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Email:pfitts@worldbank.org Bangkok, June 14, 2007 – Urban and industrial as well as tourism development has put Thailand’s marine and coastal resources at risk. To protect these resources, coastal economic development must be combined with a sustainable management of the natural resources, and constructive cooperation among key stakeholders must be developed, the World Bank says in its latest report on Thailand’s environmental challenges.
Exploitation of such resources, which have been key for economic growth during the past four decades, and coastal erosion have harmed the environment and affected livelihoods along the coastlines, reports the Thailand Environment Monitor. Among other things, large areas of mangrove wetlands have been lost, coral reefs are at risk of continued degradation, and the total fish catch is in decline, explains the Monitor, which tracks Thailand’s key environmental issues. “The loss and degradation of the country’s marine and coastal resources is not only an
environmental issue, but also an issue with significant economic implications,” said
Ian C. Porter, World Bank Country Director for Thailand. Erosion has become one of the primary environmental concerns in Thailand, the Monitor reports. 
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In many areas, the coastline is eroding at a rate of one to five meters per year, resulting in an annual loss of an area equivalent to two square kilometers. This represents a loss of more than six billion baht ($150 million) in economic terms. Take Baan Khun Samut Chin, in Thailand’s Samut Prakarn province, for example. Over the last 30 years, erosion and subsidence has caused the village’s shoreline to diminish by more than one kilometer. Local schools, government offices, and households have been forced to continuously move inland, away from the crumbling shoreline. Many frustrated villagers have simply decided to leave the village. The loss of mangrove coverage along the shoreline has been an important factor leading to increased erosion at Ban Khun Samut Chin and other areas along the Gulf of Thailand coastline. A mangrove forest stabilizes the shoreline, trapping sedimentation and bolstering the shore. Without mangroves, the shoreline is no match for the constant forces of wind, waves and currents. While natural causes are the main force behind the erosion on the Andaman coastline, human activities, such as sand mining, construction of jetties and breakwaters, and land subsidence from ground water usage, are behind the erosion along the Gulf of Thailand coast. Conversion of mangroves to shrimp and fish farms, the Environment Monitor finds, has reduced the coastal area’s capacity to contain erosion. The Royal Thai Government, local community groups, and non-governmental organizations have already taken a number of measures to protect and rehabilitate natural habitats, the World Bank reports. However, more effective administration and greater cooperation among key stakeholders is needed to ensure a sustainable management of these resources. “Effective implementation has been undercut by the complexity of the challenge as well as by overlapping laws, insufficient coordination among concerned agencies, and limited resources,” Porter noted. Natural hazards, which occur frequently in Thailand, can also cause severe damage to coastal resources, said Jitendra J. Shah, World Bank Country Coordinator for the Environment Sector. In addition, the possible impact of global climate change also needs to be addressed, he added. “Climate change and an associated rise in global sea levels are expected to inundate coastal areas, which will have a negative impact on local livelihoods and annual output. In particular impacts in the flat and low-lying Gulf area, including Bangkok, are expected to be high,” Shah said. The Environment Monitor lays out five key challenges to sustain present coastal resources and preserve their contribution to future development:
- reduce coastal erosion
- establish sustainable fisheries
- step up oversight of coastal development
- increase local participation
- establish integrated management 
The report can help put the protection of marine and coastal resources in national development agenda, said Nisakorn Kositratana, Director-General, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources
(far right) |
Strong leadership from the government must be reinforced through effective cooperation of key stakeholders in order to support current initiatives. The Environment Monitor makes clear that continued progress will require, from all sides, specific actions, commitment, and an increased awareness of the substantial impact of environmental degradation on Thailand’s people and its economy. “We thank the World Bank for their support in raising awareness of the challenges facing our marine and coastal resources in this Monitor,” said Nisakorn Kositratna, the Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. “I hope the report will help put this issue in the national agenda, and lead to a more integrated national policy to help us protect and preserve these resources for future uses and generations.” This is the sixth Thailand Environment Monitors by the World Bank since 2000. The last Monitor, published in 2004, was on the challenges facing the country’s biodiversity.
Previous Thailand Environment Monitors reviewed the state of air and water quality and the overall environmental situation in Thailand, including the effectiveness of the country’s regulatory and environmental management systems.
To download the full report, please click here |
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