Mangrove forest planned in Bangkok to address coastal erosion

BANGKOK, November 2 (TNA) - New Bangkok Governor Police General Aswin Kwannmuang plans to develop a mangrove forest to solve the problem of coastal erosion in Bang Khun Thian, the only district in Bangkok's outskirts that is located near to the Gulf of Thailand, in a bid to pay tribute to late His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away on October 13. The newly-appointed governor told journalists of the plan on Wednesday, after chairing a meeting on the erosion protection initiative with agencies concerned. The governor said that the problem of coastal erosion in Bang Khun Thian area has been persistent over the past two decades, with about 2-3 metres of coastline having been vanished each year on average. To solve the problem, the governor revealed, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has, thus, sought cooperation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the private sector for the mangrove growing project to create natural barriers and to build up sediments. Late His Majesty the King's birthday on December 5 was also declared the World Soil Day by the UN General Assembly in 2013. During Wednesday's meeting, BMA's Department of Drainage and Sewage reported, meanwhile, progress on the so-called T Groin Project to build a long, narrow structure stretching 4.7 kilometre long into the sea off Bang Khun Thien coast to also help prevent soil erosion. The third report on an environmental impact assessment of the project was set to be presented at the next meeting in February 2017, after which it will take about six months to choose a consulting company for the project and its construction period will last about 30 months. (TNA)