Rebuilding a safe, secure and sustainable Thailand

"The suffering and loss experienced during the floods last year have forced planners to rethink the development strategies they have being pursuing over the past few decades. Blindly aping the West and using foreign methods to tackle Asian floods have resulted in disastrous consequences," writes Said Irandoust, president of the Asian Institute of Technology in the Bangkok Post.

He goes on to state that "The Thai floods and the subsequent rethinking suggest Thailand and Southeast Asia have to look for a new development paradigm that is safe, secure and sustainable.

As Thailand re-emerges from the crisis, rebuilding, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts will have to meet these criteria if we consider the long-term perspective."

His subsequent discourse mentions the importance of education, early warning, safeguarding infrastructure, retrofitting, and building local knowledge and resilience.