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Commissioned work

Endangered Sea Turtles Thrive

Marine biologist Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat says 30 to 40 years ago, there were records of leatherback turtles nesting along the Andaman coast. But because of fishing and the travel boom, the nesting stopped for six years.
Due to Covid-19, tourist arrivals fell to 6.7 million in 2020 from 39.9 million the previous year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Electricity use at the beaches fell and the sea turtles began to return.
Dr. Thamrongnawasawat hopes that Thailand rethinks its tourism industry. "We have two or three years to restart Thailand to really think about green tourism, about ecotourism, about the people, he says. "We might not need as many people as we used to."

Hyrdo-Floating Solar Farm goes Live

A floating solar farm that’s equivalent to about 70 soccer fields in size has begun generating power in Thailand, reflecting the country’s push to achieve carbon neutral status by 2050. The facility in Sirindhorn reservoir, about 660 kilometers (410 miles) east of the capital city Bangkok, is the world’s largest hydro-floating solar hybrid system, which combines two methods of electricity generation, according to state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. While 145,000 solar panels harness power from the sun during the day, three turbines convert energy from flowing water at night. The $34 million solar farm, which joined the grid on Oct. 31, is the first of 16 projects planned in key Thai reservoirs, with a combined capacity of 2.7 gigawatts.

Thailand’s Blind Soccer team is training for Tokyo 2020

Meet Thailand's blind national soccer team who've been training for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, away from their families for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When the Paralympics start on August 24, the team that only qualified after Iran pulled out, will be giving it their all. Each blind soccer team has 4 outfield players who must be classified as completely blind, and one goalkeeper who must be sighted or partially sighted.

"In blind soccer, when we attack each other, the players need to shout 'Voy Voy,'" says coach Kongkiat Kongdanprai. "And we use a ball that makes a sound so that blind players can hear the rattling sound."

"We are the last in the rank, but I think we are second to none," says Kongkiat Kongdanprai. "Our players are confident as we've been practicing a lot. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can win a medal."

Meet the Woman Behind Asia's Largest Urban Rooftop Farm

Bangkok is famous for its traffic, density, and frequent flooding. Kotchakorn Voraakhom, a Thai landscape architect is hoping to change that. She designs parks that do more than provide residents with much-needed green space. Voraakhom and her team created the award-winning Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, which can hold up to one million gallons of rainwater.
Then she went on to repurpose 236,806 square feet of unused space on top of Thammasat University and turned it into Asia’s largest organic rooftop farm. Voraakhom also works with communities most vulnerable to floods. She's redesigning homes for the Lat Phrao Canal community, who were badly affected during the 2011 floods, and negotiating a resettlement plan with the government. The Harvard-graduate said the 2011 floods was a turning point in her career. That was when she decided to dedicate her life to making her home city a greener place.

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