We deserve a greener Bangkok

Have you ever driven around the suburbs of Bangkok, in places that are sparsely populated and feature wide roads of four to six lanes with median strips separating the inbound and outbound lanes? You may already know what I’m leading up to but wait, have you noticed something more? No, I’m not talking about the graffiti on the overhead bridges or the median strips, but the trees that have been chopped back as part of the “thinning” process that seems endemic to Bangkok.

I’ve been noticing this for years and have long wondered about the local obsession with tree pruning. When I asked authorities in my area, they said it was necessary to reduce the risk of branches falling off during thunderstorms.

The thinning is even worse in the city where the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) cites the need to create space for yet more overhead wires in addition to the millions that already blight the landscape. Whatever happened to the great campaign to put wiring underground?

Along Bangkok’s footpaths, some of the worst in the region, the few trees that do exist rarely get a chance to mature before being hacked back. Maybe the BMA needs to create more space for vendors so it can earn a bit more in fees. The result: walking along major thoroughfares such as Sukhumvit, Sathon or Silom during the daytime is the same as a day at the beach in terms of exposure to sun.

Bangkok has a mere three square metres of green space per person for the estimated 12 million people in the capital region, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. That’s one of the lowest figures in Asia. Singapore, which impressed Dear Leader Prayut Chan-o-cha so much when he attended its golden jubilee recently, boasts 66 sq m of green space for each of its 5 million inhabitants.

Maybe comparing efficient Singapore with chaotic Bangkok is a bit unfair, but take note that Kuala Lumpur has 44 square metres per person of green space.

And a drive or walk in some emerging cities such as Yangon will give you a feeling that you’re in a better-quality city than Bangkok, at least in terms of the greenery if nothing else.

Not that there haven’t been plenty of campaigns to make Bangkok greener. When Chamlong Srimuang was governor in the early 1990s, many concrete street dividers were transformed into attractive tree-filled oases. One of his successors, Bhichit Rattakul, also spent huge sums of BMA money to install mature trees along major roads, notably in the suburbs.

The current BMA has made some effort in the Phloenchit and Silom areas with the likes of hanging plants on the pillars beneath BTS platforms, but they tend to be neglected and die. Every December fresh blooms are brought in to welcome New Year tourists but within a few weeks it’s back to the same old situation.

Our current ineffectual governor, Sukhumbhand Paribatra, spends a lot of time on study trips around the world to learn more about how to run great cities. Isn’t it time he put that knowledge to work at home?

Given the inefficiency of the BMA from top to the bottom these days, one would hope that what greenery we do have will be allowed to remain, because it’s well known that new green areas are in the pipeline but none are likely to materialise anytime soon.

If thinning trees helps keep branches from falling on people and cars, and this method was applied across the board, then today Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and even Yangon would not have such pleasantly shady streets.

And why, I should ask, would the BMA plant trees on medians and other road dividers if the ultimate aim is to chop them off once they grow beyond two metres high? Would it not make more sense to plant some flower-bearing bushes in that case? After all, if we’re fated to look at naked tree trunks every year, I personally would rather prefer to see blooming plants.

I’d also suggest to the smart people at the BMA that thinning trees has other consequences as it exacerbates already high temperatures. The impact has been more noticeable in the past few years when summer temperatures have soared to new highs.

The fact that Bangkok is in a tropical zone means that we should have more trees and shade but alas, that is not the case. Therefore, it is paramount that urban planning in the city be transformed to make room for more green space.