0:00:01.461,0:00:04.319
At this very moment,

0:00:04.319,0:00:07.123
with every breath we take,

0:00:07.123,0:00:12.069
major delta cities [br]across the globe are sinking,

0:00:12.069,0:00:16.767
including New York, London,[br]Tokyo, Shanghai,

0:00:16.767,0:00:18.368
New Orleans

0:00:18.368,0:00:21.389
and as well as my city, Bangkok.

0:00:23.113,0:00:27.043
Here is the usual version[br]of climate change.

0:00:28.738,0:00:30.166
This is mine.

0:00:30.770,0:00:31.768
Nothing much,

0:00:31.768,0:00:33.466
just a crocodile on the street.

0:00:33.779,0:00:35.054
(Laughter)

0:00:35.320,0:00:38.540
This is an urgent impact[br]of climate change:

0:00:38.540,0:00:40.372
our sinking cities.

0:00:42.388,0:00:46.576
Here you can see[br]the urbanization of Bangkok,

0:00:46.576,0:00:49.561
growing in every direction,

0:00:49.561,0:00:54.021
shifting from porous,[br]agricultural land --

0:00:54.021,0:00:57.185
the land that can breathe[br]and absorb water --

0:00:57.185,0:00:59.446
to a concrete jungle.

0:01:01.717,0:01:06.222
This is what parts of it look like[br]after 30 minutes of rainfall.

0:01:06.733,0:01:08.665
And every time it rains,

0:01:08.665,0:01:11.574
I wish my car could turn into a boat.

0:01:12.880,0:01:15.337
This land has no room for water.

0:01:15.789,0:01:19.519
It has lost its absorbent capacity.

0:01:22.281,0:01:26.016
The reality of Bangkok's[br]metropolitan region

0:01:26.016,0:01:31.186
is a city of 15 million people

0:01:31.186,0:01:36.868
living, working and commuting [br]on top of a shifting, muddy river delta.

0:01:37.971,0:01:42.983
Bangkok is sinking[br]more than one centimeter per year,

0:01:42.983,0:01:46.679
which is four times faster

0:01:46.679,0:01:49.949
than the rate of predicted sea level rise.

0:01:51.014,0:01:56.338
And we could be below sea level by 2030,

0:01:56.338,0:01:58.178
which will be here too soon.

0:02:01.089,0:02:07.026
There is no coincidence that I am here[br]as a landscape architect.

0:02:07.678,0:02:09.196
As a child,

0:02:09.196,0:02:11.463
I grew up in a rowhouse

0:02:11.463,0:02:14.892
next to the busy road[br]always filled with traffic.

0:02:16.650,0:02:17.951
In front of my house,

0:02:17.951,0:02:20.937
there was a concrete parking lot,

0:02:20.937,0:02:23.018
and that was my playground.

0:02:24.349,0:02:28.683
The only living creature I would find,

0:02:28.683,0:02:30.376
and had fun with,

0:02:30.376,0:02:35.659
were these sneaky little plants[br]trying to grow through the crack

0:02:35.659,0:02:37.157
of the concrete pavement.

0:02:38.079,0:02:40.387
My favorite game with friends

0:02:40.387,0:02:46.915
was to dig the bigger [br]and bigger hole through this crack

0:02:46.915,0:02:49.805
to let this little plant creep out --

0:02:49.805,0:02:51.810
sneak out more and more.

0:02:53.710,0:02:59.125
And yes, landscape archtitecture[br]gives me the opportunity

0:02:59.125,0:03:02.312
to continue my cracking ambition --

0:03:02.312,0:03:03.645
(Laughter)

0:03:03.645,0:03:07.980
to connect this concrete land[br]back to nature.

0:03:10.212,0:03:12.040
Before, Thais --

0:03:12.040,0:03:13.432
my people --

0:03:13.432,0:03:19.310
we were adapted to the cycle[br]of the wet and dry season,

0:03:19.310,0:03:23.020
and you could all us amphibious.

0:03:23.892,0:03:26.168
We lived both on land and on water.

0:03:26.977,0:03:29.390
We were adapted to both.

0:03:30.166,0:03:35.319
And flooding was a happy event[br]when the water fertilized our land.

0:03:37.195,0:03:40.755
But now flooding means ...

0:03:40.755,0:03:41.755
disaster.

0:03:42.734,0:03:44.564
In 2011,

0:03:44.564,0:03:51.214
Thailand was hit by the most damaging[br]and the most expensive flood disaster

0:03:51.214,0:03:52.465
in our history.

0:03:53.364,0:03:57.263
Flooding has turned central Thailand[br]into an enormous lake.

0:03:58.795,0:04:04.075
Here you can see the scale of the flood[br]in the center of the image

0:04:04.075,0:04:06.691
to the scale of Bangkok[br]outlined in yellow.

0:04:08.584,0:04:11.072
The water was overflowing from the north,

0:04:11.072,0:04:13.924
making its away across several provinces.

0:04:16.896,0:04:20.159
Millions of my people,

0:04:20.159,0:04:23.503
including me and my family,

0:04:23.503,0:04:26.114
were displaced and homeless.

0:04:27.364,0:04:29.382
Some had to escape the city.

0:04:30.402,0:04:35.223
Many were terrified of losing[br]their home and their belongings,

0:04:35.223,0:04:40.838
so they stayed back in the flood[br]with no electricity and clean water.

0:04:43.519,0:04:46.119
For me, this flood reflects clearly

0:04:46.119,0:04:50.629
that our modern infrastructure,

0:04:50.629,0:04:56.010
and especially our notion[br]of fighting flood with concrete,

0:04:56.010,0:05:01.689
had made us so extremely vulnerable[br]to the climate uncertainty.

0:05:03.909,0:05:07.532
But in the heart of this disaster,

0:05:07.532,0:05:08.890
I found my calling.

0:05:09.636,0:05:13.848
I cannot just sit and wait[br]as my city continues to sink.

0:05:15.314,0:05:17.237
The city needed me,

0:05:17.237,0:05:21.272
and I have the ability[br]to fix this problem.

0:05:23.132,0:05:25.654
Six years ago,

0:05:25.654,0:05:27.376
I started my project.

0:05:27.701,0:05:34.050
My teams and I won the design competition[br]for Chulalongkorn Centennial Park.

0:05:34.842,0:05:40.684
This was the big, bold mission[br]of the first university in Thailand

0:05:40.684,0:05:44.732
for celebrating its hundredth anniversary

0:05:44.732,0:05:49.865
by giving this piece of land[br]as a public park to our city.

0:05:51.684,0:05:56.968
Having a park sounds very normal[br]to many other cities,

0:05:56.968,0:06:00.210
but not in Bangkok,

0:06:00.210,0:06:06.013
which has one of the lowest[br]public green space per capita

0:06:06.013,0:06:08.217
among megacities in Asia.

0:06:09.960,0:06:14.688
Our project's become[br]the first new public park

0:06:14.688,0:06:17.238
in almost 30 years.

0:06:17.824,0:06:20.340
The 11-acre park --

0:06:20.340,0:06:24.338
a big green crack[br]at the heart of Bangkok --

0:06:24.338,0:06:26.088
opened just last year.

0:06:27.053,0:06:28.341
(Applause and cheers)

0:06:28.341,0:06:29.360
Thank you.

0:06:29.360,0:06:32.487
(Applause)

0:06:33.570,0:06:38.635
For four years we have pushed[br]through countless meetings

0:06:38.635,0:06:42.307
to convince and never[br]giving up to convince

0:06:42.307,0:06:47.843
that this park isn't just[br]for beautification or recreation:

0:06:47.843,0:06:50.559
it must help the city deal with water,

0:06:50.559,0:06:53.535
it must help the city[br]confront climate change.

0:06:54.031,0:06:55.655
And here is how it works.

0:06:56.576,0:06:58.870
Bangkok is a flat city,

0:06:58.870,0:07:03.869
so we harnessed the power of gravity[br]by inclining the whole park

0:07:03.869,0:07:06.432
to collect every drop of rain.

0:07:08.625,0:07:12.117
The gravity force pulls down[br]the runoff from the highest point

0:07:12.117,0:07:13.671
to the lowest point.

0:07:14.687,0:07:19.238
This park has three main elements[br]that work as one system.

0:07:19.870,0:07:21.619
The first, the green roof.

0:07:22.761,0:07:25.883
This is the biggest[br]green roof in Thailand,

0:07:25.883,0:07:29.448
with the rainwater tanks[br]and museum underneath.

0:07:30.928,0:07:32.385
In the dry season,

0:07:32.385,0:07:37.875
the collected rain can be used[br]to water the park for up to a month.

0:07:39.313,0:07:43.813
The runoff on the green roof[br]then falls through wetlands

0:07:43.813,0:07:47.592
with the native water plants[br]that can help filter

0:07:47.592,0:07:49.227
and help clean water.

0:07:50.319,0:07:52.253
And at the lower end,

0:07:52.253,0:07:56.311
the retention pond collects[br]all of the water.

0:07:57.530,0:08:01.078
At this pond, there are water bikes.

0:08:01.604,0:08:05.682
People can pedal and help clean water.

0:08:06.435,0:08:12.200
Their exercise becomes an active part[br]of the park water system.

0:08:13.698,0:08:15.812
When life gives you flood,

0:08:15.812,0:08:17.712
you have fun with the water.

0:08:17.712,0:08:19.097
(Laughter)

0:08:20.791,0:08:25.181
Centennial Park gives room for people[br]and room for water,

0:08:25.181,0:08:28.558
which is exactly[br]what we in our cities need.

0:08:31.163,0:08:35.087
This is an amphibious design.

0:08:35.466,0:08:38.336
This park is not[br]about getting rid of flood.

0:08:38.841,0:08:42.598
It's about creating a way to live with it.

0:08:43.115,0:08:47.182
And not a single drop of rain[br]is wasted in this park.

0:08:48.205,0:08:54.207
This park can hold and collect[br]a million gallons of water.

0:08:57.046,0:08:58.047
(Applause)

0:08:58.047,0:08:59.050
Thank you.

0:08:59.050,0:09:02.145
(Applause)

0:09:03.343,0:09:07.256
Every given project, for me,[br]is an opportunity

0:09:07.256,0:09:12.441
to create more green cracks[br]through this concrete jungle

0:09:12.441,0:09:17.122
by using landscape architecture[br]as the solution,

0:09:17.122,0:09:22.208
like turning this concrete roof[br]into an urban farm,

0:09:22.208,0:09:25.199
which can help absorb rain,

0:09:25.199,0:09:27.490
reduce urban heat island

0:09:27.490,0:09:29.763
and grow food in the middle of the city.

0:09:31.168,0:09:34.926
Reuse the abandoned concrete structure

0:09:34.926,0:09:37.986
to become a green pedestrian bridge.

0:09:39.066,0:09:44.036
And another flood-proof park[br]at Thammasat University,

0:09:44.036,0:09:50.015
which nearly completes the biggest[br]green roof on an academic campus yet

0:09:50.015,0:09:51.637
in Southeast Asia.

0:09:54.807,0:09:59.390
Severe flooding is our new normal,

0:09:59.390,0:10:03.330
putting the Southeast Asian region --

0:10:03.330,0:10:06.792
the region with the most coastline --

0:10:06.792,0:10:08.480
at extreme risk.

0:10:10.111,0:10:13.200
Creating a park is just one solution.

0:10:14.812,0:10:17.762
The awareness of climate change means

0:10:17.762,0:10:22.603
we, in every profession we are involved,

0:10:22.603,0:10:27.614
are increasingly obligated[br]to understand the climate risk

0:10:27.614,0:10:33.251
and put whatever we are working on[br]as part of the solution.

0:10:34.386,0:10:39.180
Because if our cities continue

0:10:39.180,0:10:41.910
the way they are now,

0:10:41.910,0:10:46.108
a similar catastrophe[br]will happen again ...

0:10:46.108,0:10:47.596
and again.

0:10:49.658,0:10:52.922
Creating a solution[br]in these sinking cities

0:10:52.922,0:10:59.989
is like making impossible possible,

0:10:59.989,0:11:02.277
and for that,

0:11:02.277,0:11:07.149
I would like to share one word[br]that I always keep in mind.

0:11:07.750,0:11:10.365
That is, "Tang Jai."

0:11:12.159,0:11:15.368
Tang Jai's literal translation

0:11:15.368,0:11:20.078
for Tang is to firmly stand,

0:11:20.078,0:11:23.765
and Jai means heart.

0:11:24.827,0:11:28.698
Firmly stand your heart at your goal.

0:11:29.381,0:11:31.039
In Thai language,

0:11:31.039,0:11:34.164
when you commit to do something,

0:11:34.164,0:11:37.216
you put Tang Jai in front of your work,

0:11:37.216,0:11:41.181
so your heart will be in your action.

0:11:42.134,0:11:44.335
No matter how rough the path,

0:11:44.335,0:11:46.395
how big the crack,

0:11:46.395,0:11:48.283
you push through to your goal,

0:11:48.283,0:11:50.777
because that's where your heart is.

0:11:52.855,0:11:55.672
And yes, Thailand is home.

0:11:58.107,0:12:01.846
This land is my only home,

0:12:01.846,0:12:07.024
and that's where I firmly stand my heart.

0:12:07.852,0:12:09.511
Where do you stand yours?

0:12:09.973,0:12:10.970
Thank you.

0:12:10.970,0:12:12.293
(Applause)

0:12:12.293,0:12:13.292
Thank you.

0:12:13.292,0:12:14.436
(Thai) Khob khun ka.

0:12:14.436,0:12:16.671
(Applause and cheers)