Climate finance for urban resilience

Heavy rainfall and floods continue to plague Thailand's cities. A trifecta of heavier-than-usual rainfall exacerbated by the La Niña weather pattern, unsafe overcapacities at major dams, and unusually high sea tides is a stern reminder of how vulnerable Thailand's urban centres are amid the world's changing climate.

- Imran Arif

Kids play on Oct 9 in the Masjid Tha-it community in Nonthaburi province, which often floods during the rainy season.

(PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL)

There have been improvements in disaster preparedness and relief efforts when compared to the 2011 mega floods, but lives have nevertheless been disrupted. It is also happening throughout the country, in the capital region of the Bangkok metropolitan area and various other provinces, making disaster management even more challenging.

While government efforts to relieve the pressure are laudable, like the approval of a 6.1-billion-baht relief package, such efforts are more reactionary due to limited national and local government resources to fund more effective prevention efforts. Even if more funds can be allocated, climate change is raising questions about whether previous types of activities will be enough in the long term.

There needs to be an ecosystem shift from looking at addressing disasters from "disaster prevention" to "climate adaptation". This is especially since water management is just one issue caused by climate change, which Thailand's cities are facing, excluding worsening air quality, land subsidence, and heat stress, among others.

However, moving that needle requires more action beyond the public sector alone.

According to research by the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research (PIER), based on International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, Thailand will need 192 billion baht annually in adaptation finance for public and private infrastructure.