A systematic approach to assess highland resource management options in northern Thailand

Problems that have emerged from the ongoing highland development schemes in northernThailand indicate the need for better understanding of resource management issues in the region. Particularattention has been paid to land and water management. An integrated modelling system has been developedto address this issue based on a multidisciplinary approach. The components of the system include a cropsimulation model, a hydrological model and a set of linear programming models. The modelling systemenables users to simulate farmers’ decision making process concerning farmland and water resourcemanagement. Conditions for farmers’ decisions are adjusted seasonally and annually, by an embeddedfeedback mechanism, according to the simulated biophysical (water availability and the associated cropyield) and socioeconomic environments. Users are then capable of exploring the dynamics of land and wateruse options at the catchment and sub-catchment level. Such capability will enable them to look at resourcemanagement problems from both biophysical and socioeconomic perspectives and then make more informeddecisions in planning future development schemes. The paper also presents preliminary results fromcalibrating the system against an existing scenario in one of our focused sub-catchment.