As we all live on this planet and call it home, it is our responsibility to safeguard the environment to ensure our quality of life both today and in the future.

Protecting the environment is easier than you think if you start with something closer to you first. In this column, we invite you to scrutinize your immediate surroundings before zooming out to consider the bigger picture to see how our collective efforts can sustain our beautiful planet and benefit us.

Around Your Home

Let’s begin with your home. The easiest thing you can do is to maintain hygiene, make the most of every item in your house, and sort all waste before sending it out for disposal. Proper disposal can maximize the utility of each household item in its life cycle.

An example of a systematic community-scale waste management initiative is the Waste-free Community Project, in which a “house-temple-school” waste management model customized for each community is developed to link the three entities to local waste banks to create a closed-loop management system. The project helps to foster knowledge of resource efficiency among local residents as well as promotes waste reduction, recycling, and proper waste disposal. From April 2019 to October 2022, over 240 tons of waste was processed as a result of the project, equivalent to 483,375 kg CO2-eq of greenhouse gas emissions prevented.

Forests

Forests are essential natural carbon sinks that help mitigate the impact of climate change. Nevertheless, these vital ecosystems are now under serious threat, making it imperative for us to take active and sustained action to combat global warming.

To this end, SCGC has joined hands with local communities and government agencies to launch the “Plant-Cultivate-Protect Campaign: Plant Trees, Cultivate Seedlings, Protect the Forest, and Promote a Low Carbon Society” to cultivate eco-consciousness and awareness of global warming and show the public that the problem is more relevant to our lives than we think and that everyone can take part in sustainable forest restoration. The aim of the project is to grow one million trees in five years from 2017-2022. Thus far, 191,889 trees have been grown, equivalent to an area of 592 rai in total and capable of absorbing 2,867 tons CO2 of greenhouse gases. The project has been made possible with the help of over 3,400 SCGC volunteers, local residents, and related parties.

Mountains

Mountains are not only home to a diverse range of flora and fauna but serve as a barrier against flash floods and help retain moisture for dry seasons. A prime example of this is Khao Yai Da, a neighboring area of SCGC and a large watershed forest that nourishes local communities across seven sub-districts and two districts across Rayong. However, its ecosystem has undergone changes due to forest conversions into agricultural land.

Aware of the potential domino effect, SCGC has, since 2007, worked with local communities to take proactive action in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy and restore the watershed forest through check dam construction, reforestation, five-tier forest planting, and fire prevention plans.

The outcome is evident today. Khao Yai Da is lusher and has not experienced wildfires in a significant period of time, while local people have enjoyed greater self-reliance thanks to improved agricultural productivity and the eco-tourism projects it has initiated.

Sea

While oceans make up the majority of the world’s surface and are integral to the economy of Thailand’s eastern region, the degradation of coastal resources has led to the decline of marine life along the coastline, negatively impacting the livelihoods of local fishermen and forcing them to venture farther out into the ocean and for a longer period of time.

To help local fisheries and restore marine ecosystems, SCGC has launched SCGC Fish Home Project, a circular initiative in which leftover PE100 pipes from trial production are used to construct durable and eco-friendly fish homes.

Throughout the nine years of the project, SCGC has installed 2,230 fish homes in the eastern region of Thailand in Rayong, Chonburi, Chanthaburi, Trat, and Ranong, benefitting 43 fisheries across  50 sq. km. of marine resource conservation areas and contributing to the conservation of over 212 marine species, resulting in an increase in biodiversity. As a result of this project, the sea will serve as a treasure trove of resources that will help sustain the livelihoods of local fishermen for generations to come.

A good home means a good life, and as such, caring for the world is not an individual responsibility but demands the collaborative effort of everyone. If we can begin with our daily life, we’ll be able to keep our home pristine and beautiful and pass it on to our posterity.