The program of Thailand Integrated Water Resource Management

This project was originated from the initiative of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with support from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to work closely with the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board (RDPB) and Thailand Research Fund (TRF) to help develop a coherent plan to improve water resource management in Thailand. With the objective to set up the process of data gathering and forming collaboration network to collectively contribute in all aspects of water resource management, this project - Thailand Integrated Water Resource Management (TIWRM) was established in 1998 with RDPB and TRF as the main responsible agencies.

The High Performance Computing Center at the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (later founded as the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute) was the core agency to develop the information technology system and to work closely with related governmental organizations including the Royal Irrigation Department, Thai Meteorological Department, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Department of Water Resource, and Hydrographic Department. The system was deployed in 2002 and has been used since then, in conjunction with further development of Thailand Integrated Weather Data Warehouse for weather monitoring in all regions of the country.

After a decade of operation, on 8th December 2008, His Majesty the King signed a royal decree endorsing the establishment of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute as a public organization under the Ministry of Science and Technology, effective on 1st January 2009. HAII missions are:

1. Conducting research and development of science and technology, including collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing data in respect to agricultural and water resource management
2. Disseminating the research and development outcomes to other agencies for the efficiency improvement in agricultural and water resource management
3. Promoting the research and development collaboration, nationally and internationally
4. Expanding the services and disseminating the research and development outcomes, accessibly and effectively, to the benefits of others.