http://ourchiangmai.com/2008/12/31/governor-press-conterence-130109/ Leave Chiang Mai a better place Fri, 18 May 2012 07:57:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://ourchiangmai.com/2008/12/31/governor-press-conterence-130109/#comment-8 John Hobday Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:09:16 +0000 http://www.ourchiangmai.com/?p=162#comment-8 There are two immediate topics to address and both are relevant to the increasing pollution levels in the city. Firstly the road widening scheme. This project has been presented to the central government for approval with almost no feedback from the citizens of Chiang Mai because they were excluded from the process. This means the local authorities realised there would be considerable opposition to this scheme if they allowed public comment during the ninety day open period allowed by law. They therefore hid the facts until it was too late to form any opposition. Surely it makes more sense to keep cars out of the city than to make access into an already congested city easier. The authorities should be making it as inconvenient as possible to take a car into the inner city. They should be emulating many cities around the world, from Europe to the Americas to China, where large areas of inner cities are being pedestrianised and cars are banned. Besides improving the air quality in inner city areas these schemes also bring the people back into the city and provide an alternative to the shopping malls, promote small businesses, preserve traditional architecture, and reinvigorate local culture and arts. Of course one of the basics to establishing a car free city centre is a convenient and efficient public transport system. Secondly, a plan to address the perennial problem of fires is urgently required. The burning season has arrived as I witnessed on a recent trip in the border areas of Chiang Rai. The Chao Ban were burning the stubble in the rice fields and the hilltribes were setting light to huge areas of scrub and forest. In that province there has been no citizens awareness programme from the provincial government. Do not blame Burma and other neighbours for the haze that will inevitably follow in March and April, but put our own house in order first and educating the locals is a start. There are two immediate topics to address and both are relevant to the increasing pollution levels in the city.
Firstly the road widening scheme. This project has been presented to the central government for approval with almost no feedback from the citizens of Chiang Mai because they were excluded from the process. This means the local authorities realised there would be considerable opposition to this scheme if they allowed public comment during the ninety day open period allowed by law. They therefore hid the facts until it was too late to form any opposition.
Surely it makes more sense to keep cars out of the city than to make access into an already congested city easier. The authorities should be making it as inconvenient as possible to take a car into the inner city. They should be emulating many cities around the world, from Europe to the Americas to China, where large areas of inner cities are being pedestrianised and cars are banned. Besides improving the air quality in inner city areas these schemes also bring the people back into the city and provide an alternative to the shopping malls, promote small businesses, preserve traditional architecture, and reinvigorate local culture and arts. Of course one of the basics to establishing a car free city centre is a convenient and efficient public transport system.
Secondly, a plan to address the perennial problem of fires is urgently required. The burning season has arrived as I witnessed on a recent trip in the border areas of Chiang Rai. The Chao Ban were burning the stubble in the rice fields and the hilltribes were setting light to huge areas of scrub and forest. In that province there has been no citizens awareness programme from the provincial government. Do not blame Burma and other neighbours for the haze that will inevitably follow in March and April, but put our own house in order first and educating the locals is a start.

]]> http://ourchiangmai.com/2008/12/31/governor-press-conterence-130109/#comment-9 Jere Lock Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:09:29 +0000 http://www.ourchiangmai.com/?p=162#comment-9 You might include a global warming argument in your presentation. The self-interest part of it would be that the Saudi's were trying to buy land in the Thai Central Valley because they know their present food sources won't be dependable in the future. Same with the Chinese who have told their corporations to buy land in Africa and South America where their comptuer models tell them will have water in the foreseeable future. The IPCC says that the Himalayan glaciers will have melted in 40 years thus depriving much of Asia (India, China, Pakistan, SE Asia, Bangladesh) of half of its water. A recent Indian scientific report says these glaciers will go within 27 years. The Mekong is fed by these glaciers. You might include a global warming argument in your presentation.
The self-interest part of it would be that the Saudi’s were trying to buy land in the Thai Central Valley because they know their present food sources won’t be dependable in the future. Same with the Chinese who have told their corporations to buy land in Africa and South America where their comptuer models tell them will have water in the foreseeable future. The IPCC says that the Himalayan glaciers will have melted in 40 years thus depriving much of Asia (India, China, Pakistan, SE Asia, Bangladesh) of half of its water. A recent Indian scientific report says these glaciers will go within 27 years.
The Mekong is fed by these glaciers.

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