RESUMEN
A Research through Designing approach was used to explore nature-based solutions (NbS) for flood management at the fluvial (regional) and pluvial (local) scales as part of a Smart District visioning study in a peri-urban area north of Bangkok, Thailand. The NbS visions were informed by community surveys (total n = 770) as well as in-depth, semi-structured interviews with community leaders and key stakeholders representing private sector business. Both fluvial and pluvial flooding commonly occur in the study area and the cost of damage incurred by individuals generally exceeds aid remuneration. The surveys revealed that flood insurance was not widely used as a form of resiliency to flood conditions. Furthermore, survey participants generally considered common space and green space unsatisfactory and inadequate to meet community needs. In light of these survey responses, example NbS visions were developed to address community concerns and promote well-being, while concurrently providing resiliency and improved ecosystem services through connectivity of blue and greenscapes. This case study provides a novel linkage between the concepts of NbS, Research through Designing, and Smart City/District, in exploring sustainable and resilient approaches to flood management in the context of tropical, Global South development and also provides a first step towards developing an NbS typology.
RESUMEN
The illegal trade of wildlife in SE Asia has been identified as the likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. We reviewed 198 papers on the current COVID pandemic in Cambodia, diseases such as avian influenza and Nipah virus, most likely to develop into a new pandemic in Cambodia, and common features of disease that require mitigation. Artisanal goldmining uses pure mercury in the areas where wildlife is smuggled to China. Moreover, 30-40% of Cambodians are zinc deficient. High levels of arsenic in irrigation water (>1000 µg/L) are associated with very low levels of zinc in rice (5 µg/g) and rice is the primary staple food for the region. Brown rice from nine of 15 paddy fields in the arsenic zone of Cambodia had double the new guidelines of 100 µg/kg inorganic arsenic for children's food in the EU and USA. The combination of deficiencies of essential micronutrients like zinc and pervasive presence of arsenic and mercury has the potential to compromise the immunity of many Cambodians. Innovative solutions are suggested to improve micronutrient nutrition. Toxins that suppress the immune system must be better managed to reduce the virulence of pathogens. Cambodia was not likely the source of the COVID-19 but does have problems that could result in a new pandemic.