Varawut Led the MNRE Team to Discuss with NASA to Have Technological Cooperation and to Improve the Efficiency of Solving the Problems about Natural Resources and Environment in Thailand

On this day (25th January 2023) at 11.00 a.m., the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and the representatives of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, the Pollution Control Department, and the Royal Forest Department discussed with Dr. Karen M. St. Germain, the Director of the Division of the Earth Science Division, In the Science Mission Directorate and the colleagues from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in order to use the scientific and reliable data from the earth observation satellites for solving the problems about natural resources and environment at the lobby on the 20th floor of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Building.

During the discussion, the scientific data from the earth observation satellites were exchanged for making policy-based decisions about natural resources and environment, especially handling the effects from climate changes and following the environmental problems such as PM 2.5 and weather forecasts under SERVIR-Mekong project in the region. It also included systematically exploring surface and sea water sources with NASA’s SWOT satellite. It was considered as the first world-class organization with water accounting data (i.e., the first global inventory water). It was a result from sciences and technologies for measuring the flows of seawater, temperatures, nutrients and ocean carbon level. Accordingly, the U.S. government has the policies supporting NASA to share and exchange the data with the partners in order to make NASA’s data more useful.

Since sciences and technologies are considered as main factors for new generations, it cooperates with young people in order to improve knowledge and be willing to coordinate with the organizations under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in order to initiate other cooperation for other issues.

MNRE mentioned that NASA is an organization that will support Thailand to successfully meet the goals announced in COP26 and improve the efficiencies of the operations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for monitoring air qualities, checking and evaluating plastic debris in oceans, measuring carbon sequestrations in forests, exploring forest areas and coastal erosions, and managing underground water resources. NASA was also invited to cooperate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to have the mentioned implementations.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MENR) of Thailand visited NCVC Center in Saudi Arabia, inviting Saudi Arabia’s delegation to come to visit Thailand to see the fertility of the mangrove forest. "Ranong Biosphere Reserve", and exchange cooperation on forestry.

MENR of Thailand visited NCVC Center in Saudi Arabia, inviting Saudi Arabia’s delegation to come to visit Thailand to see the fertility of the mangrove forest. "Ranong Biosphere Reserve", and exchange cooperation on forestry.

On January 11th, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. (local time) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MENR) together with Mr. Jatuporn Buruspat, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Dam Boontham, Ambassador of Thailand to Riyadh and delegation visited and listened to a briefing on the operation of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development & Combating Desertification (NCVC), which serves as the main agency of Saudi Arabia in combating desertification, reforestation, especially the 50 billion tree planting project in the Middle East. The event included planting 10 billion trees across Saudi Arabia and a project to plant more than 4 million mangrove trees to restore mangrove forests along the coast of Saudi Arabia by Saudi Aramco company with the purpose to be a nursery for aquatic animals that will bring food security in the future.

Additionally, on this occasion, Mr. Varawut, MENR of Thailand, invited Saudi Arabia to visit "Ranong Biosphere Reserve" of Thailand, which is a mangrove forest area in the national forest reserve that has been declared by UNESCO in 1997 to do experience exchanges and create cooperation between the two countries, such as in the aspects of tourism, eco forest carbon sequestration, carbon credit market, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, forest management, economic timber trade as well as forest fire management together in the future.