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Thai island famous for weddings now a rubbish dump
| Published: | 13 Sep at 3 PM |
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The formerly stunning island of Koh Kradan, a favourite for Westerners’ underwater weddings, is now trashed on and offshore by discarded rubbish.
Environmentally destructive waste including empty plastic bottles, foam boxes, plastic bags, discarded food and more can be seen on Koh Kradan’s formerly pristine beaches as well as in the sea itself. The trash is wrecking the tourist island’s reputation and damaging its former environmental purity. Locals dependent on the tourist trade fear the mess will severely affect the famous annual underwater wedding ceremony.
The severity of the problem was brought to light by fourth-year environmental undergraduate Nonthawat Sukmongkhol, who recently visited the island with a group of friends. Dismayed by the accumulated, stinking trash, he reported his findings to local media, suggesting tour operators as well as tourists, expats and local people should be responsible for a clean-up before it’s too late.
His complaint seems to have been taken seriously, as the head of Hat Chao Mai National Park is now organising anti-litter campaigns as well as forcing the park’s garbage department to address the problem. Tour operators are to be told to take their trash back with them rather than dumping it on the beaches, and legal action is to be taken against those who don’t comply.
It has to be said that simply dumping rubbish in any open space is commonplace in most Thai tourism destinations, with locals as much to blame as expats and visitors. However, there seems to be an awakening or awareness amongst local and national authorities that tourists, especially the upmarket sector being focused on at present, aren’t happy about the increasing piles of garbage spoiling one of the world’s loveliest natural environments.
As a result, an announcement last week by Thailand’s Tourist Authority revealed the country had been the first in Asia to join the Upycling the Oceans clean-up scheme. The scheme, set to help preserve Thailand’s coastline and waters, will focus on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.
Environmentally destructive waste including empty plastic bottles, foam boxes, plastic bags, discarded food and more can be seen on Koh Kradan’s formerly pristine beaches as well as in the sea itself. The trash is wrecking the tourist island’s reputation and damaging its former environmental purity. Locals dependent on the tourist trade fear the mess will severely affect the famous annual underwater wedding ceremony.
The severity of the problem was brought to light by fourth-year environmental undergraduate Nonthawat Sukmongkhol, who recently visited the island with a group of friends. Dismayed by the accumulated, stinking trash, he reported his findings to local media, suggesting tour operators as well as tourists, expats and local people should be responsible for a clean-up before it’s too late.
His complaint seems to have been taken seriously, as the head of Hat Chao Mai National Park is now organising anti-litter campaigns as well as forcing the park’s garbage department to address the problem. Tour operators are to be told to take their trash back with them rather than dumping it on the beaches, and legal action is to be taken against those who don’t comply.
It has to be said that simply dumping rubbish in any open space is commonplace in most Thai tourism destinations, with locals as much to blame as expats and visitors. However, there seems to be an awakening or awareness amongst local and national authorities that tourists, especially the upmarket sector being focused on at present, aren’t happy about the increasing piles of garbage spoiling one of the world’s loveliest natural environments.
As a result, an announcement last week by Thailand’s Tourist Authority revealed the country had been the first in Asia to join the Upycling the Oceans clean-up scheme. The scheme, set to help preserve Thailand’s coastline and waters, will focus on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.
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