Thailand: a school resists in the face of rising waters

June 23, 2023

Every morning, four children stand barefoot and proudly sing the national anthem as the Thai flag is raised in front of their school, a building on stilts surrounded by the waves.

They are the last students of Ban Khun Samut Chin, a coastal village located less than 10 km from Bangkok slowly eroded by the ocean.

There are only 200 villagers living here, just like the future could hold for countless coastal communities around the world as climate change drives sea levels up.

“I had a lot of friends, about 20 to 21 classmates when I started kindergarten,” said 11-year-old Jiranan Chorsakul.

“I feel a little lonely and I would like new students to enroll.”

Since the 1960s, two kilometers of land have been lost to the sea, village chief Wisanu Kengsamut told AFP.

First victim of erosion, a Buddhist temple, today surrounded by water and accessible by a long footbridge.

“Behind me was the village and a mangrove forest, and you could easily walk from the village to this temple (…) the villagers started moving inland, further and further away from the temple” , he says.

The only visible signs of where the village once stood are old power poles sticking out of the water.

It is estimated that 17% of Thailand’s population, or some 11 million people, live on the coasts and depend on fishing or tourism.

Globally, sea levels have already risen by 15 to 25 cm since 1900, and the rate of this rise is accelerating, particularly in certain tropical areas such as Southeast Asia, according to climate experts from the United States. ‘UN.

If the warming trend continues, the oceans could rise by almost another meter around the Pacific Islands and the Indian Ocean by the end of the century.

Ban Khun Samut Chin is a stark illustration and warning of what a “climate-ravaged world” would be like, according to Danny Marks, professor of environmental policy at the University of Dublin.

“This is a stark microcosm of the risk sea level rise poses to us, especially in developing countries,” he told AFP.

In addition to climate change, the erosion suffered by the village has its origins in poor management of the environment.

Groundwater has been overexploited and thick mangroves, which served as natural protection, have been destroyed to make way for shrimp farms.

The dams located upstream of the Chao Phraya, the river that crosses Bangkok and empties near the village, have slowed the deposition of sediments in the bay.

In an attempt to cope, bamboo and concrete pillars have been installed, and initiatives are being taken to restore the maritime forest ecosystem.

But in the long term, “these measures may not be enough to resist the force of nature and the village could disappear”, warns Wisanu.

“We are not planning to move further inland as there is no more land available.”

Appeals to the government for help have come to nothing, he says. “We must save ourselves.”

The village is focusing in particular on eco-tourism and already offers homestay accommodation in the hope of raising public awareness of their plight.

Students also study ecology with their teachers and learn to identify plants and animals.

They could one day become tour guides, according to the school’s principal, Mayuree Khonjan.

Back in the classroom equipped with four small pink chairs and desks, Jiranan concentrates while his teacher writes numbers on the board.

“I want to become a teacher so that I can pass on my knowledge to other students. I want to teach in this school, if it still exists,” he explains.

But next year, one of the students will go to college and they will only be three to sing the national anthem every morning.