Thai villagers give advice on countering climate change

[webfact]

Villagers give advice on countering climate change
Pratch Rujivanarom
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- REPRESENTATIVES of communities from across the country attended a forum last week to show ways of using local wisdom to adapt to the shifting climate and prevent natural disasters caused by global warming.

Chutima Noinard, from Klong Jinda Farmer Group in Nakhon Pathom's Sam Phran district, said the best preparation for unstable climate patterns needed to start at the local level.

Speaking at the Climate Change Expo 2015 at TK Park, Central World Bangkok, she gave the example of her community's successful project to start a native fruit species seed bank.

Because of the threat of losing local varieties of fruit from devastating floods, Klong Jinda Farmer Group started the seed bank network more than a year ago with farmers in nearby provinces to distribute seeds of local fruit in order to let everyone plant and save them.

"Our community is a fruit farmer community in Tha Chin River flood plain, so we face floods regularly. Due to climate change, severe floods will occur more frequently in the future and it is more likely that our native species of fruit plants will die out because of floods," she told the "Community and Climate Change" forum.

By letting farmers in the seed bank network save native fruit varieties, she said, it reduced the chances that some of fruit varieties would become extinct.

"Furthermore, growing native varieties of fruit also has many |benefits such as more tolerance to pests and weather. Despite the |fact that native varieties produce smaller and less beautiful fruit |than commercially-grown varieties, they still taste good," she said.

Somkid Tummoon, from Mae Win Organic Farming Enterprise in Mae Wang in Chiang Mai, said climate change already affected the livelihood of the local Karen people.

"The environmental degradation as a result of deforestation and the changing of the weather pattern has led to frequent landslides in the mountainous area after heavy rain. This is a major problem for the Karen community in the area," Somkid said.

Due to the landslide problem, he said a campaign has begun to re-grow the forest to hold the soil. This also ensured that locals could make a living from the forest and protect the forest.

"We encourage locals to grow four types of cash crops that can grow alongside big trees in the |forest. These four plants are avo-cado, plum, coffee and lucy grass. And coffee is the most profit-|able crop," he said.

The farmers have implemented this method of farming for two years and the results have been positive as coffee production provides a good income and makes local people willing to protect the forest from wildfire and illegal logging, which would also destroy their coffee crop.

"The outgrowth of coffee planting in the forest is also amazing, as we can preserve the forest in our area and keep the temperature much lower and have better air quality than our neighbours, the majority of whom grow corn in their fields," he said.

His group is currently encouraging this method to be practised in other areas of the North in order to convert the vast cornfields into economically worthy forests.

"This is just the first step to proving that ordinary people can make a difference to our environment and the world," he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Villagers-give-advice-on-countering-climate-change-30272068.html


-- The Nation 2015-11-02

[jaltsc]

"...show ways of using local wisdom to adapt to the shifting climate and prevent natural disasters caused by global warming."

Unfortunately, step one is to change the mindset of a population who refuse, or unable to change what they have been doing for hundreds of years. The rice fiasco should give some insight how difficult a task this will be.

[shirtless]

Here is one stop burning rubbish mulch vegetation and save on fertilizer,

[selftaopath]

SERIOUSLY!!!!! ??????

[Thian]

SERIOUSLY!!!!! ??????

Yes seriously!

Upcountry they only watch soap-series and thai comedians on tv so somebody has to teach them about saving their plants or growing other ones.

This is called development, the thing that made western country's developed.

They should use the Thai national tv-channels much more to educate people. They can start with teaching them how to drive vehicles, treat eachother properly, how to behave in a big city and so on.

[Thian]

I would advise the Thai living in dry area's to re-use their waste water and give it to their tree's.

They need showers from which the drainpipe goes straight outside onto their land to the tree's/plants.

Also they should use soap which isn't poisonous for plants.

recycling is the key-word.

Saving water will be vely important in a few months time and there are many ways to do it.

[Ks45672]

Easier to teach a monkey how to fly a space shuttle to Mars... Good luck!

[anotheruser]

Speaking at the Climate Change Expo 2015 at TK Park, Central World Bangkok, she gave the example of her community's successful project to start a native fruit species seed bank.

What does that have to do with climate change?

[Thian]

Easier to teach a monkey how to fly a space shuttle to Mars... Good luck!

If nobody teaches them how to save water then they will just drive to the next house with a swimmingpool and take it there.

By the way, i heard many farang have one in their garden.

[Ks45672]

Easier to teach a monkey how to fly a space shuttle to Mars... Good luck!

If nobody teaches them how to save water then they will just drive to the next house with a swimmingpool and take it there.

By the way, i heard many farang have one in their garden.

If they can't afford water I doubt they will be able to afford petrol for too long either so the swimming pools will probably be quite safe

[eliotness]

When one shopping mall in BKK can use as much electric as a whole rural province, when burning rubbish in the fields and outside the house, with the huge consumption of plastic bags etc etc, they are not even scratching the surface, unfortunately.

[Krataiboy]

. . . successful project to start a native fruit species seed bank.

Great! But for Pete's sake don't tell Monsanto.

[waldroj]

Climate transcends communities!

Local-level solutions may actually do far more harm than well-coordinated long-term measures carried out at national level.

Water management is obviously one of the keys to long-term success in a country where most of its citizens are farmers. This must be done on a whole-of-catchment basis: to be effective; to be fair to all communities in the catchment; and, to minimise environmental and ecological damage. Included in this is proper land-use management of surrounding mountains and hills from which rainwater drains into the catchments.

Granted that communities (as stake holders) do have an important role in contributing to the development of management plans that affect them. But, communities must also accept that they do not have exclusive rights over natural resources that others also rely on.

Ordinary people can (and do) make a difference, especially if they adhere to the philosophy espoused by Dr David Bower who coined the phrase “think globally, act locally”! However, it is still up to national government to provide and coordinate the best outcome for all its citizens.

[Ulic]

OK then. Problem solved.

[trogers]

What effects from climate change are they experiencing?

[Beng]

Not only villagers need to be advised. City folks too. Do not start your car engine and then stay in the same spot for 20 minutes.

As can be witnessed everyday.

[Ks45672]

Not only villagers need to be advised. City folks too. Do not start your car engine and then stay in the same spot for 20 minutes.

As can be witnessed everyday.

They do that to run the aircon...

[Jeremy50]

Throw all the rubbish into the forest or burn it, drive vehicles that spew out enough smoke to blot out the sun, and pump out babies like there is no tomorrow. Give advice on climate change..................well,.....................whatever.

[jaywalker]

What effects from climate change are they experiencing?

They have no idea.

It's just "chic", and "in-style" to say they are combating something celebrities and politicians have told them to fear. I mean, if Bo Derek is concerned about it, shouldn't you and I?

Edited November 2, 2015 by jaywalker

[connda]

First and foremost...don't believe the spin.

[louse1953]

Not only villagers need to be advised. City folks too. Do not start your car engine and then stay in the same spot for 20 minutes.

As can be witnessed everyday.

They do that to run the aircon...

I had to tell my bil,no ac at 6am,just wind the window down.

[bazza40]

Oh wow. Now I can start advising investors on how to use Black-Scholes equations....

[NCC1701A]

Throw all these climate changin' Loso scum into a U.N. reeducation camp. I saw 10 identical Mercedes Benz driving in a convoy with four police cars as escort today on the highway North of Bangkok. Maybe they were coming back from the seminar. Turn the air on, it's hot in here.

[norfolkandchance]

Not only villagers need to be advised. City folks too. Do not start your car engine and then stay in the same spot for 20 minutes.

As can be witnessed everyday.

They do that to run the aircon...

I had to tell my bil,no ac at 6am,just wind the window down.

[norfolkandchance]

Sorry wrong topic