Dr. Cherdsak Virapat

Brief Biography

Dr. Cherdsak Virapat was Director General of CIRDAP. He had been Executive Director of International Institute for Trade and Development (Public Organization), Ministry of Commerce, Thailand; Director General of Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and Executive Director of International Ocean Institute (IOI) Headquarters in Malta. He worked in various Ministries within Thailand Public Service in a span of 28 years. He holds B.Sc. in Fishery Management from Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; M.Sc. in Fishery Science from the University of Helsinki, Finland; and Ph.D. in Fisheries Management from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Field of Interests

About 39 years’ experience working in policy & plan & administration, inter-agency coordination, international & regional cooperation, knowledge-based management, reservoir fishery management, community-based and school-based fisheries development projects, small-hold aquaculture for food security, wetland management, training & capacity building in fisheries and ocean governance in Thailand and worldwide. Expert in planning and adaptive management of community-based projects; stock assessment of fish stocking programmes; early warning, disaster risk reduction for tsunami, earthquake, floods and impacts of climate change.

Fields of Expertise

  • Adaptive Management
  • Aquaculture & Fisheries
  • Climate Change
  • Community Development
  • Disaster Management
  • Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Fisheries Management
  • Governance and Policy
  • Integrated Rural Development
  • Knowledge Management
  • Policy & Strategic Planning
  • Project Management
  • Training & Education
  • Water Resources Management

Current Research Projects

• Developing an Environmental Monitoring System to Strengthen Fisheries and Aquaculture Resilience and to Improve Early Warning in the Lower Mekong Basin (link)

• Adaptive learning in sustainable aquaculture best practices for small-scale shrimp farmers in Thailand (link)

Key Publications

Johnson, J., C. De Young, C. Virapat (In press). Proceedings of FishAdapt: Global Conference on Climate Change Adaptation for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Virapat, C., S. Wilkinson, and D. Soto. 2017. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings 45. Developing an Environmental Monitoring System to Strengthen Fisheries and Aquaculture Resilience and to Improve Early Warning in the Lower Mekong Basin, FAO/NACA Workshop, 25–27 March 2015, Bangkok, Thailand. URL: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6641e.pdf

Walmart Foundation, IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, Thailand’s Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, The Food School. 2017. Quick Guide for Shrimp Farmers on Disease Prevention and Sustainable Best Practices.

Boonchuwong, P., C. Virapat, K.K. Lal and S. Chatjareyaves. 2017. Evolution and Trends in Modern Aquaculture and Its Socio-Economic Impacts in the Asia-Pacific Region. Social Entrepreneurship in Aquaculture, Pages 73-79. Edited by V.R. P. Sinha, Gopal Krishna, P. Keshavanath and N. R. Kumar, Nerendra Publishing House, Delhi, India.

Virapat, C. 2010. Promoting Community Fishpond Development – Thailand. In Sharing Innovative Experiences: Examples of Successful Experiences in Coastal Community Development. UNDP Volume 16. Pages 147-156.

Virapat, C. 2010. Promoting Community Awareness and Resilience in Disaster Management – Thailand. In Sharing Innovative Experiences: Examples of Successful Experiences in Coastal Community Development. UNDP Volume 16. Pages 159-168.

Virapat, C. 2010. The Government of Thailand’s Adaptive Learning in Disaster Management for Community Awareness and Resilience: An International Collaboration and Coordination Case Study. In Ocean Yearbook 24: 37-50. URL: http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/22116001-92400004.

Asian Development Bank. 2004. Case Study 7: Overview of small-scale freshwater aquaculture in Thailand, P. Edwards and C. Virapat, eds. In Small-scale Freshwater Rural Aquaculture Development: Country Case Studies in Bangladesh, Philippines and Thailand, pp. 120-136.

Virapat, C. 1993. Bionomics of fish stocking in two Thai reservoirs: Biological, management, and development perspectives. The Ph.D. Thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 456 pp. URL: https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/55400/NN93750.PDF?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Postal Address

Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), Chameli House, 17 Topkhana Road, GPO Box 2883, Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh

Primary Email

[email protected]

Phone Number

+88 0 29563384

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