Analysis of Appropriate Indicators to Assess Watershed Status in Thailand by Multi-Criteria Analysis

Abstract

Assessment of watershed status by the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, Thailand, in the past found that the watershed status in Thailand tended to be in a more critical state. The indicators and weights used to assess the status are different and varied, which affects the results to have an uncertain to compare and track changes. This research aims to select the appropriate indicators and weights to use to assess watershed status by using multi-criteria analysis. It is applied to the geographic information system that is widely used in spatial data analysis. The results of the study selected 17 indicators that were frequently used. The results of the assessment of Sakae Krang Basin revealed that the highest risk status was 2,662.79 square kilometers or 54.21% of the basin, followed by a Warning status of 1,206.37 square kilometers (24.56%) balance status of 1,038.10 square kilometers (21.13%) and critical status 5.10 square kilometers (0.10%), respectively. The results of field validation by the Confusion Matrix method showed that the percentage accuracy. 87.50 The results of the study can be used to assess the watershed status of Thailand. and planning to manage natural resources and the environment in the future.