Thai provinces adopt climate-change mitigation plan

[webfact]

Provinces adopt climate-change mitigation plan

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION 

 

 

THAILAND AND GERMANY PARTNER ON POLICY

 

AN INTERNATIONALLY funded climate policy project is now being implemented in all 77 provinces of Thailand, as Thailand and Germany partner to develop policies and plans around preventing climate change, relief and adaptation at the local and regional levels.

 

The latest phase of the Thai-German Climate Programme (TGCP) was officially launched last Thursday in a collaboration between Thailand’s Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) and Germany’s Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The latest mission is to assist the remaining 60 provinces, which were not included in the project’s first phase, to draft their own climate policies based on the local environment and circumstances. 

 

Interviews with sources involved in the effort, as well as local people, found that the project’s road to success is a difficult one to navigate, as all stakeholders will have to overcome two major challenges. 

 

One is the lack of constructive cooperation from other related official agencies, while the second is the reality that climate change is already impacting some areas. 

 

GIZ Thailand country director Tim Mahler said the project supports the development and implementation of climate policy at the local level using four key approaches: institutional and individual capacity building, integration of local climate change policy, climate monitoring and evaluation, and support for financial mechanisms.

 

“The GIZ and ONEP are determined to move forward by scaling up our subnational implementation work to countrywide action, covering the remaining 60 provinces across the country by applying our pragmatic approach and lessons learnt from the previous phase,” Mahler said.

 

The main objective is to boost each locality’s ability to prepare, cope, and adapt to the impacts of climate change by developing climate policies that take into consideration the local conditions and environment.

 

He said the project’s operations are not limited to its main partners, GIZ and ONEP. They are looking forward to working with provincial stakeholders, especially the offices of governors and the Ministry of Interior, Mahler said.

 

The four-year project, which ends in 2021, is funded by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

 

In the first phase of the TGCP project from 2014 to 2017, the GIZ and ONEP focused on 17 pilot provinces to work out the bugs before expanding. It highlighted some challenges that needed to be addressed in the second phase.

 

Reflecting on the outcomes of the first phase, a senior ONEP officer, who asked not be named, said the results were not as fruitful as expected. The project experienced poor cooperation between related agencies at the provincial level, said the source.

 

“This problem was mainly caused by the lack of climate-change awareness among the officers in other agencies. Most of them saw climate change as a problem for the future and did not prioritise work on this issue,” the source said.

 

Committed

 

“The differences in organisational culture between the project’s various stakeholders and the complicated bureaucratic system of official Thai agencies were also big problems that made our work harder.”

 

The lessons from the first phase have been taken to heart by the project’s main partners, said the source. They are committed to working harder to raise awareness among officials and finding a way to resolve the differences between related agencies. Their aim is strong cooperation among all stakeholders, which is vital for dealing with as enormous an issue as climate change.

 

Many parts of Thailand have already felt the impacts of climate change, said the source, and people have started to suffer from the trend of increasingly severe natural disasters, unpredictable weather and environmental degradation. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30351076

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-31

[davehowden]

" But brahn boots! I ask yer - brahn boots!
Fancy coming to a funeral in brahn boots!
And we could 'ear the neighbours all remark,
'Wot, 'im chief mourner? Wot a bloomin' lark! "

 

http://ingeb.org/songs/ouraunth.html

[chainarong]

If its as good as Yinglucks and the PTP crowds  flood mitigation plan it should prove interesting

[mok199]

''Cute photo opp''...but thais are currently engaged in a ''War on plastics'',and failing misserably...

Edited July 31, 2018 by mok199
speliings

[alanrchase]

Does this mean my neighbours will stop burning plastic?

[greenchair]

Just another corporate initiative to get the little people to be efficient and environmentaly friendly, whilst same corporate giants are plummaging the earth and it's natural resources. 

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, alanrchase said:

Does this mean my neighbours will stop burning plastic?

No.  The purpose of these meetings is to talk about having more meetings.   Stop polluting and stop cutting down trees would make the world cleaner, but climate change is about gala's, celebrity appearances, high dollar speaking engagements and jet setting in vehicles that pollute.  

 

In parts of China, it is rare to see a diesel bus.  They are all electric.  Many taxi's are now electric too. 

 

Politicos have let the world down mostly. 

[Ulic]

With all the coal Germany burns, I find this story amusing.

[Winky Wilson]

Thailand is a massive flood plane, always has been. This is why rice has always been the cash crop.  Climate change is BS. Their are legends of past flooding on a massive scale that have decimated the country before weather recording.  Weather recording has brought about fear of changing weather. The earths weather has been changing since its creation.

[Jimbo2014]

24 minutes ago, Winky Wilson said:

Thailand is a massive flood plane, always has been. This is why rice has always been the cash crop.  Climate change is BS. Their are legends of past flooding on a massive scale that have decimated the country before weather recording.  Weather recording has brought about fear of changing weather. The earths weather has been changing since its creation.

Found the trump supporter!  Greetings Comrade.  The earth is flat too.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Jimbo2014

[Speedo1968]

A lot of techspeak as usual !

 

From The Nation article above; quotes-

 

"In the first phase of the TGCP project from 2014 to 2017, the GIZ and ONEP focused on 17 pilot provinces to work out the bugs before expanding. It highlighted some challenges that needed to be addressed in the second phase".

 

“This problem was mainly caused by the lack of climate-change awareness among the officers in other agencies. Most of them saw climate change as a problem for the future and did not prioritise work on this issue,” the source said.

 

So they have already had since 2014 to work out the bugs and still have not improved awareness among officers.

 

A good example of "manyana manyana".

 

 

 

[sawadee1947]

God sake and bless..... The Germans will save Thailand and then the rest of the world 

[sawadee1947]

3 hours ago, Jimbo2014 said:

Found the trump supporter!  Greetings Comrade.  The earth is flat too.

Right. I learned even brains too. 

[DM07]

4 hours ago, Winky Wilson said:

Thailand is a massive flood plane, always has been. This is why rice has always been the cash crop.  Climate change is BS. Their are legends of past flooding on a massive scale that have decimated the country before weather recording.  Weather recording has brought about fear of changing weather. The earths weather has been changing since its creation.

Yeah...I remember!

There was a great flood and a 900 year old dude built a boat, together with his family and they got 2 of each animal on board...except for the dinosaurs - they hated them, because they used to poop on Adam's & Eve's front lawn!

 

"...since it's creation!"

Maaaaaan!

[Jeremy50]

The climate will get hotter and hotter, the seas higher, air and land more polluted, and then everyone will die, that's the forecast for the next 200-300 years, countries can do something about it, or just carry on what they are doing now................nothing.

[JestSetter]

Trump supporter: "Climut change? Of course, it does! Yesterday was raining and tomorrow will be sunny, as it always been! When I will see MY house sliding down the mountain or drought that I have never seen, then I will believe.That science is pure speculation, hot air. I don't follow that. I follow the bible. That has withstood times and even climut change."

[jerojero]

Funded by Germany. What's in it for them?

[Tim207]

Page 2 and nobody has commented on the GIZ covering all 77 provinces. 555

 

“The GIZ and ONEP are determined to move forward by scaling up our subnational implementation work to countrywide action, covering the remaining 60 provinces across the country by applying our pragmatic approach and lessons learnt from the previous phase,”

[rickudon]

90% of thais think climate change is rainy season to dry season, and back again. 'Coordination between different thai government agencies was problematic' - didn't surprise me in the least. To have a mitigation plan, you first need to understand the problem, that will take more than a few years in Thailand.

[Justgrazing]

On the upside more flooding makes jobs like moving large jars around a bit easier .. 

[Justgrazing]

Part of the mitigation against C C was that every village would have a jetski ..

Edited August 1, 2018 by Justgrazing
Sp