This meeting kicks off the collaboration between Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Geoinformatics Center of the Asian Institute of Technology (GIC-AIT). The project aims to pilot test the using GIC’s pLitter AI-CCTV solution for plastic pollution monitoring at the river mouth of the Gulf of Thailand. The current plastic pollution monitoring is conducted manually by DMCR officers, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. Therefore, this pilot testing aims to explore the feasibility of utilizing Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) for plastic pollution monitoring at the river mouths of the Gulf of Thailand. This technical option seeks to replace the manual method and establish sustainable plastic pollution monitoring in Thailand.

Dr. Kittiphon Boonma, GIC’s Research Specialist, gave a technical presentation on the pLitter AI-CCTV solution to the relevant DMCR working teams. He also presented the operation plan that GIC-AIT will undertake under this project and future collaboration and technical support for the DMCR.