Date: July 19, Saturday, 2008, 15:00-18:00
Place: Sirindhorn International Environmental Park under
the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
(Cha-am, Petchaburi Province)
With a royal attendance of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the Opening Ceremony was held at the Energy for Environment Center in the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park (SIEP), with 200 guests including representatives of U.N. Organizations, Ambassadors, Ministers, Governor, representatives of sponsors, organizers, etc.
Dr. Mario Tabucanon, Special Advisor to Chairman of SIEP, reporting on the project to HRH the Princess (above photo). Major VIP guests are including Ambassador of Japan, Ambassador of Singapore, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Minster of Energy, Minister of Transportation, Governor of Petchaburi Province, Judge-in-charge of the Court of Phetchaburi, 1st Army Area Commander, Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 7, Commissioner of Border Patrol Police Bureau Royal Thai Police, Chairman of Sirindhorn International Environmental Park Foundation, etc.
(Above) Special Plaques were presented by HRH the Princess to representatives of FGPE (organizer) and special sponsors of Hitachi Group, Honda Group and a sponsor of Saha-Union Group. (Below) Main gate of the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, and the Energy for Environment Center, where the ceremony was held.
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn planted five kind of young trees at the beach forest to launch “Plant for the Planet! Plant for the Future! - the Billion Tree Campaign in Thailand” officially. Behind Princess, representatives of FGPE and sponsoring companies were looking at the royal planting.
(Below) Reporting the activities of the Forests for the Future Project in Tibet, Japan and Kenya, held since 2002 as joint programs of FGPE and UNEP, to HRH the Princess, at the exhibition corner next to the royal planting site.
Following the royal planting ceremony, 1,500 participants including local school children and citizens, boy and girl scouts, staff members and families of sponsoring companies of Hitachi, Honda, Saha-Union, Kao, etc., planted 6,250 seedlings at the launching day. Tree planting activities has been continued to plant 50,000 in total at the beach forest by the end of August, with the final target of 300,000 trees throughout the 288 hectors of the Sirindhorn Park.
(Above) HE Hideaki Kobayashi, Ambassador of Japan, and participants from sponsoring companies enjoyed planting trees together with local school children and citizens.
(Below) Hitachi group donated two mini excavators. (From right) Mr. Osamu Ozutumi, Executive General Manager of Corporate Communications Division, Mr. Shunsuke Ohtsu, Chief Executive for Asia of Hitachi Ltd., and Mr. Tomoo Tanabe, Managing Director of Hitachi Asia (Thailand) Ltd.
After the launching on July 19, hundreds of school children, university students and boy and girl scouts planted trees continuously to plant 50,000 seedlings in total at the beach forests in SIEP.
