Big trees: For beautiful city care for them well

Big cities like Bangkok need Big Trees, taking action to make them healthy & safe, not seeking yet another person to punish, is what is needed.

URBAN ENVIRONMENT, TREES & ROAD SAFETY 

Big trees: For beautiful city care for them well

18/05/2017
Sirinya Wattanasukchai

Last Saturday morning, an uprooted tree on Chidlom Road fell down and toppled seven electricity poles along the road.

One of electricity poles killed one woman and injured two others.

Days passed and then another tree fell over on Sukhumvit 53 Wednesday morning (yesterday).

The tree had been standing in front of the Alma Link Building.

The tree has been fortunate enough to not yet be blamed for killing or hurting anyone like the first tree. At least, not directly.

THE SEARCH FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME

Right after the incident on Chidlom Road, authorities were quick to defend their government agencies.

The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) said their electricity poles were up to standard, implying they weren't at fault.

The government agency would ask the building owner to pay compensation for an LED light broken by the tree.

CITY HALL: TREES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY NOT OUR RESPONSIBILITY

The next day, deputy Bangkok governor Chakkaphan Phewngam said City Hall is responsible for about 3.1 million trees growing in public areas.

It goes beyond its authority to manage trees on private properties, he says.

The police said they were investigating to find out who was responsible for the tree falling.

Nature itself was certainly at least partly responsible.

TO SAVE BIG TREES, EVERYONE MUST WORK TOGETHER

But instead of finding a culprit to blame or defending their own agencies, it is time state agencies worked together to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.

Most importantly, they should change their perception of trees and see them as a crucial part of our city and make efforts to provide better care (read a previous article on Bangkok Big Tree conservation here).

They should not regard trees as a nuisance to power poles or a threat to public safety during the monsoon.

WHY DID THE TREE FALL?

Experienced arborist Decha Boonkham, also founder of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Architecture, made it clear the uprooting of the tree was caused by inadequate care, resulting in loss of strength and balance.

He recommended a technique for growing trees and keeping them healthy: Use "structural soil" consisting of stones of similar sizes to build pavements, not concrete.

BETTER URBAN PLANNING NEEDED

But good care for trees also involves good urban planning.

Narrowing pavements (sidewalks) for wider roads is the main factor that affects the roots of trees growing along roads.

From its size and height, it's clear the tree that fell on Chidlom -- that the BMA said was 20 years old -- must have been there long before the building was opened in 1991.

And those familiar with architect Robert G Boughey, who designed the building, would know the architect would have tried to maintain the trees at the site.

According to photos shared on social media, the mature tree had been sandwiched on a narrow strip between the pavement (sidewalk) and a path for vehicles to reach the entrance of the building.

GET GOVT INVOLVED WITH TREE MAINTENANCE WITH SINGAPORE'S HERITAGE TREES

In many countries where big trees are considered a treasure and of heritage value, the government often offers proper care for them if property owners agree to keep them.

Take Singapore, for instance. The National Parks Board (NParks) has encouraged the public to nominate trees as Heritage Trees.

According to the NParks website, "all nominations sent to NParks will be recorded in the database.

Nominated trees will be inspected by NParks arborists and the list will be submitted to the Heritage Tree Panel that determines which of these nominated trees will be endorsed as Heritage Trees.

Heritage Trees are endorsed by the Heritage Tree Panel based on a number of criteria including the species of the tree and its rarity, its social, cultural or historical significance, its size (eg trunk circumference) and health".

Once a tree qualifies as a heritage tree, NParks will inspect it regularly to ensure it is healthy.

Since 2001, the Heritage Trees Scheme has promoted conservation of mature trees in the country.

Until now, Singapore has conserved 263 mature trees.

TREES PROVIDE SHADE ON SIDEWALKS AND ROADS, SO GET BMA INVOLVED

So if owners of buildings, like the Alma Link Building, want to have huge trees to provide some necessary shade on Chidlom Road, the BMA should provide proper consultation to keep the trees in good health.

IF YOU CUT DOWN TREES, THERE WILL BE NO BEAUTIFUL TREES IN THE FUTURE

In another case, Ratchathewi district officials decided to fell a huge tree, about one metre in diametre, after a house owner complained to the district office that the roots of the tree under the narrow pavement, which was right in front of their fence, had affected underground water pipes inside their house.

Some residents in their 50s confirmed they had seen the tree standing there since their childhood.

So, who came first?

If we don't change the perception of trees today, Thais will keep counting an increasing number of falling trees and the resulting death or injuries while Singaporeans will enjoy more and more heritage trees.

Sirinya Wattanasukchai is an assistant news editor, the Bangkok Post.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1251530/city-agencies-go-barking-up-the-wrong-tree

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/229715/big-trees-of-bangkok

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