Assessing Water Vulnerabilities: Successes, Failures, and Missed Opportunities in a Karen Hill Tribe Village on the Thailand-Myanmar Border

Aims: This paper uses a narrative, case study approach to illustrate water vulnerabilities associated with a remote, Karen Hill Tribe village in northwestern Thailand and discusses some of the measures taken to address these vulnerabilities.

Place and Duration of Study: Huai Pla Kong Village, Tak Province, Thailand; October, 2011-November, 2013.

Methodology: A needs and vulnerability survey was administered to the head-of-household or spouse of 11 families in the village. The survey tool was a combination of closed and open-ended questions that provided basic information on demographics, drinking water, sanitation, health, and agricultural practices. Drinking water sources including wells, rainwater harvesting systems, a local stream and a mountain spring were sampled in the rainy and dry seasons and analyzed for E. coli levels. Health care interventions were introduced, including a couple of day-long health clinics and the distribution of ceramic drinking water filters.

Results: Wells and the local stream generally were contaminated with E. coli, while the rainwater harvesting systems tended to have lower E. coli levels. The majority of families had a main source and secondary source for domestic water, which reduced vulnerability, although on average per capita water use was towards the low end of the global range. Families boiled their water about half the time before use, but only 2 of 11 families were able to link contaminated food or water to diarrhea. Most families had access to pour flush toilets or pit latrines, although 27% defecated in the open. Farmers noted that water availability for crop irrigation could be limited. Most farmers used pesticides on their crops and it was observed that pesticide handling practices were inadequate. The village practices traditional shifting or swidden agriculture and extensive deforestation was visible, which may negatively impact crop productivity and water quality, although farmers interviewed did not believe erosion was a concern. The introduction of a ceramic drinking water filter with one family improved the quality of their water and appeared to positively impact the health of the babies in the household. Ceramic filters subsequently were distributed to 7 additional families. Finally, a team of graduate students from the Asian Institute of Technology designed and costed a rainwater harvesting system and a wastewater collection and vertical flow wetland treatment system for the village.

Conclusion: The study successfully identified water vulnerabilities for the village, including limited availability for irrigation (and to a lesser extent, domestic use); bacterial contamination of well water sources; poorly managed use of pesticides; and clear-cutting of forest which produced high erosion potential. Some measures were developed to address these vulnerabilities, the most successful being the introduction of a ceramic drinking water filter to a study family. Shortcomings of the program included our lack of a more permanent presence in the village which reduced our capacity building opportunities that could address water vulnerabilities more fully. The headman of the village had limited interest in the initiatives, which meant progress was slow. A missed opportunity resulted from the recent political turmoil in Thailand which eliminated our access to the village and therefore no follow up on the 7 water filters or construction of a rainwater harvesting and sanitation system has been done to date.