Planting trees is the easy part – preserving them is not

[webfact]

Planting trees is the easy part – preserving them is not

By The Nation

 

 

The BMA plan to bring shade and beauty to nine key roads should include cultivating public appreciation for what little greenery we have left

 

We’re always hearing promises to plant more trees and usually the promises are kept, but once the mass plantings are finished, the trees often go untended and unprotected. Governments at all levels and businesses keen to demonstrate their “corporate social responsibility” are great at well-publicised plantings, perhaps not so conscientious about seeing their saplings and shrubs through to maturity and beyond. 

 

Trees are easy to plant and, in our climate, will grow robustly wherever there’s sufficient water and nutrients. Any abandoned lot will be overgrown with brush soon enough, to be followed by trees emerging from seedlings blown on the wind. But in urban settings, trees count on humans for a little assistance. 

 

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is to be applauded in announcing that 100,000 trees will be planted around the capital this year, yet at the same time there is sound reason for scepticism. Bangkok is a textbook example of poor urban planning, a money-talks-nature-walks city where permits are granted for incessant construction and the BMA, frantic to combat traffic congestion, rolls elevated roads across what few green patches remain. If big trees are knocked down to make way for more concrete, some citizens will surely voice outrage, but the project will go ahead regardless.

 

Perhaps a selected few trees will be salvaged and moved, ceremonially for the press cameras, but the smaller growth is gone forever.

 

Bangkok residents have for decades been demanding more green places and parks have indeed been created and trees planted. But this is reactive environmentalism. We should be more concerned about keeping the trees we have rather than planting new ones. That means both avoiding cutting any down as well as taking good care of the ones with roots already deep.

 

The BMA project “Now Moving Forward”, which will see trees planted along the pavements and road islands of nine major thoroughfares, is certainly noble. The concept should have carved in stone when Bangkok was designated the new capital of Siam 237 years ago. But trees would have been so abundant then and the city has kept growing at such a rapid rate ever since that no one objected to the vanishing greenery until recent times. Our affection for nature is in conflict with our need for convenience. Kids love trees but grow up to be developers. They’ll earn their living erecting dwellings for an ever-increasing population and the trees will remain constantly under threat.

 

The roads that the BMA wants to make greener are Srinakharin-Romklao, Sukhumvit, Vibhavadi Rangsit, Mit Maitree, Ratchadaphisek, Sri Ayutthaya, Liab Klong Modtanoi and Hathairat. The trees will be species that are sturdy and low-maintenance, like tamarind, sok nam and lueng pridiyathorn. They’ll suck up some of the ghastly pollution and make the streets look nicer. Residents and visitors will appreciate the effort. Whether Bangkokians become any more enamoured of greenery in general remains to be seen.

 

The BMA, whose chief functions are development control, the maintenance and improvement of infrastructure, and mass public transport, cannot be said to have got off to the best start with this initiative to make Bangkok greener and less polluted. Planting so many new trees is laudable, but City Hall should place higher priority on making sure these and all other trees are protected and cared for consistently. This is where the future can truly begin putting down roots.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30369267

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-13

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[observer90210]

Once again it comes back to the starting point...maintenance !!.... a notion that seems to drastically be omitted in the mentality.

[unamazedloso]

And if they survive they will be logged and burnt to make charcoal or sold off to make furniture. Both of which require permits to do but who cares..?

In a lot of places where trees are needed the silinity is terrible. The constant burning of forests isn't helping like most Thais will happily tell you it is. Without vegetation to begin with all the necessary bugs and naturally breaking down vegetation that covers the ground that keeps it moist and rich are absent. Good luck growing anything more than weeds. Not to worry though because weeds can grow people can make charcoal from it for which we can all get sick from. Great! At least the cause of the problem are happy...

[connda]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Planting trees is the easy part – preserving them is not

Three years ago there was a tree planting initiative in our ampher. They planted a few hundred saplings along the highway with much pomp and circumstance.  That first year I walked the road almost every day for exercise and watch as the weeds choked the small trees to death, followed by the road crew who indiscriminately hacked though the weeds and cut most of the trees down.  Out of maybe a 500 trees planted, there may be 10 or 20 left - maybe.  To be honest, after the puuyai left the ceremonies and photo-ops the day they were planted, those trees were doomed.  Nobody has any civic pride.  Nobody gives a real hoot about the environment past that day they get their photograph taken planting a tree which is then published in the local newspaper.  After that - those trees don't matter in the least.  

[ratcatcher]

11 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

And if they survive they will be logged and burnt to make charcoal or sold off to make furniture. Both of which require permits to do but who cares..?

In a lot of places where trees are needed the silinity is terrible. The constant burning of forests isn't helping like most Thais will happily tell you it is. Without vegetation to begin with all the necessary bugs and naturally breaking down vegetation that covers the ground that keeps it moist and rich are absent. Good luck growing anything more than weeds. Not to worry though because weeds can grow people can make charcoal from it for which we can all get sick from. Great! At least the cause of the problem are happy...

"The BMA plan to bring shade and beauty to nine key roads "

I don't think there will be too many buzzing chainsaws where they plan to plant these trees.

However you make a good point regarding planting new trees in rural areas.

[canopy]

The headline pretty much says it all. Thailand isn't ready for tree planting events, at least not out in the villages. Before they plant a few trees and pat each other on the back they need to teach the people not to cut all the trees down. Until that happens they can plant as many as they want and it will be futile. Similar experiences in my area where people go out and plant some trees with big smiles and selfies. Then as time goes on all the trees vanish and no one notices or cares. They miss and don't understand the whole point of doing it.

 

 

[Youlike]

I hope they also plant tree's for birds, would be nice to see a large variety of birds in BKK.

[wisperone]

I was very impressed in Saigon, the fact that their streets are all tree lined...very big, beautiful old trees. Provide lots of shade, and trees are very helpful in cleaning the air.