Bang Kachao, also known as Bangkok's green lung, has received a shield against industrial and polluting activities after it was named an environmentally protected area.
Bang Kachao is known locally as krapow moo on account of its shape which closely resembles that of a pig's stomach.
Praised by Time magazine as the Best Urban Oasis of Asia, Bang Kachao, with its dense green areas of 5,700 rai, or 48% of the total land, is capable of absorbing 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year while also producing oxygen for the millions of people who call Bangkok home.
About half of the estimated 40,000 local residents still grow garden vegetables in their backyards or plant big trees alongside cash crops.
To protect this space, a law was published under a ministerial regulation in the Royal Gazette on Feb 28.
The law concerns land use and construction activities in all six tambons in the Bang Kachao area, an expansive green space located in the Phra Pradaeng district of Samut Prakan.
More specifically, Bang Kachao is located next to the Chao Phraya River opposite to Klong Toey and Phra Khanong in Bangkok.
The declared zone covers 11,819 rais of land in six local administrations. They are tambon Bang Kachao, tambon Bang Ko Bua, tambon Bang Nam Phueng, tambon Bang Yo, tambon Bang Krasop and tambon Song Khanong.
"The regulation is intended to protect the ecosystem," said Rawiwan Phuridet, secretary-general of Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (Onep).
The law was issued under Section 43 of the 1992 National Environment Quality Promotion and Protection Act.
With this new status, construction activity or conversion of existing buildings into factories will be prohibited on Bang Kachao.
However, new construction will be allowed for existing hotels, apartments, yacht berths, and other such similar structures.
The laws also limits the heights of buildings in the area to 9 metres. Only buildings with gable roofs or Thai traditional roofs will be allowed to stand more than 9 metres but have a maximum limit of 12 metres.
The law also requires new property owners to dedicate at least half of their land to trees.
Other activities prohibited in Bang Kachao include allocation of land for new housing or commercial purposes and the construction of a new golf course.
More importantly, any activities that may result in a watercourse in Bang Kachao becoming a shallow watercourse or polluted are also strictly prohibited.
In each of the six tambons, the use of land for housing and commercial purposes is strictly limited to only at most 15% of the entire area.
