Thailand 'has many choices'

Thai engineers and researchers were urged yesterday to work co-operatively towards a sustainable future.

"It's important for researchers to get in touch with reality. I'd like to invite them out to work with communities," said Professor Piyawat Boon-Long, director of the Thailand Research Fund.

Dr Piyawat was speaking on the first day of the "Second Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development Conference" in Khon Kaen.

He said Thailand was lucky to have a range of energy choices, but it was important for Thai researchers to look at each one carefully.

"We need to have a diverse portfolio. We shouldn't go one way or the other. France made a choice to go nuclear because they didn't have many choices, but Thailand has many choices," he said.

Dr Piyawat said bio-mass - organic material that can be used for fuel - was a major option for Thailand in the future, but clean coal technology, hydro-electricity and nuclear energy were also being investigated.

While the Energy Ministry was studying possible use of nuclear energy and would make a decision in four years time, nuclear was the last option, he said.

Dr Piyawat also emphasised the need for economic incentives in reducing consumer demand for energy.

"That's the first step: reduce the demand. We need some kind of economic incentives, not just education and awareness," he said.

Dr Piyawat said given the right economic encouragement, industry would comply with regulations, but private Thai consumers were more difficult to convince.

"It's much harder to convince private consumers to change their habits: Thai people are very easy-going."

Also at the conference were Prof Pichai Taneerananon, from the Asian Institute of Technology at Pathum Thani, and Japanese academic Prof Mikio Satomura.

Dr Pichai spoke on the cost of road accidents to Thailand. He estimated the cost of each of the 13,000 deaths that occur each year on the roads at Bt5 million, taking into account the financial and emotional toll on the family and country.

Last week saw the launch of the Survival on the Road Project at schools in Songkhla, which aims to educate school students about road safety. Dr Pichai stressed the importance of teaching children from a young age.

"Thirty per cent of these deaths are teenagers," he said.

"We now plan to bring the program to Bangkok to work with Bangkok students, with the help of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration."

Dr Satomura, an earthquake specialist from Shizuoka University, spoke on monitoring and reducing the effects of tsunamis and earthquakes.

Referring to the Sumatra Andaman tsunami that devastated Thailand's south west in 2004, Dr Satomura said while monitoring was important, it was not essential for people in affected areas to build shelters on higher ground.

"Another [tsunami] of this size is not predicted for at least another 100 years, so it's important to worry, but not too much," he said. "A warning system is very important, as we need to be vigilant, but shelters on high ground won't be used in our lifetime."

Dr Satomura, who visited Phuket in 2006, said the most important purpose of such shelters was to make people affected by the tsunami feel safe.

The Conference, attended by around 400 people from 13 countries, including delegates from Australia, China, Bhutan and Korea, finishes tomorrow.

Lily Partland,

Danielle Kirk

The Nation