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Changing Climate, Changing Lives Film Festival 2020
30 August, 2020
Changing Climate, Changing Lives Film Festival 2020
is looking for short films about the mitigation and adaptation to the impact of climate change in Thailand.
Are you familiar with any of the impacts Thailand is facing?
Watch our video!
Interested in submitting your story?
Our competition has 2 categories;
Professional and General
If you’re interested in apply, register below
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Why now? Why Thailand?
Because we face a high risk, high impact future. Here are some facts.
Thailand is one of 16 countries facing “extreme risks” of climate change in the coming 30 years, according to the IPCC. Thailand’s own assessment shows evidence of high climate risks of since the 1970.
Thailand ranks No. 10 in the world on the Global Climate Risk Index.
In the 2010 decade, Thailand has recorded ever higher maximum temperatures exceeding 44 degree Celsius in at least 9 provinces in the hot season. While temperatures have continued to rise in all regions of the country, patterns of rainfall have also changed—since 1955 rainfalls have been less frequent and shortened, but more intense and more concentrated over smaller geographical areas. El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean has resulted in extreme events, such as floods, droughts and heatwaves in the tropics. (What is El Niño?)
In 2011, Thailand had its worse floods in decades with the heaviest rainfalls on record in 60 years. It had “the worst droughts in decades” in 2014-2016 during the El Niño event in the same period. The year 2019 looks to be yet another “worst drought in decades.” Extreme floods and extended droughts are becoming increasingly frequent.
Changing climate is not just about rising temperatures and sea levels or changing rain patterns, but its impacts affect millions of lives. Natural disasters—floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts—mean deaths and injuries, damages or loss of homes and livelihoods, crop failures, and economic losses.
We are inviting film makers to submit up to 10-minute dramatisations the current and future impacts resulting from a changing climate.
In Thailand’s 2011 floods alone, 680 people perished, 5.5% of the country’s landmass was flooded, including 11 million rai of farmland and a number of industrial estates, resulting in THB 1.43 trillion in damages and loss. As many as 13 million people (nearly one in 5 citizens) were affected. While the manufacturing industry suffered a huge loss, those hardest hit were the poor with marginal livelihoods, including farmers, factory workers, day labourers, and petty traders.
During 2013-2016, heat-related death rates in Thailand have also soared, from 0.77 to 5.28 per 100,000 population, especially among older farmers, field labourers and school children, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Deaths from dengue fever, malaria, respiratory illness and food and water-borne diseases are also on the rise.
Thailand has been getting hotter. The trend is clear. Temperatures are expected to rise further by 0.5-1.5 degree Celsius over the next 20 years, and 2-4 degree Celsius by 2099 in various mathematical models. Thailand’s exposure to climate change risks is significant. As proportions of its landmass, 87% is exposed to extreme heat (temperature over 40 degree Celsius), 39% to droughts, 7.5% to floods, and 25% to landslides. These data are from various Thai government policy documents. Good news is that Thailand has a master plan on climate change.
There is no doubt that Thailand needs to prepare for the climate change impacts on so many fronts: natural disasters, water shortages, agricultural production and food security, health of natural resources (soil, water, forests, coastal and marine resources) and the ecosystems, health impacts on the populations and human security.
These threats seem abstract. So what do all these mean for people, individuals and communities? We are looking inspiring stories of creativity and resilience to share.
