ชมรมจักรยานเพื่อสุขภาพแห่งประเทศไทย ชมรมจักรยานเพื่อสุขภาพแห่งประเทศไทย
Resource persons for the LCRS Project being trained
Some of participants, resource persons and trainers
As reported earlier that Thailand Cycling Club (TCC) through its Walking and Cycling Public Policy Actualisation Project has joined hands with the National Municipal League of Thailand (NMT), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), and Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation (TGO) to implement Low Carbon City, Bicycle City, and Disaster-Aware and Response-Ready City Building for Livable and Sustainable Localities (LCRS) Project. The four-parties had organized two meetings of its Working Group for Development of Concepts, Success Indicators and Guidelines for Development of Low Carbon City, Bicycle City and Disaster-Aware and Response-Ready City on November 12 and December 15, 2015. (Read news about these two meetings in www.thaicyclingclub.org/).
When the project’s concepts, success indicators and guideline were agreed, the NMT invited about 100 municipalities to apply to participate in two interconnected projects, that are (1) Project for Assessment of Local Administration’s Carbon Footprint and Town-Level Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting, and (2) the LCRS. A total of 70 municipalities expressed their interest and 47 were selected. They were divided into two groups: (1) 31 municipalities that had never been preparing any report on greenhouse gas emission, and 16 municipalities that had taken part in the NMT’s Thai Municipalities toward Low Carbon City in Honour of HM the King’s 84 Anniversary Project and had experience on carbon footprint assessment and town-level greenhouse gas emission reporting. The first group are to take part in carbon footprint assessment and town-level greenhouse gas emission reporting project first, while the second group are to take part in the LCRS, to become models for Low Carbon City, Bicycle City, and Disaster-Aware and Response-Ready City that other municipalities can come to learn from them.
To make the 16 municipalities understand clearly the project’s concepts and guidelines, a training workshop was organized during December 24-25, 2015. It was participated by about 35 persons who were the municipalities’ personnel who are responsible for project implementation, persons from municipalities, government agencies and academic institutes who volunteered to be resource persons for the LCRS, LCRS staff, NMT staff and committee members, and trainers from TCC, UNISDR and TGO.
(Left) UNISDR expert gave a lecture, and (Right) a study visit to Pak Kred City Municipality
On the first day, a lecture was given by UNISDR expert on disaster-aware and response-ready city followed by a discussion and exercise that each municipality assessed their disaster awareness and response readiness. In the afternoon, the participants made a study visit to Pak Kred City Municipality, the only municipality on the banks of Chaophraya River that was saved from the Great Flood in 2011 with participation of local people.
(Left) TCC Manager explained the concept of ‘Bicycle City’ and (Right) TCC committee Member gave examples of activities that have been carried out to effectively promoting cycling.
In the evening, TCC sent a team of trainers/resource persons consisting of all five staff led by Ms. Ajjima Meepring, its Manager, and Mr. Gawin Chutima, a Committee Member, to organize a learning process on the concept and guidelines for building a bicycle city. Many examples of activities that local administrative organisations and other groups had used to effectively promote cycling in daily life were given. Then an exercise took place for the participants to explore what their municipalities could do.
TGO expert gave a lecture.
On the second day, two experts from the TGO gave lectures about things Thailand could do after signing an agreement of climate change at the COP21. In the last session, the participants were divided into groups to learn about some basic assessment tools and preliminary action plan for development of a low-carbon city, bicycle city, and disaster-aware and response-ready city.
Reported by Gawin Chutima,
TCC Committee Member and TCC Representative in TCRS steering group
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