Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city and home to over 10 million people, has been sinking 10 centimeters annually. The land subsidence, coupled with rising sea levels due to climate change, puts the city at risk of disappearing into the sea within 15 or 20 years, according to Smith Dharmasaroja, chair of the Thai government's Committee of National Disaster Warning Administration. To counter this threat, disaster prevention experts are now advocating the construction of a 100 billion baht (3 billion USD) flood prevention wall to protect Bangkok. Initial designs call for a wall 80 kilometers long, and three meters higher than the moderate sea level, to be built 300 meters offshore to allow mangrove forests to serve as a natural barrier against coastal erosion. The wall’s construction would demonstrate Thailand’s need to adapt to environmental changes that threaten its population and economy.