4 minute read
Wiang Thoeng Subdistrict Municipality
Wiang Thoeng Subdistrict Municipality Toeng District, Chiang Rai
Vision: Wiang Thoeng is a livable town with happy people, continually learning, developing, and managing a sustainable environment. Population: 5121 (2018) Number of communities: 5 Area: 12.50 square kilometers
Advertisement
Wiang Thoeng is a long-standing town with its governing significance. The traces of its glory can be seen in areas along the local waterway such as Ing Canal, be there the remains of ancient temples, ceramic utensils, Buddha’s sculptures, and old moats. Initially, the municipality was a combination of residential and agricultural areas, before the latter subsequently decreased over time, gradually being occupied by residential and community spaces. Despite being rather small in size, the municipality is accommodating a large population, both with registered and unregistered identification, as high as twenty thousand. Therefore, the administration of the town and people is not an easy task, while one of the key challenges lies in the way Wiang Thoeng can manage itself upon such great diversity of the population.
Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model
Key of Success
Encourage as much participation in the brainstorming process, practice, and revision of methods to correspond with the area’s physical conditions and people’s demands.
Encourage people’s participation in local organizations and networks through collaborative brainstorming, action, exchange, and learning for Wieng Tueng Community to develop its own locally derived practice and vision and become a sustainably livable city where the living standard is high, and the population is happy.
Reduce the source of waste production
Wiang Thoeng municipality is known as a model community with highly efficient sustainable waste management. The amount of generated waste in 2020 shows a significant decrease from 3.3 tons per day to 1.4 tons per day, to currently 800 kilograms per day. By incorporating the 3 Rs principles to waste management, the community members learn to manage their household wastes. Wiang Thoeng municipality’s approach to waste sorting categorizes generated wastes into six types: organic wastes, general wastes, recycled wastes, hazardous wastes, infectious wastes, and miscellaneous wastes. The mid-way process includes garbage trucks collecting every kind of garbage and storing them before transporting them to the destination where different disposal methods are utilized. The process reduces waste disposal costs while the municipality’s budget is available for other developments.
Beautiful Moats, Clean Water
The moats of Wiang Thoeng municipality are the community’s long-standing historical site. With the growing population density, the area was facing worsening water pollution as the moats serve as the basin where wastewater from local households flow into, causing the water condition to become weaker with an unpleasant smell. The problem later led to the rebuilding of Wiang Thoeng mission, which takes on the approach that includes the participation of community members and the municipality in refurbishing the moats through various activities and methods such as dilution, construction of artificial ponds, the use of water hyacinth.
Sustainable City Model
Learning Center for Environmental Management
Learning Center # 1 Local Sufficiency School (LSS) and waste management
Wiang Thoeng Municipal School is a part of ‘Khuang Wiang Thoeng Brings Happiness’, a lifelong educational zone operated with educational management with integrative environmental missions and activities, as well as sufficiency economy philosophy. The school’s curriculum aims to educate and cultivate knowledge to the youths as a Local Sufficiency School (LSS).
Learning Center # 2 Beautiful Moats, Clean Water
Following the royal projects, the networks within Wiang Thoeng community incorporate the natural treatment of wastewater as the critical method to help resolve the chronic water pollution within the moats and develop preventive measures. The focus is put on people’s participation to carry out and manage every process of their self-dependent community.
Learning Center # 3 Baan Wieng Jom Jorm Jor, a village with 100% waste-sorting system
Baan Wieng Jom Jorm Jor is a village with its self-management system, particularly its all-encompassing waste management, which has become a model followed by many other local agencies. The process includes establishing the village’s working committee to define the guideline for the management of waste sources and production, the founding of the ‘civil society’ to oversee waste management consensus among members of the village, and the municipality. Every household is knowledgable about 3Rs method and develops a better understanding of waste sorting thanks to a practical guideline, which explains the waste management system from the source, the mid-way process, and the destination. Consequentially, Baan Wieng Jom Jorm Jor Moo 20’s has achieved its goal of becoming a village with a 100% waste-sorting system.
Learning Center # 4 Kad Noi Heem Ing Market: Three Fresh Market Principles
‘Three Fresh market principles’ is a concept realized to oversee the management of Kad Noi Heem Ing Market, which focuses on the selling of safe and hygienic products and food in an environmentally friendly operated market to generate income for the locals. The ‘merchant society’ serves as a factor that propels people to manage and participate in every administrative process under the Three Fresh Market principles: Green for the environment, Strength for the economy, and Strictness for people’s health and hygiene.
