CLOUD SEEDING AS A VIABLE OPTION FOR AUGMENTING WATER RESOURCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA : A HYDROLOGICAL APPRAISAL

Abstract

Regional water problems were cast into the limelight in 1997 and 1998, due to the impacts of El Nino and La Nina. In Malaysia for instance, there were droughts and floods occurring in different parts of the year, affecting many parts of the country. The impetus for this study stemmed from the frequent use of cloud seeding to resolve water problems in Southeast Asia. Couched in this empirical context, cloud seeding , as a strategy for water management is studied and debated. The objectives of this paper are twofold. Firstly, this paper will investigate the feasibility of cloud seeding in Southeast Asia, and its economic viability as a water management tool. The second objective is to situate cloud seeding in the context of long-term water availability. It is well-known that the humid tropics is one of the most water-abundant regions in the world. Therefore, it will be interesting to consider whether the regional water problems reflect a genuine shortage of water, or are merely manifestations of poor water management. Research findings indicate that the feasibility of cloud seeding in Southeast Asia is debatable. This finding affects the economic viability of cloud seeding too, since the cost effectiveness will depend on the success and failure rates. Therefore, this paper calls for more scientific planning and evaluation on cloud seeding activities before they are undertaken. When the net water availability is taken into account, this study reveals that there is enough water in the selected areas where cloud seeding was carried out. Hence, there is actually no need to do cloud seeding at all. Overall, the findings support the hypothesis that an efficient long-term water management strategy is a better solution to the water problems in the region than unproven tools like cloud seeding.