Sarawut Ninsawat

A Cooperative Game Analysis of Transboundary Hydropower Development in the Lower Mekong: Case of the 3S Sub-basins

Hydropower development has enormous economic, environmental, and social impacts at a local, national, and trans-national level. It has been suggested that transboundary water conflicts, such as those that may arise from hydropower development, may be addressed through benefit sharing. This study attempts to investigate the net benefits of hydropower development and water resources utilization in transboundary sub-basin, the Sekong, Sesan and Srepok (commonly known as 3S) sub-basin, in the Mekong River Basin using a game theory approach. This study proposes a methodology for analyzing complex transboundary river-basin issues using the game theory concepts, such as core stability and incentive compatibility. A wide range of parameters have been incorporated to define models and methodologies, and an adaptation strategy for the area has been proposed. The results suggests that benefit sharing and cooperation among the riparian countries would lead to benefits to all. It is observed that the greater the cooperation, the higher is the total benefits. External funding and optimal usage of funds will also play a critical role in this context in the near future. The results of the study will provide a basis for local policy decisions and regional planning in the Mekong River and beyond.

GIS oriented service optimization for fecal sludge collection

In developing countries most of the urban dwellers do not have access to the sewer system. People are mostly using “on-site” systems such as septic tanks or pit latrines that need to be emptied periodically. Fecal sludge collection system is different from the traditional vehicle routing and even from solid waste collection system in terms of dynamic collection points, the urgency of getting the service and diversity of demand. Due to these changing conditions, authorities are facing proper networking and management problems. This research describes algorithms that can accommodate constraints and prioritize customers who need immediate service. The GPS log data of the fecal sludge collection truck that maintained by Nonthaburi Municipality, Thailand has been considered as the base data during the development of this optimization techniques. Spatial analysis has been done using Geographic Information Systems.Tabu Search has been implemented in order to optimize. Basically, two algorithms were produced for assisting fecal sludge collection systems. The first algorithm was able to produce multiple trips for each vehicle preserving time window. The second one was able to perform optimizations that can accommodate priority along with the first one. Algorithms were able to produce a better result than the actual operation or even from shortest path algorithm in term of distance. After optimization, traveling distances were reduced to half compared to the actual cost and it ensured maximum utilization of vehicle capacity by allocating a maximum number of customers in each route.