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Thai Villagers Turn To Cartoon Cat As Extreme Heat Wave Leaves Much Of Region Helpless

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and across Asia, communities are responding to an extreme and deadly heat wave, which has battered the region since last month and has left few options for residents and governments to cope, in creative and even superstitious ways.

One city in the Philippines has rolled out free mobile showers, while in Vietnam, municipal authorities reportedly looked into the possibility of enlisting the help of a man who claimed he could pray for precipitation. In Thailand, a village in the central province of Nakhon Sawan resorted earlier this week to a rain-calling ritual that involved parading a Japanese manga cat.

According to Thai media, some 200 residents of the province's Phayuha Khiri district conducted a traditional hae nang maew, or "female cat parade." The ceremony has agricultural roots dating back hundreds of years ago in which farmers would hold a procession with a nang maew (female cat), carried in either a basket or cage, across the village as planting season approaches. Because of cats' aversion to water, traditionally the captive cat is splashed with water with the belief that its cries will augur rainfall.

While in the past, real cats have been used, amid increasing concerns about animal abuse, Hello Kitty dolls and other lifeless alternatives have been subbed in instead in recent years.

The Thai villagers this week used plushies of Doraemon—a cartoon blue, male, robotic cat of Japanese origin popularized by its eponymous manga and anime. It's not the first time Doraemon has played the central part in the rain-calling ritual. Doraemon, which first appeared in 1969, has become a beloved icon in the Southeast Asian country and has often been spotted over the years in Buddhist shrines and temples.

But Doraemon's powers in this regard are likely limited, as Thailand's dry weather conditions aren't expected to let up until at least mid-May, as the rainy season's start is delayed. Meanwhile, as climate change continues to push global temperatures upward, meteorological experts warn that the country's sweltering summer heat that once would ease around June may now and in the future last through October.

Read More: How to Monitor and Stay Safe in Extreme Heat, Using the CDC's New HeatRisk Tool

Washington Hosts Green 5+1 For Central Asia To Address Environmental Challenges

ASTANA – The Jamestown Foundation think tank hosted The Green 5+1 for Central Asia event on April 25 in Washington, D.C. To examine Central Asia's environmental challenges and discuss cooperation between Central Asian states and the United States in addressing the impact of climate change, water management, and energy transition in the region, reported the foundation's press service.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

According to Kazinform, U.S. Experts expressed concern about the environmental situation in Central Asia, which requires attention from the global community and large investments in restoration or rehabilitation, including the transition to a green economy.

Brian Stimmler, Director of the Central Asia Division of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, stated that the U.S. Is developing strategies to address common vulnerabilities in Central Asia's water, energy, and food sectors.

He emphasized the importance of the C5+1 working group on energy and environment, which has projects and initiatives stemming from governments. Stimmler mentioned the U.S.'s openness to ideas from the private sector and civil society and highlighted a persistent issue with resources.

"Large-scale investments are needed in the infrastructure of Central Asia to implement commitments to combat climate change," Stimmler noted.

He added that climate and the environment will continue to be a priority for the United States, both in domestic and foreign policy, including through the C5+1 platform.

Sarah Cameron, Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, noted that the United States is also facing the problem of shrinking bodies of water, such as the Great Salt Lake, similar to the Aral Sea. She emphasized that Western scientists are keen on learning from the experiences of Central Asian countries in restoring and rehabilitating the landscape of the Aral Sea region.

Mary Melnyk, the Environmental Security and Resilience Division Chief of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Asia Bureau, expressed concern about the reduction of glaciers, which will become a serious problem in the region, not only for water supply but also for the habitat of snow leopards.

"There are several countries in Central Asia that have institutions for water problems, and we intend to work with them to begin restoring monitoring of glaciers and volumes of water flowing from the mountains," said Melnyk.

Sanjay Srivastava, Practice Manager for Environment, Natural Resources Management and the Blue Economy in Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank, highlighted that the regional Sustainable Landscapes program has $242 million in concessional loan funds, a trust fund of nearly $13 million, and an additional $5 million available from other sources.

Various programs are being implemented to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change in the Aral Sea basin ($64 million), the Blueing the Caspian Sea project ($12.8 million), and improving air quality in the Kyrgyz Republic ($50 million), among others.

Since 2015, the C5+1 diplomatic platform has engaged the United States with the five Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This cooperation mechanism has enhanced the dialogue between the U.S. And Central Asia on security, economy, energy, and the environment. In November 2023, the Central Asian states and the United States launched the B5+1 business platform to boost economic integration. The B5+1 initiative, operating within the framework of the existing C5+1 cooperation, prioritizes economic security by promoting regional economic integration, implementing reforms, fostering public-private dialogue, encouraging innovation, and attracting foreign investment to the member states, as outlined by the foundation.

E-waste Is Overflowing Landfills. At One Sprawling Vietnam Market, Workers Recycle Some Of It

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam -- Dam Chan Nguyen saves dead and dying computers.

When he first started working two decades ago in Nhat Tao market, Ho Chi Minh City's biggest informal recycling market, he usually salvaged computers with bulky monitors and heavy processors. Now he works mostly with laptops and the occasional MacBook.

But the central tenet of his work hasn't changed: Nothing goes to waste. What can be fixed is fixed. What can be salvaged gets re-used elsewhere. What's left is sold as scrap.

"We utilize everything possible," he said.

The shop he works at is one of many in a market that spreads across several streets filled with haggling customers. Most repair shops are a single room crammed with junked electronic devices or e-waste with tables placed outside. Workers, many of them migrants from across Vietnam, repair or salvage items like laptops, scarred mobile phones, camera lenses, television remotes, even entire air conditioning units. Other shops sell brand-new electronics alongside old, refurbished items.

The bustle is emblematic of a world that is producing more e-waste than ever — 62 million metric tons in 2022, projected to grow to 82 million metric tons by 2030, according to a report by the United Nation's International Telecommunications Union and research arm UNITAR. Asian countries generate almost half of it.

"We are currently generating e-waste at an unprecedented rate," said Garam Bel, e-waste officer at the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union.

Managing that waste is crucial. It's filling up landfills at an alarming pace and dangerous chemicals like lead leak into the environment and harm human health. It also means missing out on recoverable resources — $62 billion worth in 2022, according to the U.N. Report.

And that waste is rising five times faster than formal recycling.

Less than a quarter of electronic waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022. Some of the rest winds up in the hands of informal waste workers, like Nguyen, in different parts of the world. That's especially the case in Southeast Asian nations where, the UN report found, none of the electronic waste is formally collected or recycled.

Nguyen, 44, is one of three employees in the shop. His long years in the business have led to relationships with regular customers, including some other computer repair centers who rely on him for tricky jobs. It requires keeping up with changing trends and technology, so he's constantly learning via friends and the internet.

He works 11 hours a day for a monthly salary of around $470 — about 2 1/2 times the minimum wage in Vietnam's biggest and most expensive city — with quick meals as his only breaks.

It's demanding work that doesn't come with health benefits or a retirement plan. Nguyen's health is OK, but he worries about potentially dangerous chemicals in the electronic devices he dismantles without protective gear.

Then there's Ho Chi Minh City's increasing extreme heat. The little shop can feel like an oven, particularly in summer.

"Sitting here can feel like death," he said. "I just have to endure. I must work to make a living."

Informal waste workers like Nguyen can help solve a problem that plagues formal operations: Getting their hands on enough waste to make recycling cost-effective. They don't wait for people to bring it to them.

In Vietnam, for instance, waste workers fan out to people's homes and collect waste that can be salvaged from bins at street corners. Others, like Nguyen, have established networks to acquire discarded electronics.

"We source used items from everywhere — anyone who sells, I buy," he said.

Formal recycling companies typically have certifications for dismantling and recycle electronic devices using sophisticated machinery. They also take more precautions for the health risks of e-waste, which can include toxic components. For instance, crude processes like melting plastic circuit boards to recover valuable copper can expose people to highly toxic and persistent chemicals called dioxins that, in high levels, are linked to birth defects and cancer. Some devices also contain mercury.

Copper, gold, silver and even some tiny amounts of rare earth minerals — necessary for smartphones, computer displays and LED light bulbs — can be recovered from recycling. Only about 1% of the demand for 17 of those key minerals is met through recycling, according to the U.N. Report. Bel, of the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union, said he had no data on how much of those minerals are recovered via informal recycling.

Bel said that formal recyclers should try and work with informal workers to get access to more waste without hurting the livelihoods of the informal workers. That could have other advantages, like mitigating health risks for the informal workers, and ensuring that they don't cherry-pick the most valuable parts of any waste and dump the rest.

Such collaborations are already being attempted in some places. In the Indian capital of New Delhi, for instance, a company called EcoWork has built a co-working space where informal recyclers can dismantle their waste. They can use modern machines to do it more safely, and aggregating it means better prices while also saving on transportation costs. And that makes it easier for companies that want to buy the salvaged materials at a scale that isn't possible otherwise.

"You can't just say: Stop the informal sector from working on e-waste," said Deepali Khetriwal, the co-founder of EcoWork.

Nguyen said that a similar collaboration of informal and formal waste workers in Vietnam would be great for informal workers in Vietnam. He'd have more computers to fix and salvage and make more money. "If we could formalize our work, that would be perfect," he said.

The Southeast Asian nation is among the few countries in the region with laws to deal with e-waste. It set up a national plan to manage e-waste in 2020, aiming to collect and treat 70% of it by 2025, and has been trying to integrate informal workers into formal systems to give them better protections.

Stopping isn't an option for the tens of thousands of mostly women waste collectors like Nguyen Thi Hoan, 52. Unlike waste recyclers, where there are many more men, the collectors trudge several miles daily in Vietnam looking for trash. It's one of the few things that women on the margins can do.

Hoan moved to Ho Chi Minh City over a decade ago from the coastal Binh Dinh province in central Vietnam to try to escape poverty. She wakes every day at 4 a.M. In the tiny room she shares with two other people. She pushes her scrap cart – her biggest investment, costing $40 -- around Nhat Tao market from 6:30 a.M. To 5 p.M., collecting scrap from shop owners.

Electronic waste is the most valuable and she still remembers the time somebody sold her an old refrigerator. But all waste, ranging from aluminum or iron to the ubiquitous plastic and paper, has some value. On rare good days, she can collect up to 30 kilograms and make around $8.

She rarely takes breaks, but sometimes stops for water out of exhaustion from pushing the heavy cart around in extreme heat. At those times, she enjoys reading Doraemon comics — Japanese comic books about a time-traveling robotic cat – that she finds on her routes or gets as gifts from those who know of her fondness for the comics.

"I have to devote myself to this job as it's my only option," she said.

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Ghosal reported from Hanoi.

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The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.Org.

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