Thailand

Is plastic a topic that is also discussed among youth in Thailand? What to expect from politicians and why should consumer culture change? Chompupischaya Saiboonyadis shares how she got into environmental activism and what needs to be done about plastic pollution, waste management and the circular economy.

Campus zero waste programs are a popular way to raise awareness about environmental issues and lifestyle choices with university students. At one campus in Thailand, former student Nicha Wachpanich digs deeper to show how students, staff and the university have different stakes in the waste problem.

Ten years ago, Thailand faced its worst ever flooding which killed over 800 and caused over US$45 billion in damage. The floods inundated large swathes of Bangkok and the surrounding areas for two months. This year Thailand once again experienced widespread flooding, affecting over one million and killing nine people.

Despite the Thai government’s ban of four more types of single-use plastics in 2022, up to 250,000 tonnes of imported plastic waste from other nations continues to flow into the country annually through the international plastic waste trade. Thailand is trying to stay the course with further efforts to mitigate plastic pollution, but there are still challenges in waste sorting and collection on the ground.

The Mekong Butterfly, an independent ecological group based in Thailand, has been monitoring the impacts of water levels and changing aquatic patterns on two species: the Mekong river crinum lily, a Mekong riverbank plant, and the small pratincole, a bird adapting its behavior to the new conditions.

Bangkokians rarely sort trash, often leaving soup-splashed, rotting, toxic messes on the street for garbage collectors and scavengers, who are only able to resell a fraction to be recycled. The environmentally-conscious who do sort their waste must send specific types of material to volunteer initiatives out of their own pocket. Some of these initiatives have diverted plastic into recyclable items, including PPE suits for frontline health workers, even as the capital drowns in COVID-19 and plastic.

For millions of people, the Mekong River is a cohabitation of people, animals, natural resources and culture. For some states and international organizations, the Mekong River is a place where cooperation is needed for sustainable development in the region. For a few, the Mekong River is considered as a strategic area of competition for their power and influence.

This E-paper by Tipakson Manpati explores the back and forth in the discourse and strategies around Thailand's politics on the use of nuclear power, including debates on energy efficiency and long-term safety issues.

While Thailand has prioritized measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, environmental concerns have been sidelined. Despite an overall reduction in waste, the amount of plastic and harmful microplastics have skyrocketed in the kingdom, with a weak pre-existing waste sorting and management system.

Thailand has a long-standing vegan tradition in the form of jay, a Buddhist-Taoist religious practice. But more recent trends of veganism from the West carry no burden of creed nor of animal activism. In fact, going “plant-based” in Bangkok is a recent, fashionable trend fueled by Instagrammers’ photogenic shots of vegan dishes and Western culture.