Thailand: After the floods, have lessons been learnt? - Opinion

Dams and dykes may give a a false sense of security, and this actually renders them counter-productive, as additional houses, offices, and factories are built behind them, however, climate change induced extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense, writes Danny Marks of University of Sydney on the pages of Bangkok Post.

Mr Marks suggests that a revised water management plan is needed which incorporates policies that do not require infrastructure development: policies should aim at living in harmony with floods and not trying to control them. This is a more cost-effective and longer lasting solution that may involve comunity-based livelihood adaptation, disaster risk education to the restauration of wetlands as well as effective land-use planning in order to reduce vulnerability.