Palmyra Palm and the Protection of Landslide along the Canal

Abstract

        Sugar palm tree has been considered as a valuable multipurpose tree for several centuries for the production of food and construction materials that will produce income for rural communities. Sugar palm, also known as Palmyra palms, are economically useful and widely cultivated, especially in South –East Asia. The Palmyra palm tree has long been one of the most important trees of Cambodia and India. In Thailand, the sugar palm tree (Borassus flabellifer) plays an important role. It provides different products such as juice, sugar, leaves, timber, fruits, underground seedlings, and roots. As the sugar palm tree has a deep root system (up to 15 m), it can be used to control landslides or soil erosion on the river edge, if it is planted along the roadside or canal as Thailand has numerous canals, both natural and man-made, used for irrigation of agricultural cultivation and boat transportation, which was a major travel method in the past. Additionally, landslide along canals is a common problem in all regions of the country, a problem which the government needs to address with a huge budget for the construction of concrete fences to prevent that erosion. Therefore, this review aimed at describing the benefits of the root system of sugar palm tree, that can also be applied for the protection of landslide along the canals to promote the utilization of sugar palm root, as an economic and environmentally friendly methodology for slope protection and erosion control along the canal. Since Natural calamities as tsunamis, cyclones, floods, etc. cause landslides and soil erosion with loss of lives, damages of crops and trees quite often, affecting the economy on a large scale, heightened due to human activities in the coastal area of rivers, oceans, canals, mountains, destroying forests, cutting trees and other landscapes, there should be the adoption of traditional landslide protection mechanisms including wide-scale tree plantations as Palmyra palm along the canal and other coastal areas as the roots can tightly hold the soil and such measures can reduce landslides due to heavy rainfall and other natural calamities. However, only Palmyra palm plantation or vegetation defense mechanisms cannot stop the natural disaster. So, these tree plantation factors require optimal planning, maintenance, and support of communities which have to be carefully studied by management team and policymakers to take appropriate steps and measures for achieving a sustainable and long-lasting green defense shield.