigated again until the water level reaches 7-10 cm above the ground. This wet period continues until the rice plant is 60-65 days old. Then begins the 14 days of the second dry period following the same procedure as the first dry period. After the second dry period, the field is once again irrigated to 7-10 cm above-ground and this level is maintained until harvest, approximately for another 40 days. During the two dry periods, the plant becomes stressed and struggles for survival, and therefore changing both the root structure and the above-ground parts of the plant leads to increased yields whilst at the same time saving a significant amount of irrigation water. Against the conventional four alternate wet and dry periods which is labour intensive, only two-period cycle was practiced. The Integrated Smart Farming - AWDI technique can help manage modern world challenges like increasing demand, water scarcity, and the negative effects of chemical fertilizers. The technique reduces irrigation water use by 1/3 and cuts the need for chemical fertilizers by 70-100%. Overall, this method can cut the cultivation budget by half and increase the yield at the same time. Usually, a yield of 5000 kg/ha would be expected, but under this technique, it can increase by 25% to 6,250 kg/ha. Under the Integrated Smart Farming - AWDI technique, 23% less water, 67% less initial seed, 38% less fertilizer, and 50% less pesticide are required. The time required also reduces by 19% while the yield increases, increasing the economic efficiency of cultivation. In Thailand 1.6 Mha of dry season paddy is fed by more than 12,500 MCM of irrigation water which can be saved substantially using this technique. If the Integrated Smart Farming - AWDI technique is applied throughout Thailand, it is expected that irrigation water-saving during the dry season can be increased by 33%, which is more than 4,100 Mha. This has the potential to further expand the irrigated dry season paddy field area from 1.6 to 2.16 Mha. Additionally, the technique reduces the emission of greenhouse gas (GHGs) enabling Thailand in fulfilling its legal obligations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The innovation demonstrated that knowledge dissemination and technology go hand in hand to achieve water-saving at a large scale. |
Mr. Va-Son Boonkird and Dr. Watchara Suiadee | 2016 | |
2 | Best Paper Award |
Keywords: Groundwater irrigation; energy; greenhouse gas emissions; water depletion Presented at: 67th IEC Meeting 2016, Chiang Mai, Thailand |
Ludivine Pradeleix; Philippe Roux; Sami Bouarfa; Bochre Jaouani; Zohra Lili-Chabaane; Veronique Bellon-Maurel | 2016 |
Recognized World Heritage Irrigation Structures+
# | Structure | Built | State | River Basin | Irrigation area | Recognised at |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bang Nok Khwaek Lock | 1904 AD | Ratchaburi province | Mae Klong River, Tha Chin River | - | 75th IEC Meeting, Visakhapatnam (Vizag), India, 2023 |
2 | Damnoen Saduak Canal | 1868 AD | Ratchaburi | Mae Klong River, Tha Chin River | 20080 ha | 75th IEC Meeting, Visakhapatnam (Vizag), India, 2023 |
3 | Rangsit Canal & Chulalongkorn Regulator | 1896 | Chao Phraya Chao Phraya | 128,000 - 160,000 ha | 66th IEC Meeting, Montpellier, France, 2015 | |
4 | Sareadphong Dam | 1314 | Mae Yom Basin | 197.5 Acre | 66th IEC Meeting, Montpellier, France, 2015 |
Workbody Representation+
# | Short Name | Long Name |
---|---|---|
1 | ASRWG | Asian Regional Working Group |
2 | C-CONGR | Committee on Congresses / Conferences |
3 | WG-AFM | WG on Adaptive Flood Management |