25 April: UEM Seminar on water resources management
A Seminar on 'A Comparative study of Water Resources Management in Georgetown, Malaysia and Pattaya, Thailand with Emphasis on Households, Hotels and Gender' by Prof. Ngai Weng Chan, a Visiting Professor, Urban Environmental Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD) will be held on Wednesday, 25 April 2007, from 1:00-3:00 p.m., at room S101. All interested persons are invited to attend. The abstract follows.
Abstract
Located in tropical the equatorial-monsoon area, both Malaysia and Thailand are considered rich in water resources. However, both also have their fair share of water problems, chief of which is excessive wastage by consumers (particularly households and hotels). Due to a lap-sided approach mainly focusing on the supply side via water supply management (WSM) which is top-down, the demand side, especially water demand management (WDM) has been largely neglected. Hitherto, water consumers have not been actively involved in reducing demands. Low water tariffs have also led to wastage and not encouraged conservation. Consequently, water problems have escalated in both countries in recent decades due mostly to socio-political reasons caused by population explosion, rapid urbanization and industrial expansion. Climate change has also exacerbated water problems. As the total quantity of available water is finite but demand doubling every two decades or so, many urban areas which depend on water beyond their boundaries in both countries are facing mounting water problems which have severe impacts on society. This study compares the main water issues faced by two cities, Georgetown in Malaysia and Pattaya in Thailand. Both are medium sized cities but sharing a common characteristic of being major tourist destinations in their respective countries. Hence, both cities are stressed by seasonal high water demands from hotels. The study examines the major water issues affecting both cities, water indicators for both cities, water use characteristics of consumers (households and hotels), and consumers' perception, willingness to pay and other characteristics. In the domestic area, it attempts to highlight the role of gender, documenting how women can manage water via domestic water audits and other WDM measures in conserving water. The study concludes that water users need to be involved in a bottom-up approach in a sustained WDM initiative whereby women are the key players in the household and hotels that embrace corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and achieve environmental standards icons in the corporate arena. With limited water resources, both cities need to embark on WDM to ensure sustainability of its future water resources.