News

Fighting Thailand’s Drought Through Biodiversity

Published

8 years ago

June 29, 2016

Bchcomber

More than 65 percent of the country’s water is used for agriculture, so dry rivers and near empty reservoirs hit the sector hard.

Thailand has been hit by one of the worst droughts in decades – with devastating effects on farmers. However, some small organic farms demonstrate that the key to surviving future droughts could be to embrace diversity.

Thailand breathed a collective sigh of relief when the rains finally came late last month. El Nino has battered the country and wider region hard. After causing more than two years of extreme weather events including Thailandâ€™s worst drought in decades, El Nino is finally set to abate.

In April and May of 2016, Thailand’s government said more than 30 of the country’s 70 provinces were affected by drought. It is the second year in a row that extreme temperatures have left regions parched. Exports of key staples such as rice and sugar are expected to fall by at least a million tons, and prices in the former hit a two-year high due to predicted lower supply.

For one of the worldâ€™s largest rice exporters, such figures are worrying. More than 65 percent of the country’s water is used for agriculture, so dry rivers and near empty reservoirs hit the sector hard.

This has led to tensions among small-scale farmers in the key rice-producing region of Suphan Buri to the northwest of Bangkok as water reservoirs and pumps there have run dry. In the normally fertile, agriculture-dependent far northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Nan and Phayao, there are many stories of failed harvest and threatened livelihoods.

Although all this has caused hardship for many of Thailand’s farmers, a small group that turned its back on industrial farming and monocultures has been able to weather the storm surprisingly well – by focusing on organic farming and embracing biodiversity.

Diversify to survive

By creating extensive ponds, the Chum Chon Ton Nam Nan Highland-Swamp-Field farm managed to survive the drought without losing all its crops. Photo Greenpeace.

One enterprise in Nan province has managed to if not prosper during the drought, then at least survive: the Chum Chon Ton Nam Nan Highland Swamp Field farm. According to its 55-year-old founder and proprietor Kul Punyawong, the farm continues to thrive primarily due to one simple thing: diversity.

Situated in an area dominated by industrial monoculture where fields of parched corn now abound, Punyawong’s farm produces a variety of crops, and numerous fruits including banana and durian.

Teams of Thai and foreign volunteers and students can be found diligently hoeing and digging in streams and fields. The farm functions as an eco-friendly farming learning center, teaching what Punyawong refers to as “new theory” farming, which has many similarities with permaculture.

The farm eschews the use of pesticides and focuses on crop rotation and diversity as a model for surviving further extreme weather events caused by climate change.

Redesigning the landscape

The first thing Punyawong did was to redesign the entire landscape. She planted trees to provide shade and protect the soil, thus reducing the evaporation of water. These trees also enriched the soil and prevented soil erosion.

She also planted a more diverse mix of native plants, and the soil is now able to store water better. Furthermore, Punyawong created extensive ponds to store rainwater.

“Organic farming is definitely the best way and the only way forward,” she told DW. “While other areas and farms had little or no water at all during the long months of drought, we had no water shortage,” she said.

“With our water conservation techniques we were able to store rainwater on our land long enough for use during the drought,” Punyawong continued. She says despite only a few years of implementation, the farm already proves that this strategy can help it withstand natural disaster and crisis.

Heading to system collapse

Watcharapol Daengsubha – known to most simply as Kwan – established his own organic orchard farm in 2011, where he produces mangosteen, langsat and stinky bean. He set up the Facebook page “Bangkok Permaculture” to share tips and ideas, and now tours the country as an agriculture campaigner for Greenpeace’s Southeast Asia office.

Both Thai and international volunteers and students work at the Chum Chon Ton Nam Nan Highland-Swamp-Field farm.

Kwan and his colleagues say that this El Nino has been the worst in living memory – not just in Thailand, but also in neighboring Vietnam and Cambodia as well.

“People are suffering from the impact of conventional farming practices that have been in place for years,” Kwan told DW. But the main problem is that they still don’t think there is anything wrong with those practices, Kwan continued, even though they could contribute to system collapse.

Changes in attitude

Fortunately, projects like the Chum Chon Ton Swamp Farm can also be found elsewhere. In Chiang Mai province, 56-year old Siphan Techaphan has set up an organic farming center, which aims to train local farmers.

To those involved, promoting organic farming provides an opportunity to turn things around – and to reconnect with nature.

For Kul Punyawong, the environmental destruction of her own province had become so bad that she felt she needed to give do something. She described how deforestation for agriculture and extensive chemical usage had left the soil contaminated and the province dotted with “bald mountains.” She says such environmental degradation stretches all the way to Bangkok.

Crop diversity is key to success at the new organic farms in Thailand. Aside from Rice or corn, they cultivate fruits, vegetables and other staple crops.

She called this the whole nationâ€™s problem. “The environmental problems in Nan are not just Nan’s alone,” she says. “I believe by creating a small agriculture model that emphasises organic farming and responsible land and water management, we will be able to rebuild the lost ecology of the forest and river sources – while at the same time live sustainably and happily.”

But change doesn’t come easily, Kwan says. Although organic farming was on the governmentâ€™s agenda around ten years ago, it wasn’t successful – due to the influence of agro-chemical companies on policy and the attitude of farmers. “Many people simply believe there is no way to cultivate without the use of chemicals,” he says.

But as further drought and extreme weather continue hit the country hard, farms like those of Punyawong and Kwan may well become the normal way of farming rather than the exception.

By Greg Norman – Deutsche Welle

News

London has Canceled the Hot Air Balloon Festival for the Fifth Consecutive Year.

Published

2 months ago

July 21, 2024

Salman

(CTN News) – The hot air balloon festival that was supposed to take place in London has been postponed for the sixth year in a row due to worries regarding the absence of acceptable weather conditions. It was scheduled to take place in London.

In spite of the fact that the Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta was supposed to take place in the nation’s capital on Sunday, it was canceled for the fifth year in a row, as well as for the second time this year after it was postponed from July 7 owing to wind conditions.

This is the second time that it has been cancelled this year.

Second year in a row hot air balloons aren’t on the schedule.

The organizers are hopeful that the hot air balloon event, which was due to begin at five in the morning in Battersea Park, may now take place on the 28th of July instead.

This is because the most recent successful event, which took place in 2019, has given them reason to believe that the event would be successful. Previously, the event was scheduled to start at five in the morning, according to the preparations.

As part of the historic activities that will take place during the Lord Mayor’s Show, fifty hot air balloons will take flight across the downtown area of London. The purpose of these flights is to promote awareness and funds for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal.

There will also be a regatta that will be participating in the activities, which will also be included in them. Beginning in the year 2015, the group has been able to effectively raise more than two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.

It has been decided to hot air balloon postpone the activities that were supposed to take place in the years 2020 and 2021 as a result of the global coronavirus epidemic.

On the other hand, the editions that were scheduled to take place in the years 2022 and 2023 have been canceled as a result of the severe weather that has been occurring.

In light of the fact that wind conditions forced them to cancel the flight that was scheduled to take place on Sunday morning, the organizers have now made the announcement that they are hoping to reschedule it for the following Sunday, which is the next of the several possible days that are allocated each year.

This occurs in light of the fact that the flight was supposed to take place on Sunday morning.

Wind conditions forced them to cancel their hot air balloon flight.

In their separate social media accounts, they explained, “Unfortunately, the predicted change in wind direction for the hot air balloon flight today has not materialized, and we have made the difficult decision to cancel the flight for the safety of every member on board,” they stated.

It is our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you. It is our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you.”

We would want to use this opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone who has reached out to us and shown their support, particularly the members of the general public who have communicated with us and attended the trip.

We are moving forward with this, and the next standby date that we are pushing forward with is the next Sunday, which is the 28th of July.

The fact that hot air balloon are going to be floating over a number of well-known locations in London this year has been brought to the attention of the organizers of the event. Some of the most well-known landmarks in London are Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge.

It is anticipated that Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli would serve as the leader of the ceremony. He will also be the one to lead the ceremony.

SOURCE: IN

News

A Skydiving Plane in New York Crashed, Killing One Person.

Published

2 months ago

July 21, 2024

Salman

(CTN News) – On Saturday, a plane that was being used for skydiving was involved in an accident that resulted in the death of one individual. The event took place in Niagara County, New York.

The occurrence took place at some point throughout the course of the day. Saturday marked the beginning of the investigation into the tragedy that had taken place earlier than anyone had anticipated.

The authorities in New York began their investigation. It turned out that the catastrophe had occurred earlier than anyone had anticipated on their part.

According to a statement that was released by the Federal Aviation Administration, a single-engine Cessna 208B, which was a plane that was used for skydiving, crashed close to Lake Road in the vicinity of Youngstown, New York, at approximately one o’clock in the afternoon. The plane was used for jumping.

The plane served as a platform for skydiving.

In order to perform vertical jumps, the plane was deployed. According to a press statement that was given by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday and reported by News.

the airplane that was used by the Skydive the Falls skydiving center had released all of the divers and was on its way back to land when it crashed.

The statement was issued by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office. News was the one that distributed the news release. The announcement was made public by CNN, which served as the source.

According to Tammy L. Jones, a representative for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot, who was the only person on board, was reportedly practicing parachute operations before to the accident. Jones stated that the pilot was the only person on board.

The official from the FAA was the one who offered this information here. For more specific information, the Federal Aviation Administration was the source.

However, according to Skydiving Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti, who mentioned this information during a press conference on Saturday, it is still unknown how many divers were on board prior to the disaster.

This information was stated by Filicetti. It was indicated during the press conference that this information was available. Filicetti shared these particulars in his statement, which may be seen here.

It was also indicated in the notice that a brush fire had begun around the crash site later on. This information was included in the warning. Additionally, this was mentioned in the notification that was sent out.

Putting out what Filicetti describes as “a significant fire at that point,” the first squad to arrive on the site was the one responsible for putting out the fire.

The Skydiving fire was to be extinguished by them.

The statement that the sheriff released referred to the plane crash as “an unfortunate incident.” He also noted that local and federal law and Skydiving enforcement officers are collaborating in order to undertake an investigation into the sequence of events that led up to the disaster.

In addition to this, the sheriff mentioned that the investigation will be carried out in conjunction with the federal authorities.

If I am being really honest with you, I am of the opinion that this circumstance is precisely the same as any other emergency-related problem… As soon as you arrived, you decided that you wanted to make an attempt to save people’s lives.

As a result of the specific circumstances that we were dealing with, we were unable to pursue that particular course of action,” Filicetti explained further.

Following an interview with News, Peter Knudson, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board, provided the following statement: “It is anticipated that an investigator from the agency will arrive at the crash site on Saturday.”

Knudson, who also confirmed that the investigation will continue, stated that the investigator will continue to Skydiving document the debris of the airplane, which will then be sent to a secure facility for additional examination. Knudson also confirmed that the investigation would continue.

Additionally, Knudson was quoted as saying that the probe will proceed.

According to News, the investigation will Skydiving concentrate on three primary aspects: the pilot, the aircraft, and the environment in which the aircraft is operated throughout the investigation. In this investigation, these are the key aspects that will be looked into.

SOURCE: AP

News

Malaysia’s Coast Guard has found the Oil tanker Involved in the Crash off Singapore’s Coast.

Published

2 months ago

July 21, 2024

Salman

(CTN News) – A large oil tanker that had been involved in a Coast Guard disastrous collision with another vessel two days ago off the coast of Singapore was discovered and intercepted by the coast guard of Malaysia, according to a statement that was made on Sunday.

The disaster occurred off the coast of Singapore with another vessel. There had been an accident that took place two days previously.

The disaster had occurred the day before, with the occurrence taking place off the coast of Singapore. The calamity had taken place just the day before. Two days previously, the accident had also taken place in the vicinity of Singapore’s coast.

Also affected was the neighborhood. Indeed, this was the fact. At the time of the accident, Singapore and Malaysia were both taken aback by the magnitude of the catastrophe that had taken place off the beaches of their respective countries.

According to a Coast Guard report on Saturday.

At least two members of the crew have been injured after a collision involving the tanker Ceres I, which was flying the flag of Sao Tome and Principe, caused a fire and resulted in the vessel leaving the scene of the accident.

A report on the findings of the study has been released. According to the report, the tanker had moved away from the location where the event occurred.

We received the information from the United States Coast Guard, which was the entity that provided it to us. The report states that the tanker was reported to have left the location where the event took place. This information is according to the report.

Additionally, it was believed that the ship had disabled its tracking system, as stated by the Coast Guard. Specifically, this was mentioned in the report. Within the report that was made public, this particular point was brought to the forefront.

It was reported that the Ceres I was found in the waters of Malaysia when it was being hauled by two tugboats, as indicated in a statement that was made by the Coast Guard on Sunday, proclaiming the discovery. The statement was released in order to announce the finding.

The statement provided an explanation as to how the discovery turned out. Following the discovery that was reported, the remark was made as a response to the situation.

It has been reported that the Coast Guard has taken two tugboats and the Ceres I into custody in order to undertake more investigations.

Based on Coast Guard information provided in the article.

This type of detention is being carried out in order to guarantee that the Coast Guard will be able to conduct an appropriate investigation into the sequence of events that led up to the tragedy.

The United States Coast Guard issued a statement on Sunday stating that aerial scans that were carried out by the Coast Guard discovered minute residues of an oil spill near the site of the collision between the Ceres I and the Hafnia Nile, which happened to be flying the flag of Singapore at the time of the collision.

The statement was issued in response to the fact that the Coast Guard had discovered the oil spill. The collision that occurred between the two vessels was the initial cause of the oil spill.

The announcement was made available to the general public by the Coast Guard not long after that. The statement was issued by the Coast Guard, which was the specific organization that issued the statement.

It was noted in the release that “the environment department has been informed and will conduct further monitoring,” which is the same thing that was expressed in the warning. This was done in order to convey a better level of clarity.

SOURCE: USN