As a professor of Environmental Protection at Canadore College, North Bay, Ontario for about 20 years, my subjects of expertise included

  • Hydrology
  • Air Monitoring
  • Water Monitoring
  • Environmental Management

The combination of my teaching experience and my training as a Chemical Engineer, were very advantageous in handling the position of Canadian Environmental Coordinator for the following project.

The Thai Canadian Centre for Environmental and Agro-Industrial Technology. (TCCEAD)

This four year Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) project 1993-97 was designed to provide technical training to Thai industries using Canadian technical expertise. In addition, the long-term goal was to train the Thai technical personnel to provide this technical training, thus perpetuating the Thai Canadian Centre.

Our Thai host and location of the Thai Canadian Centre was:

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology North Bangkok (KMITNB,

The Canadian partners included:

Canadore College, North Bay, Ontario Subjects: Environment and Process Control British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) of Burnaby, BC, Subjects: Food Technology and Biotechnology

I was the Canadian environmental coordinator for this project. Each of the first three years provided seminars of from 2 to 4 days, where Canadian experts provided environmental training to Thai industrial personnel. In addition 10 training manuals were produced to facilitate the Thai personnel from KMITNB continuing on with the training after the Canadian funding ceased.

As a finale in the fourth and last year of the project, the First Annual Ecological Engineering Conference was held June 26 to 28, 1997. Ecological Engineering experts including 6 from Canada, 1 from the United States and 3 from Thailand created a very high caliber of presentations. This conference represented the symbolic turning over of ownership of the Thai Canadian Centre to King Mongkut’s Institute (KMITNB). Benefits of the conference include

  • teaching Thai environmental professionals ecological engineering concepts both theoretical and practical aspects.
  • demonstrating Canadian expertise at solving environmental problems
  • exposing Canadian experts to environmental problems in developing countries.
  • bringing together a nucleus of ecological engineering professionals to foster networking.
  • demonstrating the ability of KMITNB to continue with environmental training programs.

The 3-day conference highlighting Canadian expertise at solving environmental problems by working with Mother Nature has been designed by the Environmental Protection Program of Canadore College. Ecological Engineering involves such methods as using wetlands to help purify polluted water and using bioremediation to optimize the breakdown of contaminated wastes using specialized microorganisms. It also is low tech, low maintenance, low capital cost and simple to run. As such, Ecological Engineering is a rapidly expanding field in North America and is especially well suited to poorer, tropical countries.

It is probable that the conference proceedings will be published in Ecological Engineering, an American based periodical. It is especially novel to be spotlighting a technology and concept that is predicted to become a very major force in environmental management in the future of the world.

First Annual Ecological Engineering Conference
Delta Grand Pacific Hotel,
Bangkok, Thailand
June 26, 28, 1997

Overview of Experts.

  • Dr. Patrick Kangas, Coordinator, Natural Resources Management Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
  • Mr. Fabian Bandoni, P. Eng., F. Bandoni Engineering Services, Kitchener, ON
  • Mr. Jay Babin, Senior Limnologist, Golder Associates, Mississauga, ON
  • Mr. Ed Hanna, Principal, J.E. Hanna Associates Inc., Pickering, ON
  • Ms. Linda Abraham, Instructor, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, BC
  • Mr. Sheldon Smith, Researcher, Ministry of Environment, Aurora, ON
  • Mr. Ken Abraham, Consulting Engineer, Stanley Engineering Associates, Vancouver, BC

Conference Programme

Day 1 (June 26, 1997) Theme: Constructed Wetlands
AM


08:00 Registration
08:30 Opening Ceremonies, Welcome Address: President Banleng Sornil, KMITNB
09:00 Keynote Address (Dr. Pat Kangas) Ecological Engineering: Practical Applications and Theoretical Prospects
10:00 Coffee Break
10:15 Constructed Wetlands in Thailand – Case Study (Thai Speaker)
11:15 Constructed Wetlands for Treating a Domestic and Industrial Wastewater (Mr. Ken Abraham)
12:15 Lunch PM
Parallel A
13:00 Design of Constructed Wetlands (Workshop – Thai Speaker)
14:30 Coffee
14:45 Constructed Wetland as a Complete Sewage Treatment System, Cobalt, Ontario (Mr. Ed Hanna)
16:00 Close
17:00 Reception
Parallel B
13:00 Assessing Constructed Wetland Performance. (Mr. Sheldon Smith)
13:45 Eutrophication Causes and Controls (Mr. Jay Babin)
14:30 Coffee
14:45 Devil’s Creek Sanitary Trunk Sewer Project, Cambridge, Ontario-Project History and Construction (Mr. Fabian Bandoni)
16:00 Close
17:00 Reception

Day 2 (June 27, 1997) Theme: Bioremediation AM
09:00 Technology Transfer and Commercialization of Ecological Engineering (Dr. Pat Kangas)
9:45 Bioremediation of Aquatic & Terrestrial Environments (Thai Speaker)
10:30 Coffee Break
10:45 Bangkok Khlong Rehabilitation Waterway Development Master Plan – (Mr. Jay Babin)
11:30 Title: Bioremediation of Chlorinated and Nonchlorinated Organic Waste (Ms. Linda Abraham)
12:15 Lunch PM
Parallel A
13:00 Sediment Oxidation to Enhance Intrinsic Bioremediation and Remove Sulfides and Odours (Mr. Jay Babin)
13:45 Biological Nutrient Removal for Treatment of Industrial and Domestic Wastewater (Mr. Ken Abraham)
14:30 Coffee
14:45 Panel Discussion (both groups)
16:00 Close

 
Parallel B
13:00 Devil’s Creek Sanitary Trunk Sewer Project, Cambridge, Ontario-Watershed Environmental Enhancement Plan (Mr. Fabian Bandoni)
13:45 Constructed Wetlands as a Polishing System, Mindemoya, Ontario (Mr. Ed Hanna)
14:30 Coffee
14:45 Panel Discussion (both groups)
16:00 Close

The mandate of the Thai Canadian Centre for Environmental and Agro-Industrial Technology is to bring together Canadian technology and expertise with Thai technology and expertise. A one-day seminar was initiated for the Canadian Hydrological Centre of the National Research Council (NRC). It was very successful and as of June 1997, a joint venture on Flood Management has been undertaken with the National Research Council and the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA).

Environmental Data Management and Decision Support Systems
“Potential Application to River and Coastal Ecosystems in Thailand”
Tuesday June 25th, 1996
Bangkok, Thailand

Sponsored by:

  • Environment Canada
  • National Research Council Canada

Seminar Focus

The seminar is comprised of presentations defining the concept of advanced environmental data management and decision support systems based on the use of contemporary information technologies including satellite imagery, global positioning systems (GPS), graphical information systems (GIS), Internet and knowledge-based systems. The seminar will review the status of their development, their utility in allowing managers to make information-based decisions, and the potential economic benefits to local, regional and national organizations.

Applications in general will focus on river and coastal ecosystems with special attention paid to watershed management, river management, flood routing management, and coastal management. Plenary sessions will be held to solicit input from participants regarding potential Thailand applications and future developments. The potential for expanding institutional linkages between Thailand and Canada will be discussed.

Program Morning Session
8:30 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:15 Opening Remarks
9:15 – 9:45 The Paradigm Shift in Environmental Data Management
9:45 – 10:00 Coffee Break
10:30 – 11:30 Applications- Watershed Management River Management Flood Routing Management Coastal Management
11:30 – 12:00 Plenary Session: Potential Thailand Applications

Afternoon Session
13:00 – 14:30 Review of System Components
14:30 – 14:45 Coffee Break
14:45 – 15:30 The Economics of Data Management and Decision Support Systems Use of Existing Archival and GIS Data The Economic Advantage
15:30 – 16:00 Plenary Session: Future Developments
16:00 – 16:15 Closing Remarks

Future Plans

As of September, 1997, all Canadian funding to the TCCEAC ceased, and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, North Bangkok became the sole support to the Thai Canadian Centre.