Climate cloud hangs over Bang Pakong

       People living in the Bang Pakong river basin need to come up with means to adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change, says Greenpeace.
       Climate change would lead to a 3 to 3.5 Celsius increase in temperature and heavy rainfall in the eastern community 90 years from now, a Greenpeace study released yesterday said.
       Greenpeace has selected Bang Pakong river basin in Chachoengsao province as a study site to determine the impact of climate change. The study uses a mathematical model and 30 years of statistics on rainfall and temperature to predict the effects.
       Ply Pirom, Greenpeace's coordinator,said as well as rising temperatures, climate change would trigger a 15% increase in annual rainfall at today's levels.
       "Bang Pakong residents will be in trouble if there is no adaptation plan to respond to global warming," Mr Ply said.
       Greenpeace yesterday discussed its climate change study with villagers in the Bang Pakong river basin to educate them about global warming and encourage them to think about adapting to the changing environment.
       The activity was part of Greenpeace's campaign in the lead up to the Bangkok climate change talks from Sept 28 to Oct 9.
       Tara Buakamsri, Greenpeace's campaign manager, called on government agencies to assist people, especially those in the agricultural sector, to adapt to climate change. The farm sector would be hardest hit by climate change effects,which range from rising temperatures and changing rainfall volume to natural disasters.
       The Bang Pakong river basin supports around 1.25 million people who rely heavily on the region's fertile soil to grow rice, fruits and other crops. Villagers also depend on fish stocks from the Bang Pakong River, which are now under threat from water pollution and seawater intrusion, he said.