The roar of thunder from a thunderstorm, accompanied by torrential rain across Bangkok, flooded streets, caused traffic jams, and left many people facing stagnant water or poor drainage—a scene that is becoming increasingly common. Meanwhile, deforestation in Thailand continues to worsen, with forests in many provinces covered in toxic dust. Temperatures are rising steadily, and agriculture is heavily reliant on chemicals, accelerating global warming. As a result, people around the world, including Thais, face a series of natural disasters, rampant pollution, and increasingly extreme weather events. Amidst this growing concern, environmentalists, including Pichet Churak, president of the Environmental Journalists Association and founder of GreenNews and iGreen, who has been involved in environmental news for 30 years, clearly see the impact these changes will have on the future.
“We have been doing this continuously. Coincidentally, the climate change situation is becoming more severe, with multifaceted impacts. When the Safe and Creative Media Development Fund opened for applications, we thought we should focus on what we're best at and what aligns with Thailand's role as a member of the agreement on addressing climate change. Therefore, we decided we should educate people about adaptation. We intend to present adaptation models from various sectors. We will produce articles and videos on this topic to raise awareness that the impacts will become more severe if we don't quickly understand and adapt. We might not be able to cope.”"
Pichet explained his intention behind the project to produce media for adapting to climate change and extreme weather events. The project aims to raise awareness, encourage preparedness, and provide guidance for adaptation through 25 articles and 25 five-minute documentary videos. These materials present knowledge and understanding of climate change and extreme weather, as well as strategies for adapting to and coping with its impacts on various aspects of life, including agriculture, business, health, food, and livelihoods. The initiative involves the government, private sector, and civil society, and is disseminated through online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and the Igreenstory website. It was supported by the Strategic Fund for the Development of Safe and Creative Media in 2023.
The various media produced and disseminated under this project have garnered over 5 million views. In particular, the documentary videos that portray the challenges of adapting to and coping with climate change through the perspectives and lives of people from diverse fields are noteworthy. Examples include "Bangkok: The Time to Adapt," which tells the story of Bangkok's risks as a frontline city for disasters, and "Why Are Chiang Mai's Wildfires Still Unresolved?", which examines the multifaceted causes of PM2.5 air pollution in Chiang Mai. Another example is "Adapting Events to Change the World," which delves into the environmentally conscious aspects of event organization. Other documentaries include "Rice Reduces Global Warming," "Eating Vegetables as Medicine," "Changing the World Through Food," "Nature's Miraculous Trees Fighting Global Warming," and "Raising Awareness Through Plastic," among many others. All of these episodes are engaging and reflect the importance of preparing, adapting, and coping with change.
"Currently, it's chemical-based agriculture. We can't continue farming like this for another 20 or 30 years. We need to change. We need to find ways to reduce chemicals. We need to restore the soil. We need to restore the natural ecosystem.""
The narration, in the Thai-speaking, foreign accent of Nicholas Innes Taylor, owner of Udon Organic Farm, while not as fluent as a native speaker, clearly conveys the future survival prospects for farmers. He has proven successful in returning to the soil, establishing a fully integrated organic farm encompassing both crop cultivation and animal husbandry. This episode is one of the most viewed in the documentary series, with over 1 views, and is one that particularly impressed Pichet.
“We went to the area ourselves, interviewing sources in Udon Thani, at an organic farm owned by Jennifer Innes Taylor. She's of mixed heritage, with a Thai mother and an English father, and used to work at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.”"Before buying land in Udon Thani, about 100 rai, he was an example of a farmer who previously practiced chemical farming. But ultimately, he tried to adapt by using knowledge because chemical farming continuously degrades the soil. He sought knowledge and eventually switched to organic farming, which he sees as a solution to the problem."
Pichet proudly recounted his involvement in producing all the media for this project, despite facing various challenges and obstacles. The result is a series of resources and guides designed to raise awareness and encourage people to better cope with climate change and natural disasters. He hopes this will be a small starting point for many others to help change, adapt, reduce harm to the planet, improve the environment, and lessen the severity of natural disasters.
