EVENT: PUBLIC SEMINAR: "Water Scarcity and Disaster Recovery in Hakha Town, Chin State, Myanmar: Technical Problem or Governance Challenge [5 July 2017]

In recent years, the population of Hakha town, Chin State has faced growing water insecurity. This has created great hardships for the local population, especially in the dry season. For those who cannot access water from private springs, or afford to buy water, they must queue sometimes for hours to collect relatively small amounts of water. Compounding the difficulties faced by Hakha’s population, in June 2015, Hakha town suffered a major landslide. As a result, over 4000 people living in at-risk places were moved, many permanently to a new settlement. In the settlement, the government has provided land or houses, yet basic services including water and schools were lagging behind.

Two presentations reflected on the production of water insecurity, and increasing resilience to landslide risks:

• “Water insecurity in Hakha Town, Chin State, Myanmar” by Asst. Prof. Dr. Carl Middleton (Director of CSDS) and Orapan Pratomlek (CSDS project coordinator) [Download PPT]

• “Lessons learned from landslide disaster recovery in Hakha town, and how to strengthen resilience” by Hlawn Tin Cuai (Master Student of Architecture (IMARCH), Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University; and ex- Operation Manager of Hakha Rescue Committee, September 2015 to February 2016) [Download PPT]

Discussant comments were offered by Pastor Lai Cung (Hakhathar Baptist Church) and Van Bawi Lian (CSDS researcher).

The seminar can be watched on Facebook live here.

More details on our research project on water insecurity in Hakha town can be found here.

EVENT: PUBLIC SEMINAR: Public Seminar on Human Rights in Southeast Asia [24 May 2017]

By Ronald L. Holzhacker and Stanati Netipatalachoochote

09:00-11:30, Alumni Meeting Room, 12th Floor, Building 3, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Co-organized by the Master of Arts in International Development Studies (MAIDS), the MA in Southeast Asian Studies Program (SEAS), the Institute for Asian Studies, the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) of the the Faculty of Political Science Chulalongkorn University.

EVENT: MAIDS and CSDS welcome Trinity College faculty and students [14 June 2017]

The Trinity College faculty and students at Chulalongkorn University

(Credit: Saittawut Yutthaworakool)

During the visit, Dr Carl Middleton of CSDS and MAIDS offered a lecture titled “Think global, act ‘teleconnected’ local: Exploring the connections between regional trade, water security, and community vulnerability in Bangkok and Tokyo.” The lecture sought to stimulate discussion amongst the group on how processes of industrialization and urbanization in East Asia have impacted peri-urban wetland spaces and community livelihoods in Bangkok and Tokyo.

Following a brief discussion on the lecture, the group toured the Chulalongkorn University campus and visited the CU Museum.

On 14th June 2017, the MAIDS and CSDS programs were very glad to welcome Prof Xiangming Chen and his Faculty colleagues and 25 students from the Center for Urban and Global Studies of Trinity College, Hartford, US.  The faculty staff and students were mid-journey through their field trip visiting “River Cities” in China, Thailand and Cambodia.

Dr Carl Middleton provides a lecture titled “Think Global, Act ‘Teleconnected’ Local”

(Credit: Saittawut Yutthaworakool)