IMPACT STUDY OF ENVIRONMENT EVOLUTION AROUND THREE PUBLIC PARKS IN BANGKOK METROPOLIS PROVINCE

September – November 2025

Emma LAHMER

Master 2 Geography DynPED (UFR 08), emma.lahmer06@gmail.com

Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - HealthDEEP (CNRS) - Kasetsart University

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University supervisor :

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Company supervisor : Secondary supervisor :

Dr. Yves-Marie Rault-Chodankar, Associate Professor of Geography at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a member of the Prodig (UMR 8586) research lab

Dr. Olivier Telle, CNRS researcher

Dr. Serge Morand, director of HealthDEEP IRL (Thailand) and CNRS researcher

The aims of the study

• Need to better understand the interactions between urban environments, synanthropic fauna and health risks in order to anticipate the future vulnerabilities of large tropical cities
• Map and analyse the evolution of natural and human-made environments in Bangkok Metropolitan Province (BMP) between 2018 and 2025, specifically around three major public parks: Lumphini Park, Wachirabenchathat Park and Benchakitti Park
• Examines urban transformations, identifies factors that promote or limit rodent proliferation and compares the results with a study conducted in Singapore to shed light on the common challenges faced by Southeast Asian metropolises

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Methods: macro to the micro-territorial level

• Remote sensing, spectral indices and multi-source environmental data

Sources: Copernicus Sentinel-2, Copernicus Sentinel-5 Level-2,Copernicus DEM GLO-30, Global Human Settlement buil-up surfaces, Regional land cover Monitoring system, Open Street Map, GADM, Natural Earth, Air4Thai, Bangkok Metropolitan Authority

• Fieldwork to document urban structures, practices, infrastructure, green spaces and the conditions that favour the presence of rats

One week per park

Additional week of field for Benchakitti Park to follow Thai researchers from Mahidol University

• Sketches
• Photographs

Summary of results

• Contrasting urban dynamics around the three parks, but limited evolution of land cover at the province scale between 2018-2025
• Consolidation of central green spaces acting as biodiversity hotspots
• Intensification of anthropogenic pressures related to building density, traffic flows, commercial activities and waste areas
• Shape the environmental quality of the parks, but also influence the movements and the behaviours of urban wildlife
• Similar results with Singapore’s study (high rat presence, rats near food sources, use of drains, cat’s regulation of young rat population, toxic bait traps, green spaces impacts)