In honor of His Majesty the King, the Green Country Foundation is holding a campaign called the Green Country Project, which is hoped to promote reforestation in Thailand. Phitsanulok is the first province to initiate the campaign.
Mr. Chairote Meedaeng, Governor of Phitsanulok province, has presided over the opening ceremony of the Green Country Project at Naresuan Dam in Phitsanulok province. The campaign was launched under the concept of “Planting 984 Million Saplings in Honor of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej”. From the number 984, nine represents His Majesty’s title as King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty, and eighty-four represents his 84th birthday anniversary on December 5, 2011. The campaign is scheduled to run for 5 years.
In his address, Mr. Chairote stated that this campaign will encourage reforestation among Thai people. He indicated that human beings have been cutting down trees and are, therefore, the ones to blame for all the natural disasters that have come as a consequence. The Governor stressed that it is now the time for people to give back what they have taken from nature, adding that the Green Country Project will make people realize how lucky they are to have trees and how important forests are to all lives on this earth.
After the opening ceremony of the project, a parachute jumping show was performed by the Thai Air Force’s Wing 46. The parachuters jumped down from the sky, holding saplings and symbolic flags before handing them to Mr. Anan when landed. The flags carried the royal emblems of Their Majesties the King and Queen and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
The objectives of the project are as follows: 1) to raise awareness among Thai people regarding global warming and environmental issues, 2) to educate farmers about benefits of microorganisms, and 3) to increase forest areas by 10 million rai within 5 years.
According to M.R. Waraprapa Chakrabandhu, Manager of the Green Country Project, the campaign will not only raise awareness among people about global warming or increase the forest areas in Thailand, but it will also help prevent Thailand from flooding, which caused massive devastation in the country in late 2011. Therefore, this campaign will help the country minimize the impact from such a natural disaster in the future.
At this stage, Phitsanulok, as the first province to initiate the project, has planted over 10,000 trees on the opening day and will continue to do so until 1.6 million trees are planted according to the task assigned by the Green Country Foundation.
Additionally, 9 more provinces will join the campaign within this year, including Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Songkhla. Each province will be assigned a task to plant 1.6 million saplings in 5 years’ time.
People who are interested in taking part in the Green Country Project can contact telephone number 02-917-4760 or 085-055-8031.
