The Department of Climate Change and Environment, together with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and UNDP, have launched the 'Project on Strengthening Resilience to the Impacts of Climate Change in Marine and Coastal Areas Along the Gulf of Thailand', confident that it can create cooperation, increase adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change, and expand the success from 4 pilot provinces to 18 provinces along the Gulf of Thailand coast. Mr. Pirun Saiyasitphanich, Director-General of the Department of Climate Change and Environment, said that according to the 2022 Global Climate Risk Index report by German Watch, Thailand is ranked 9th in the world for the risk of climate change impacts. This impact reflects the increasing frequency and severity of floods, storms, and heat waves, which have made the risks and vulnerabilities of natural resources and biodiversity in marine and coastal areas more severe, especially coral reef ecosystems, mangrove forests, and seagrass. These are all imp ortant ecosystem services for coastal communities, especially the economic activities of coastal communities that rely on agricultural, fishery, and tourism resources, which increase the risk of impacts. In addition, Thailand has a coastline in the Gulf of Thailand covering 18 provinces and a length of approximately 3,148 kilometers. Therefore, marine and coastal areas in the Gulf of Thailand are considered target areas that must enhance their capacity to adapt to climate change and create resilience for the people. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, through the Department of Climate Change and Environment, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, and related agencies In collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project 'Increasing resilience to climate change impacts in marine and coastal areas along the Gulf of Thailand' has been funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in the amount of 3,000,000 USD. It will be implemented in 18 provinces along the Gulf of Thailand in 4 pilot areas: Rayong, Phetchaburi, Songkhla, and Surat Thani provinces from 2020 to 2024, for a period of 4 years. The collaboration in the project implementation has resulted in effective successes, consisting of: 1) Local risk data in coastal areas of the Gulf of Thailand in 4 pilot provinces: Rayong, Phetchaburi, Surat Thani, and Songkhla; 2) Developing capabilities and knowledge for provincial and local agencies to develop adaptation plans that are consistent with local risks; 3) Alternative measures used in the adaptation process, such as aquatic animal banks, fish traps, wave barriers, and mangrove forest restoration and conservation, so that local agencies are aware of the support needs for their operations; 4) Developing climate change adaptation indicators for the tourism, agriculture, and fisheries, and natural resources sectors for integration into provincial development plans; 5) A platform for data management and geographic information systems (GIS); 6) Strategies for acquiring fund s for climate change adaptation in marine and coastal areas (tourism, agriculture, and fisheries, and natural resources sectors). Ms. Irina Goryunova, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand, said that the approach to integrate and expand the implementation into future plans will use the data obtained from the project to revise or improve the national climate change adaptation plan in the next phase, including the preparation of the action plan for climate change adaptation in all 6 areas to be implemented in the next phase. In addition, the best practices from the 4 pilot provinces will be expanded to 18 provinces along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand and will be driven to the local level. Importantly, after this, there will be a drive to integrate the government sector, private sector, communities, and people to use the knowledge gained from the project and from various sectors to increase the efficiency of the implementation of climate change adaptation and j ointly preserve and restore natural resources and the environment to continue to exist. Source: Thai News Agency
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