About STAR

This interactive application has been produced by the 'Strengthening Thailand's Agricultural drought Resilience' (STAR) project. The app allows you to interactively explore drought datasets generated by the STAR project for the whole of Thailand. The drought indicators included reflect the outcomes of engagement activities with our project stakeholders in Thailand, and they are applied to a range of observed and state-of-the-art satellite remote-sensed data.

Objectives

The STAR project will address research needs through the following objectives:

1. Engage stakeholders in informing and co-designing drought monitoring practices, ensuring collaboration during and post project;
2. Develop new drought monitoring and characterisation indicators for Thailand based on stakeholders' needs;
3. Improve understanding of drought impacts on agriculture and assess adaptive capacity in a case study catchment;
4. Increase drought resilience and capacity through better communication of drought risks and associated impacts.

STAR aims to enhance resilience to drought for all of Thailand although some activities will take place within a catchment-based context. The Ping catchment is a major tributary of the strategically important Chao Phraya river, identified for its importance within the agricultural sector and vulnerability to drought. Approaches are likely to be scalable within Thailand and the SEA region more generally.

Read more about STAR

Ambition

The overall ambition of this project is to improve Thai agricultural preparedness and resilience to droughts by providing policy planners with the necessary information and guidance for promoting adaptive behaviour. For individuals, better drought monitoring and proactive drought management means more stable crop production and hence food supply, less variable farm income and less distress to growers impacted by this natural hazard. For the country, it means increased food security, lower impacts on the economy and enhancement of the development of the nation.

Funding

This work is an outcome of STAR (Strengthening Thailand's Agricultural drought Resilience) and has been funded by the Newton Fund, the Natural Environment Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council and Thailand Science Research and Innovation.