Is Bangkok getting greener? The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says yes.
Though a long way away from becoming the next Portland, the Big Mango is nonetheless making progress in the right direction. In fact, the BMA is ahead of schedule.
Director of BMA Environmental Department Bangjong Sookdee announced that the administration has surpassed by 25 rai its original goal of expanding green areas by 5,000 rai, MCOT reported. City hall is developing a 100-rai public park in Bang Bon district due to finish next year, and another park at Vacharapol intersection on a 21-rai plot of land donated by the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, he said.
A modest surplus to say the least, but beggars can hardly be choosers in our beloved concrete jungle.
It may surprise readers who haven’t been in Bangkok too long, but the city has been progressing slowly but surely on environmental issues for more than a decade. This Grist article from 2007 even ranked Bangkok as 13th greenest city in the world, citing both progress made and plans for the future as positives.
Mr. Sookdee says the BMA has no plans to stop. Let’s hope not, because there’s still a long way to go.
