By Jungang Luo and Office of Public Affairs
The webinar hosted by the Belt and Road Research Center of the Asian Institute of Technology offered different perspectives on strengthening the collaboration network between Thailand and China in the environment and sustainable development field.
On June 27th, 2022, the AIT Belt and Road Research Center (BRRC) hosted its 5th public webinar titled “Addressing SDG 6 Challenges through Government-Industry-Academia Linkage in The Belt and Road”. The webinar was jointly organized by National Research Council of Thailand, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Water and Environment, and sponsored by Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation of Thailand, and Alliance of International Science Organizations. Experts who are deeply engaged in clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) in Thailand and China exchanged their experiences and opinions on strengthening the efforts toward SDG 6 through close collaborations among governments, academia, and industries.
Dr. Eden Woon, President of AIT, welcomed all speakers and participants at the beginning of the webinar. Dr. Wiparat De-ong, executive director of the national research council of Thailand; Prof. Narong Sirilertworakul, president of National Science and Technology Development Agency and vice president of Alliance of International Science Organizations, and Prof. Jinghua Cao, executive director, secretariat of the Alliance of International Science Organization delivered their opening remarks for the webinar.
The keynote speakers of this webinar were Prof. Chongrak Polprasert, professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat university of Thailand, Prof. Yuansong Wei, director of Laboratory of Water Pollution Control Technology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and deputy director of CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Water and Environment, Prof. Gang Liu, team leader at Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Chayawee Wangcharoenrung, director of Domestic Wastewater Subdivision of Water Quality Management Division from Pollution Control Department of Thailand, Dr. Hai Cen, chief operating officer of Hexu Environment Co. Ltd. A panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Wenchao Xue, director of AIT Belt and Road Research Center after the keynote speeches. The webinar was moderated by Mr. Jungang Luo, special assistant of the AIT Belt and Road Research Center. Prof. Min Yang, deputy director of the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Science, and Dr. Monthip Sriratana, senior advisor of the National Research Council of Thailand, wrapped up the discussion and closed the event.
“These backgrounds (of Thailand and China) provide a great opportunity for Thailand and China to look for the next step in jointly improving their water environment and water resources through an integrated effort of governments, academia, and industries,” said AIT President Eden Woon in his welcome remarks.
Significance of the collaboration between Thailand and China on SDG6
As the opening speakers, Dr. De-ong, Prof. Sirilertworakul, and Prof. Cao affirmed the significance of strengthening the collaboration between Thailand and China and expressed their support for this event and best wishes for the future. They highlighted the importance of linking the bridge between the government, industry, and academia to solve the challenges.
SDG6 situations in Thailand and Chin and the need for technology innovation
Prof. Polprasert introduced the current situation of SDG6 in Thailand and pointed out that “the provision of equal and standardized access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services is an urgent issue in Thailand.” Meanwhile, Prof. Wei introduced the successful case of China-Sri Lanka cooperation, their work including operation and management, research and technology program, education and training, and exchange of visits. Then, Prof. Liu delivered the drinking water issue from a global perspective and some approaches some countries have made. Dr. Wangcharoenrung continued to illustrate the standard practices in Thailand and the constraints and gave recommendations for further studies. At last, Dr. Cen shared the solutions and technology in China.
Experts shared informative and interesting opinions on our topic during the panel discussion. In the end, Prof. Yang and Dr. Sriratana provided the closing remarks.
