INVITATION
for
FreshCo Songkhla Workshop
Linking Management of Catchment and Coastal Ecosystems.
B.P. Samila Hotel
Songkhla, Thailand
27-30 January, 2003
Introduction
As a partner of the FreshCo partnership, you are hereby cordially invited to propose
participants for the Songkhla Workshop on Linking Management of Catchment and Coastal
Ecosystems. The workshop is jointly convened by the Royal Thai Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment and UNEP. It will be held at the B.P. Samila Hotel in Songkhla, in
Southern Thailand
The number of international participants is limited to 50, so the invitation applies primarily to
members of the partnership, involved in specific freshwater-coast cases and pilot projects. In
case of overbooking, the FreshCo secretariat will establish a shortlist in consultation with the
affected partners.
Background
Some of the world's most precious aquatic ecosystems like estuaries, lagoons, mangroves,
and coral reefs are located in the coastal zone. But the coastlines are sagging under the
impact of human activities. About 50% of human population lives within 200 km of the
coastline, and more are coming every day. Moreover, a majority of urban centers are located
in coastal zones.
It is widely recognized that there are important linkages between the freshwater issues in the
upstream river basins and the water issues in their adjoining coastal zones. Changes in
stream flows caused by irrigation, hydropower and water supply have changed salinities in
estuaries and lagoons. Land use changes, in particular deforestation and intensive "green
revolution agriculture" have increased the loads of sediment, nutrients, toxic chemicals and
pesticides. Discharges of household wastewater and industrial effluents have deteriorated the
water quality and caused significant adverse impact in coastal ecosystems, and on the living
conditions of millions of poor people, depending on coastal resources.
It is also recognized that the solution to such problems calls for integrated approaches. But
more often than not, the actual management frameworks are characterized by a large degree
of sectorialization:
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
The expertise is grouped in a large number of professional disciplines Marine
Biologists, limnologists, oceanographers, hydrologists, land-use planners, political
scientists, economists, social scientists, legal experts, etc.
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
The stakeholders are also divided into separate groups like river basin authorities,
coastal management authorities, marine management authorities, economic sector
authorities, user organizations, private sector business, local communities, NGO’s,
etc..
The key constraint in protecting the essential biodiversity and productivity of the coastal
ecosystems lies in the lack of efficient management and involvement of the stakeholders.
Without proper management systems, the deterioration will continue. In particular, three
important issues are crucial:

Provision of an enabling management environment through appropriate legal
frameworks, policies and strategies

Establishment of an efficient institutional setup, facilitating extensive cooperation
between Government authorities, user interests (community as well as private sector),
and the support organizations (research centers, training institutes, NGO’s, etc.)

Introduction of efficient management instruments (infrastructure development,
information and decision-making systems, awareness raising, capacity building,
enforcement and incentives, finance, research and development, etc.)
UNEP and many other international and national actors have for a long time been involved in
improving the management of coastal ecosystems. Accordingly, it was decided to make use of
the new international cooperation approach initiated at the World Summit for Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg, the Type II partnerships through the establishment of the H2O
Partnership. The intention of this partnership is to expand the traditional government-togovernment cooperation by inviting partners from both the public and private sectors to join in
addressing the issues of water and sustainable development.
Also, UNEP – with support by the Danish Government – announced a specific partnership
within the general framework of the H2O partnership: “Linking Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM) and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)”. A key initial
objective is to raise the issue at the 3rd. World Water Forum, to be convened in Japan in March
2003.
A large number of national and international partners have joined already, and more and more
are expressing their intention of joining. The partnership was formally convened at a meeting
in Copenhagen in October 2002, where the initial planned activities were presented to the
partners.
One of the key activities is the establishment of a stakeholder dialogue, and to promote this,
an international workshop is under preparation in cooperation with the Royal Thai Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment. The workshop will be convened in the Songkhla
province during the period January 28-31, 2003.
Objectives of the Songkhla Workshop
The overall objective of the workshop is to improve the present management practices of
catchment and coastal ecosystems by taking into account the interrelations between both.
This will be achieved through an international partnership dialogue on lessons learned and on
identification of opportunities for improvement. Specific objectives of the workshop will be:

Identification of situations where joint management of river catchments and coastal
ecosystems is needed
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
Identification of key issues, constraints and opportunities related to present and future
joint management systems for such situations

Establishment of recommendations to be considered at a session under the Water
and Nature theme during the 3WWF in March 20031
Expected Output from the Workshop
The following output will be provided, based on the multi-stakeholder dialogues:

A number of recommendations for consideration at the 3WWF

A Workshop Summary Report describing the general outcomes of the dialogues on
lessons learned and opportunities for improvement

A number of case stories from different regions on lessons learned on the need for
joint catchment and coastal zone management. The cases will focus on management
issues of relevance to ICARM and present lessons learned.
Workshop Program
Monday January 27, 2003
General discussion on key ICARM issues
08.30 - 09.00
Registration
09.00 - 09.45
Opening ceremony by MONRE minister and representatives from
conveners and donors.
09.45 - 10.15
Coffee break
10.15 - 12.00
Keynote presentation and discussion on Management Concepts
12.00 - 13.00
Lunch
13.00 - 14.00
Keynote presentation and discussion on Enabling Environment
14.00 - 15.00
Keynote presentation and discussion on Institutional Framework
15.00 - 15.30
Coffee break
15.30 - 16.30
Keynote presentation and discussion on Management Instruments
16.30 - 17.30
Presentation and discussion on draft ICARM Issues Paper
19.0
Dinner
Tuesday January 28, 2003
Field trip to Songkhla Lake catchment
07.30
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Leave BP Samila Hotel, Songkhla
Note: In the official 3WWF programme 20 November 2002 the session still appears under
the IWRM Theme. It will be moved to “Water and Nature” in the final programme
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08.30
Arrive Hat Yai Wastewater Treatment Plant
10.00
Leave Wastewater Treatment Plant
11.00
Arrive Pak Raw, visit Shrimp farm and Fish Farm (pass through Koh
Yor, with view to intensive fishing in the lake)
This place is an old fishing community, one of the poorest areas of
Songkhla Basin, on one side with Shrimp Farms, which is operated
and owned by people outside Songklha Province, and on the other
side by Fish Farms that now grows Pink Tilapia, a gmo species.
12.00
Leave for Jong Thanon Peninsular
13.00
Lunch at restaurant by the lake at – Jong Thanong Peninsular
14.00
Leave for Ta Mod Village – Upstream protected area/public
participation.
15.00
Arrive To Mod Village
A local community who on initiative of the local monks and other
locals have initiated a “Temple Council” – consisting of a variety of
stakeholders in the local community – they have now become a
strong public voice and are a.o. managing a protected area. We will
meet the council in front of the temple at their gathering place. 4 major
streams run through the community into the lake.
16.00
Leave for Thale Noi – Non Hunting Area
17.00
Arrive Thale Noi – Boat Trip to Ramsar Site
18.00
Leave for Songkhla
19.00
Dinner on the way to Songkhla
21.00
Arrive BP Samila Hotel
Wednesday January 29, 2003
Dialogue on invited case stories, including open poster sessions
08.30 -12.30
Presentation and discussion of selected case stories,
12.30-13.30
Lunch
13.00-15.00
General discussions and conclusions in three thematic groups
(Enabling
Environment,
Institutional
Framework,
Management
Instruments) on lessons learned from case stories
15.00-15.30
Coffee break
15.30-17.0
Plenum discussion and summary of case story experiences
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Thursday January 30, 2003
Recommendations for 3WWF
08.30-09.00
Presentation of revised Issues paper and draft Recommendations
09.00-09.45
Discussions on recommendations on Enabling Environment
09.45-10.15
Discussions on recommendations on Institutional frameworks
10.15-11.00
Discussions on recommendations on Management Instruments
11.00-11.30
Final Conclusions
11.30-12.00
Closing of the Workshop by Permanent Secretary of Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment
12.00-13.00
Lunch
Case stories
As discussed at the first FreshCo partner meeting, stories of lessons learned from completed
or ongoing cases are important tools for development of improved water management. During
the Songkhla workshop, a field visit to Songkhla lake basin is integrated into the workshop on
Tuesday, and the entire Wednesday has been allocated for presentation and discussion of a
limited number of cases (and for presentation of an unlimited number of posters).
Already, several promising candidates have been identified, but to ensure further diversity of
both professional and regional representativity, more cases should be found.
In proposing cases, partners are kindly asked to ensure that the proposals:
o
o
o
Have focus on innovative management of all stakeholders
Have a clear and state-of-the art description of lessons-learned about ICARM
Presents the story in a user-friendly and communicating way
Initial proposal of a case story should be made by submitting a 1-2 page abstract describing
the story in three sections: i) Description of case, ii) Lessons learned and iii) Importance of
Case
It is the intention to include the cases in the proposed ICARM ToolBox. Accordingly, authors
are requested to follow the format guideline for the full case story as given in Annex A.
Support for travel expenses
Participation in the workshop is free for FreshCo participants. Moreover, FreshCo will be able
to provide a limited number of participants support for international travel to Songkhla. Partners
in need of financing of travel expenses should apply for this together with their participation
request.
Registration of Participation and Case stories
FreshCo Partners are asked register their participation and their proposed Case Stories and to
propose their candidates by December 31, 2002 to:
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Birgit Gavilan
UCC-Water
Agern alle 5
DK 2970 Hørsholm
Phone: +45 4516 9200
Fax: +45 1692 9292
e-mail: bgr@dhi.dk
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