Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is collaborating with public and private partners to sustainably tackle air pollution in the city.

City governor Chadchart Sittipunt called a press conference on Saturday to launch the “Countdown to the End of PM2.5 for Healthy Life of City People” project. The meet was held at the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre in Pathumwan district.

The governor said the project will see the public-private sectors collaborating to come up with multi-faceted solutions to bring down PM2.5 pollution in the city and create cleaner, healthier air for all.

PM2.5 refers to dust particles that are 2.5 micrometres or smaller in diameter that can be breathed in. PM2.5 pollution has been linked to chronic lung and heart disease.

Chadchart said the project includes tree-planting campaigns throughout the city, replacing fossil fuel-powered public vehicles with electrical counterparts and researching the sources of fine dust in the city to formulate effective measures.

“The government has already declared the fine dust problem as a national agenda, but several agencies might still believe they are not directly responsible for solving the problem,” Chadchart said. “BMA will act as a medium to urge all parties to work on reducing pollution, as it will require cooperation from all parties over a long period to yield sustainable results.”

The governor said that if each Bangkok resident plants a tree in their yard, then the city will have 5 million trees to absorb pollution. Also, he said, electric vehicles will also significantly bring down emissions.
The project will also focus on promoting research on monitoring and forecasting pollution through crowdfunding and joint academic efforts, he said.

BMA has also started modifying bicycles used by city officials into electric bikes in collaboration with vocational colleges in the city, Chadchart said. This, he said, will be expanded to cover other BMA service vehicles.

The governor also said that the city is looking to rent land owned by private parties to build public parks that will not only help absorb dust but will also serve as recreational areas for local people.

With rental contracts starting from seven years, the initiative will also help ease the burden on landowners who would normally have to pay taxes for unused or abandoned land.