Working paper

 

Possibilities of applying a Decision Support Frame on sea level rise and other natural hazards to support spatial planning and regional development in

South and South East Asia

 

Philipp Schmidt-Thomé, Geological Survey of Finland

Philipp.schmidt-thome@gtk.fi

 

The Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) is currently leading two projects on spatial planning responses towards advert effects of natural hazards and climate change on the socio economic development in Europe and the Baltic Sea Region, respectively, please see WWW links for more information. (www.gtk.fi/projects/espon and www.gtk.fi/projects/seareg). A new project focusing on integrated hazard mapping in the EU has just started (ARMONIA, no website available yet). GTK has received very positive feedback on these projects, in Asia also from the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience programmes in South and South East Asia (CCOP) and the Thai Department of Mineral Resources. Conversations with the Thai representatives and CCOP lead to the initiative of presenting GTK's current activities in environmental risks and related issues to the CCOP Steering Committee. The present paper gives some background on the talks held so far and give a basic outline on possibilities of future cooperation.

 

1 Background:

 

In November 2003 the BSR Interreg IIIB project "Sea Level Rise Affecting the Spatial Development of the Baltic Sea Region" (SEAREG) was contacted by Mr. Worawoot Tantiwanit, Director for Natural Hazards and Environmental Geology of the Thai Department for Mineral Resources (DMR). He was interested in studying the possibilities of applying the Decision Support Frame (DSF) that is currently being developed by the SEAREG project, in Thailand and other parts of South East Asia (SEA). The main interest in the SEAREG project and its DSF consists of the active partnership of spatial planners in a project that focuses on the effects and impacts of sea level rise, as well as on structural funding for regional cohesion and cross border cooperation. Additionally, Mr. Tantiwanit expressed his interest in a combination of the DSF with the development of natural hazard and risk maps that are currently developed under the European Spatial Planning Observation Network's 1.3.1 project “HAZARDS”. The BSR Interreg IIIB Joint Secretariat in Rostock permitted the use of SEAREG project funds to organize a workshop in Thailand to present the project concept and the results of the SEAREG project, and also to study the possibilities of future EU - SEA cooperation.

 

2 Workshop on natural hazard mitigation and spatial planning, Bangkok 2004

 

The DMR organized a workshop and meetings with local experts and planners in the field of geosciences, natural hazards and coastal protection, and an excursion to study current environmental and socio economic effects of coastal erosion. After the presentation of both the SEAREG and the HAZARDS projects, a discussion developed on the applicability of a DSF on sea level rise in Thailand and the possibility of developing risk maps on natural hazards to support spatial planning. The focus lied on the current environmental and socio economic effects of coastal erosion and the possible impact of sea level rise. In addition, other natural hazards in coastal zones were discussed, e.g. landslides, forest fires and storm surges. Rising sea level can increase the risk of technological hazards in SEA's coastal areas, e.g. industrial and agricultural pollution. The concept of structural funding and regional cohesion found a very positive response, because SEA countries have big urban-rural disparities and experience a strong migration into urban areas. For instance, the Thai government is currently planning to invest large funds in the development of its three southernmost provinces. A combined SEAREG/HAZARDS project could help to support the sustainability of these investments and the possibilities of implementing a project that develops both natural hazard and risk maps and designs a DSF for mitigation activities from the planning side were discussed. Following the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) approach, the added value and the difficulties of cooperation between scientist and planners among several SEA and South Asian partner countries could be assessed in detail. Such a project would mark an innovative approach, because of both its interdisciplinary character (various Departments, natural and socio-economical scientists, spatial planners) and the cross border (inter-regional) cooperation.

 

The main conclusion from the workshop was that both project approaches, i.e. of SEAREG and ESPON_HAZARDS are innovative and unpreceeded in SEA. A combination of the two approaches will be an interesting challenge for SEA to achieve positive effects on designing sustainable mitigation plans on natural hazards. The frame of regional cohesion and interregional cooperation is a very interesting aspect in trying to solve the current problems of regional disparities and subsequent urban-rural migration. The represented Thai Departments and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) would welcome such a cooperation initiative.

 

 

3 Meeting with the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and South East Asia (CCOP):

 

The director of CCOP, Mr. Chen, and the regional expert Dr. David invited the SEAREG and HAZARDS projects to give a presentation and study possible project applications in the CCOP area. Both of the projects were received with great interest and the possibilities of a further development of the methods in the CCOP region were discussed in detail, leading to the conclusion that CCOP would definitely support such an integrated approach. It was agreed that Mr. Chen would present a possible project on sea level rise, natural hazards and risk mapping for regional cohesion and interregional cooperation to the CCOP members during the annual meeting in March 2004. CCOP will take the initiative in contacting the envisaged project partner countries Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, also to discuss the financial contribution of these envisaged partner countries.

 

4 Conclusions

 

A further development of the tools generated by the BSR Interreg IIIB project "SEAREG" can be very successful in the context of spatial planning responses towards natural hazards. An integration of the methodologies developed in the ESPON HAZARDS project appears to be useful to obtain an overview on the regional distribution of hazards and risks. The visited Thai and Asian institutions showed great interest in both projects, especially in coastal zone management and planning as well as regional cohesion and cross border cooperation. The interest in a joint project approach on hazards and planning is high and the added value of cooperating from region to region (EU-SEA) was clearly pointed out during the discussions. Via CCOP it would also be very interesting to widen this project idea towards South Asian countries. The CCOP Steering Committee meeting in Japan 2004 is an excellent platform to start cooperation initiatives.

 

One main target that has to be addressed during further project proposal discussions is the possibility of funding such an initiative. Currently there are no special calls for such projects from the EU, so other funding sources would be an important option.

 

Annex: Report on the excursion to the Rayong Province:

 

The excursion on examples of current coastal erosion problems in Thailand led to the Rayong Province, ca 140 km southeast of Bangkok. Four main impact areas of coastal erosion were visited: Housing and infrastructure, tourism and industrial sites.

 

I The coast along Rayong city

 

The first stops were along the coast of Rayong city, starting from a public beach area, over a housing area down to the Rayong river mouth. The entire coastal area suffers from severe erosion and presently different structures are tested to protect the coast. Figure 1 below gives a non-scaled schematic overview of the coastal protection measurements and their effects along the coast of Rayong city from East to West (river mouth). The red line represents the coastal road. In the east, the road is already eroded so strongly, that it is closed for traffic (see pictures 1 and 2).

 

                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                     

                     

 

 

 

 

                     

 

Figure 1: Non-scaled schematic overview on the coastal areas of Rayong city (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

 

 

 

 

Groynes constructed perpendicularly to the coastline give a better erosion protection (picture 2). Other construction types are coast-parallel groynes. They hinder erosion and lead to the sedimentation semi circled beaches (picture 3). On the other hand "Y" shaped groynes that are inter linked by a short coast parallel groyne between them do not protect the coastline but lead to further erosion that already starts to affect the coastal road (pictures 4 and 5). The currents inside these "Y" shaped constructions are so strong that sediments deposited along these groyne's are already as high as the construction itself, i.e. a storm surge easily reaches over the groynes and weakens its structure (picture 5).

 

The impacts of the coastal protection measures in Rayong city are manifold. First, the erosion of the coast is only partly stopped, partly it is only transferred along the coast towards other areas. Secondly, the coast parallel groynes along the sandy beach lead to a change in the coastal morphology. The resulting beach shape is not necessarily satisfactorily for tourist expectations of a recreation area and tourism declines. Recent investments in coastal infrastructure, such as the pavement of the road and the construction of new housing areas are either being destroyed by the advancing sea or abandoned (picture 6). Consequently, the economically important tourism in Rayong city is declining and people are starting to move out of the area. The present coastal erosion in Rayong leads to the assumption that a rising sea level is most probably going to increase the current erosion problems. The coastal erosion has a strong impact on many areas, such as infrastructure, housing, industry, tourism, etc.

 

The Rayong area requires appropriate mitigation activities, developed together with spatial planners and with the goal of long-term strategies, to lessen the negative impact and focus on sustainability in the further development.

 

Picture 1, eroded road close to Rayong City (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

Picture 2: Eroded road and coastal protection measures with perpendicular groyne's (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

 

Picture 3: Semi lunar shaped beach morphology caused by coast parallel groyne's (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

Picture 4: Y-shaped groyne, soon covered by sediments (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

Picture 5: Erosion prone road behind Y-shaped groynes (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

 

Picture 6: Abandoned housing along eroded coastline (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

II Koh Samet

 

Koh Samet is an island in the close vicinity of Bangkok that is a famous attraction and holiday spot for both Thai and international tourists. Nevertheless, the advancing coastal erosion leads to severe problems. Some of the island's beaches have already been totally eroded and some adjacent bungalows are no longer in use. In other areas, the water line is moving closer towards the tourist infrastructure steadily, see picture 7. According to a local coastal expert, the coastline in picture 7 retreated approximately 2-3m over the last three years.

 

Picture 7: Advancing coastal erosion on Koh Samet (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

Picture 8 shows that this beach has already been eroded that far that the seawater already regularly reaches some restaurants during high tides. The sand bags offer merely a small protection. In order to maintain the tourist attraction of this island it could be helpful to discuss  on integrated coastal zone management. The financial losses, including the socio-economic impacts for the region in case of further advancing coastal erosion, might have a rather high impact on the Rayong Province. 

 

Picture 8: Regularly flooded restaurant in Koh Samet (P. Schmidt-Thomé)

 

III Industrial area W of Rayong city.

 

The current land use is an oil refinery and oil derivates storage facilities. Additionally, the area is currently being evaluated as a future location for a nuclear power plant. The coastal erosion in the area is strong and so far, the coastal protection was unsuccessful. A large part of a former sea wall is already washed away and the erosion has advanced ca. 50m into the former main land (see picture.9). Further investments in this area should be studied in detail in order to avoid major financial losses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture 9: Eroded sea wall (red dotted line) and new coastline (P. Schmidt-Thomé)