Papers by Romanee Thongdara
Environment, Development and Sustainability
Clean water and sanitation are essential for human development. Governments, international and na... more Clean water and sanitation are essential for human development. Governments, international and national aid organizations have implemented water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects worldwide, notably in low- and middle-income countries. However, the majority of such projects experience failure. As a result, 2.4 billion people worldwide are deprived of improved WASH services. Research revealing how WASH projects can be sustained and which factors need to be considered is crucial. Despite the gap and its importance, existing studies on the sustainability assessment of WASH projects are limited. This study attempted to assess and compare the sustainability of WASH projects in Myanmar that used the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) approaches with the “Sustainability Check” developed by The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This research also evaluated the extent to which WASH projects contributed to the Mya...
Environment and Natural Resources Journal, 2022
Population growth, urbanization, and infrastructure development activities have resulted in the l... more Population growth, urbanization, and infrastructure development activities have resulted in the land conversion of forests and farmlands to residential and commercial zones. Such land conversion causes changes in the land cover, as experienced in the Ayung Watershed, in the island of Bali, Indonesia. Here, the land cover undergoes rapid changes due to the growing tourism sector, affecting the runoff coefficient. This study evaluated the changing land cover patterns and surface runoff in the Ayung Watershed between 2012 and 2019. An increase in the surface runoff during the high rainfall events may lead to flooding in the area. The identification of land change patterns in the Ayung Watershed was carried out by a manual digitizing process on Google Earth maps. The runoff coefficient was calculated by Cook’s method using the four physical characteristics of the watershed: land cover, infiltration rate, land slope and drainage density; showing significant changes in the land cover in t...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate the potential area of IVM and IPVM by compiling rel... more ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate the potential area of IVM and IPVM by compiling relevant information and using factors to identify target areas in GIS. Based on the factor of malaria infection/ transmission area, these areas were located in the province closed to the neighbors’ border i.e. Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia. Twelve provinces were selected by ranking provinces according to in malaria transmission cases and combined with data of farm household’s high intensity of chemical pesticide usage. The provinces were Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Ratchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Ranong, Suratthani, Chanthaburi and Trad. These provinces are situated on mountainous and forested area along border of Myanmar and Cambodia. The results revealed that the top five provinces of highly IVM potential area were Ranong, Mae Hong Son, Phetchaburi, Kanchanaburi, and Prachaub Khiri khan province, where, 71, 64, 54, 53 and 48 percent of each of the respective province has the potential. It could explained that high potential area of these provinces were located on high potential area in terms of malaria transmission (A1 and A2), forest area and high intensive insecticide usage in agriculture. The top five provinces of IPVM potential area were Chanthaburi, Prachuab Khirikhan, Chumpon, Trat and Ranong with 19, 13, 13, 8 and 8 percent of total province area respectively. The potential area based on malaria transmission area and high intensive insecticide usage in agriculture which insecticide resistance may develop in malaria vector and should monitor and observe in insecticide resistance. The limitation of this study (1) no data on quantification of pesticide use among farmers available, (2) no aggregation data of malaria transmission area from village to sub district level available, (3) no land use maps describing the actual crop cultivation and pattern which may change from present situation. Moreover, it is recommended that information in vector density, environment and climatic factors should be added into the GIS analysis to define IVM potential area for further study in order to increase accuracy of potential areas. Therefore, the use of GIS in these applications is capable of supporting decision makers in order to enhance the awareness and warning. The results of this study would be beneficial for government officer/planner to distribute knowledge of IPM and integrate or collaborate with vector borne control program/agency by set up or encourage active and existing Farmer Field Schools (FFS) around the high potential area. Further, effective implementation of IPMV activities demands the cooperation among government offices namely, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Agricultural and Cooperatives and Universities.
Journal of water management modeling, 2017
This study investigated the spatial and temporal variations in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Cha-A... more This study investigated the spatial and temporal variations in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Cha-Am wastewater treatment ponds to assess treatment dynamics and to identify possible areas where the treatment train could be improved. Cha-Am is a small resort town with extensive beaches, located on the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The wastewater treatment system for Cha-Am consists of four ponds in sequence: aeration pond, sedimentation pond, extended aeration pond, and evaporation pond. Two YSI 6920 datasondes were installed near the inlet of the aeration pond and in the sedimentation pond, to measure dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, conductivity, temperature, and turbidity at 30 min time intervals over a 3 month period. DO averaged 3.09 mg/L and 3.33 mg/L, respectively in the aeration pond and in the sedimentation pond. DO generally varied over a diel cycle with higher values observed in midafternoon and lower values observed after midnight. DO often increased after a rainfall event. Ordinary Kriging (OK) interpolation in ArcGIS10.1 was used to map the spatial distribution of DO at different depths based on YSI spot measurements. OK indicated the highest DO concentrations were near the surface (0.5 m to 1.0 m); averaging 18.53 mg/L, 20.5 mg/L, 17.31 mg/L and 9.7 mg/L in the four ponds, but sometimes the concentrations were <2 mg/L near the bottom of the ponds. Two of the ponds are used as a wild catch fishery and low DO seems to negatively impact the fish. The spatial trend of DO shows that normally DO is lower at the inlet of the aeration pond than at its outlet even though mechanical aerators are operated through part of the day. Improved aeration and sunlight penetration through enhanced particle settling may be of benefit.
2020 4th International Conference on Green Energy and Applications (ICGEA), 2020
Biodiesel is a promising renewable fuel with many attractive features such as high combustion eff... more Biodiesel is a promising renewable fuel with many attractive features such as high combustion efficiency, biodegradability, and less toxic exhaust emission. This study investigated an environmentally friendly method for biodiesel production from refined rice bran oil (RRBO) using calcium oxide (CaO) from eggshell waste as a catalyst via transesterification reaction. A two-level three-factor full factorial experimental design was used to determine the effect of the impregnation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), calcination temperature and heating rate as independent variables on the biodiesel yield. Results showed that the calcination heating rate and the impregnation of AgNPs had significant effects on the biodiesel yield. An optimum biodiesel yield of about 92% was obtained using AgNPs impregnated CaO catalyst prepared from eggshell waste using a heating rate of $5^{\circ}\displaystyle \mathrm{C}/\min$ during calcination at temperatures in 800-$1000^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ range.
Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, Apr 12, 2011
ABSTRACT: Poverty is spatially dependent. In rural area, the poor people depend on natural resour... more ABSTRACT: Poverty is spatially dependent. In rural area, the poor people depend on natural resources for subsistence agriculture. The government announced poverty alleviation policy on the national agenda. However, poor households responded that they did not gain expected benefit from the poverty alleviation programs due to no logical selection strategy for investment or targeting the poor. Poverty mapping is a powerful tool to identify and visualize the pocket of poverty and the affluence as well. The combination of GIS and SA analysis is suitable to identify associated factors of poverty, and indicated the spatial pattern of poverty which is appropriate for address poverty interventions. This paper aims to evaluate the possibility of investigates the potential of spatial statistical analysis and GIS analysis with Basic Minimum Need (BNM) database in Samrongthap district, Surin province. The household survey and BMN database at different time was conducted and analyzed spatial patt...
Journal of Water Management Modeling
Cha am, a popular beach destination in Thailand, uses an aerated lagoon system with four ponds in... more Cha am, a popular beach destination in Thailand, uses an aerated lagoon system with four ponds in series to treat its municipal wastewater. This study investigated the spatial pattern of heavy metal concentrations in the sediment deposited at the bottom of the four ponds and along the river receiving the treated wastewater discharge. Using a stratified random sampling scheme, between 11 and 14 surface grab samples were collected from each of the four ponds on two different dates in September and October 2016 (94 samples in total). An additional 17 samples were collected in December 2016 along the 1.8 km river section connecting the ponds to the ocean. A Bruker S1 Titan 600 X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyser was used to determine metal concentrations in the air dried sediment samples. Ordinary kriging in ArcGIS10.1 indicated that while metal concentrations were greater in the middle areas of each pond, from pond to pond the metal concentrations exhibited different spatial trends. The ponds provide treatment for most of the metals analysed, with Student t-tests showing that mean concentrations of arsenic, chlorine and zinc decreased significantly from the first pond to the third pond but increased significantly in the fourth pond. Chromium concentration changed insignificantly between ponds; lead concentration decreased significantly from the first to the second pond, but there were insignificant changes in mean lead concentration thereafter. Concentrations of cadmium, cobalt, mercury and selenium were below the XRF limit of detection, but the mean levels of arsenic, chromium, copper, lead and manganese in each of the four ponds frequently exceeded Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change lowest effect level (LEL) guidelines for sediment. Metal levels in the upper reach of the river, closest to the pond discharge, were similar to the pond levels and generally decreased downstream. With the exception of zinc, metal levels detected in the river sediment frequently exceeded the LEL guidelines.
The urban and commercial growth and density of population make Bangkok metropolitan region as the... more The urban and commercial growth and density of population make Bangkok metropolitan region as the primate city. Nonthaburi is one of vicinity of Bangkok metropolis get an influence of urban growth to agricultural area especially durian and mix orchard in Bangkruai, Pakkred and Mueang Nonthaburi districts which is located nearby Bangkok. Nonthaburi Durian as called "Durian Non" is long term famous for the delicious taste which is registered geographical indications in Thailand since 2010. The unique characteristics of Nonthaburi are different from another region of Thailand. The fertile soil in flood plain of Chao Praya River, ridge and groove cultivation and the indigenous wisdom of local people in Nonthaburi are suitable for durian that make them unique with the good taste, flesh thick, rich and smooth creamy texture. Nowadays, the cultivation area of durian orchard in Nonthaburi was decrease rapidly with many reasons for example urbanization such as housing and transportation network. In addition, the impact of flood in year 1995 and 2011 almost destroyed all durian orchards in Nonthaburi. The conservation of the specific fragile varieties durian cultivation area is important to preserve durian orchard. The Plant Genetic Conservation Project under the Royal initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn help to preserve an indigenous endangers plant varieties to prevent the extinction of Durian Non. The renovation and encourage durian gardener to restore their garden were started after inundate finish. All of important thing above, this study aim to analysis the urban growth and flooding pressure to agriculture area in Bangkruai, Pakkred and Mueang Nonthaburi districts of Nonthaburi province using remote sensing and GIS techniques in two period before and after Thailand's flood in 2007 and 2012. This study used land use database of land Development Department in year 2007 and compared with THEOS Satellite in the year 2012 after flood period. The existing area of durian orchard cultivation in study area is update to make the database of existing durian in Bangkruai district. The study showed that the urban and commercial area highly growth in Mueang Nonthaburi districts. The flooding destroyed whole area of durian orchard in Bangkruai, Pakkred districts. Some gardeners changed their orchard area by sold out their land to the real estate to build up hometown village because of effect from flood and old age. However, there are some durian orchard survive from flood that keep the original variety of Durian Non for propagation by grafting. It should be encouraged and supported the gardeners to conserve and intensive all of them to keep Durian Non before them leave only the name.
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Papers by Romanee Thongdara