Localized flooding and autonomous adaptation in peri-urban Bangkok

Abstract

Peri-urban areas of mega-cities in lower-middle income countries face many environmental management challenges, including localized flooding caused by inefficient management and inadequate stormwater infrastructure. A case study analysis was conducted in Bangkok’s rapidly developing urban fringe, where residents have been experiencing localized flooding after normal rainfall. This paper explores the drivers of this flooding and its impacts for local communities, and explains how autonomous adaptation affects community stormwater drainage systems. The study found a mismatch between limited authority and transboundary problems of stormwater management, and calls for an integrated urban stormwater management approach. The findings imply the need to address autonomous adaptation as an integral part of adaptation measures at the broader scale of Thailand’s urban climate governance under the current threat of climate change.