This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Living with Floods Moving Towards Resilient Local-Level Adaptation in Central Thailand Phanthuwongpakdee, Nuttavikhom Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). 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Sep. 2021 Living with Floods: Moving Towards Resilient Local-Level Adaptation in Central Thailand By Nuttavikhom (Kay) Phanthuwongpakdee Department of Geography King’s College London & Department of Geography National University of Singapore A thesis submitted to King’s College London and the National University of Singapore for the degree of: JOINT DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Joint Ph.D.) April, 2016 Abstract Through the bifocal-conceptual lens of political ecology and pragmatism, this thesis aims at capturing qualitatively the complexity of flood hazard and the expansion of the range of adaptation choice in Thailand. By investigating the perception of risk and the processes of adaptation within the local Thai context, it presents findings from fieldwork conducted in three communities (suburban, desakota and rural) in Central Thailand. This research helps define pathways to an expanded range of choice for flood management in Thailand. Empirical data suggest that although the residents and local officials view flooding as an unwelcome normal occurrence, changes in people’s lifestyles in a modern society have altered how they perceive flooding. Depending on the areas, elements such as political conflicts and climate change have, in addition, weakened local flood response mechanisms. In its attempts to deal effectively with flooding, even after the 2011 Mega- Flood, the government has been inclined towards resorting to technological fixes and has been favouring policies meant to generate wealth for offsetting losses. Larger social, economic, political, historical, and cultural aspects have mostly been ignored. Participants, however, incorporate these elements into their responses and tend to perceive a wide array of choices. These findings suggest that amid the changing landscape, the locals are not passive. They have been using numerous strategies to help them adapt to flood events. However, several socio-cultural factors hinder them from expressing their views and force them to adopt limited strategies. To facilitate adaptation, we need to understand the material and discursive elements that shape local flood experiences. This can only be done through public engagement. Indeed, by talking to the participants, it became apparent that in order to expand the range of adaptation choice and to strengthen local resilience, it is important to (i) encourage preparedness and risk awareness; (ii) promote traditional knowledge; (iii) highlight the role of religion; and (iv) strengthen the role of local government. 2 Acknowledgement The metamorphosis of this thesis from mere possibility into flourishing reality has been a demanding process and it could not happen without generous supports from a wide array of people. Especially, I hereby take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my supervisors, Dr. Daanish Mustafa and Associate Professor Victor Savage, for their expert hands in guiding me commandingly during the entire course of the production of this thesis. I would like to thank my family. My doting parents were a pillar of strength, showering on me their love and support during the course of this PhD endeavour. My siblings, Chat and Ao, were all along supportive of me, especially with their patience and moral support, and for all of this, I shall remain grateful to them. In addition, my extended family in Singapore must be mentioned in the spirit of the utmost gratitude and my late English granny Betty Bristow, is hereby acknowledged in the spirit of thankfulness to the hilt. I must express my gratitude to all my participants and those who helped me with my fieldwork, namely the Royal Irrigation Department, Mr. Chawakorn Rewtragulpaibul, Nicha Jaruethiti and Chuttarin Punyarachatapong. Other scholars, namely Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, Dr. Ravikumar Chinniah, Miss Neela Chinniah, and Alongkorn Parivudhiphongs, also provided meaningful insights, and I am thankful for their contributions. Additionally, I hereby thank my wonderful friends for their academic insights, constant support and unwavering patience. Thank you Amran Ahmed, Maryam Ibrahim, Milan Karner, Amiera Sawas, Lily Chan, Cayce Hurburg, and Tiago Freitas. Last, but not in any way the least, special thanks to Na Yan, Elisa Chong, Freddy Escobar, Zhikai Tan, Gabriela Vázquez, Soonhwee Loo, Seonyoung Lee, Yukyung Oh, Soledad Alverez, Simone Vegliò, Briony Turner, Keattisak Tangrungruengyoo, Chaowat Tantivivathanaphand, Kullanit Nitiwarangkul, Ramade Tavornpadid, Thareechat Srisui, Ekkachai Martwong, Prawpan Kasemthongsri, Kanghee Jeon, and Woon Koh for making my PhD life more meaningful and enjoyable. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................ 3 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 4 List of Figures ................................................................................................................. 10 List of Tables .................................................................................................................. 11 Equation .......................................................................................................................... 11 List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................................. 13 1.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 13 1.2. Research aims ....................................................................................................... 15 1.3. Research objectives and research questions ......................................................... 16 1.4. Identifying Hazard and Disaster ........................................................................... 18 1.4.1. Risk ................................................................................................................ 21 1.4.2. Exposure ........................................................................................................ 22 1.4.3. Vulnerability .................................................................................................. 23 1.4.4. Response ........................................................................................................ 24 1.5. Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................ 27 1.6. Organisation of the thesis ..................................................................................... 29 Chapter 2 – Literature review ......................................................................................... 30 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 30 2.2. The evolution of the comprehension of environmental hazard and environmental disaster ......................................................................................................................... 31 2.3. The theoretical framework: the hybrid lens ......................................................... 38 2.4. Why adapting in a resilient manner? .................................................................... 45 4 2.5. Human factors influencing adaptation ................................................................. 49 2.5.1. Cognitive factors ............................................................................................ 50 2.5.2. Political factors .............................................................................................. 53 2.5.3. Cultural factors .............................................................................................. 56 2.5.4. Economic factors ..........................................................................................