Thai locality applied for disaster risk management
Ban Bang Bo Lang, a village in Mueang district, Samut Songkhram province, Thailand, has been successful in applying bamboo fencing as a way to protect the coastline from erosion.
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There are about 80 families living in this area and most of them are engaged in fishing. In 2008 local villagers started to address this problem seriously. Key members of the village traveled to other areas, such as Samut Sakhon and Samut Prakan, which also faced the same problem, and learned best practices in dealing with coastal erosion.
Finally the village head came up with the concept of building bamboo fences to form a barrier that would protect the coastline.
With bamboo embankments, the planting of mangrove saplings has become possible, since they cushion the force of waves and allow enough sediment behind the bamboo fences to accumulate for tree planting. As a result, marine resources will increase to produce food for local residents.
The use of bamboo reflects local wisdom in tackling environmental degradation and managing the natural disaster. Local people would also be able to build them, as well.
The use of bamboo reflects local wisdom in tackling environmental degradation and managing the natural disaster. Local people would also be able to build them, as well.
The weakness is that the material is not durable, as it usually lasts only three years. For this reason, new bamboo embankments have to be built once in a while to replace the old ones. But the strength is that bamboo is flexible and the spaces between the poles allow marine animals to come and live behind the bamboo fences.
The creation of bamboo embankments requires knowledge about seasonal winds and viable plants, which comes from the experience of local villagers, who are mainly fishermen.
Ban Bang Bo Lang is recognized as a model community for its success in coastal erosion management. The success has created confidence among local villagers in their ability to use folk wisdom for disaster risk management.
The creation of bamboo embankments requires knowledge about seasonal winds and viable plants, which comes from the experience of local villagers, who are mainly fishermen.
Ban Bang Bo Lang is recognized as a model community for its success in coastal erosion management. The success has created confidence among local villagers in their ability to use folk wisdom for disaster risk management.