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Phuket Needs Law Enforcement, Says Enviro Chief
By Chutima Sidasathian and Animanun Chiwverojanakit Sunday, February 21, 2010
PHUKET'S local authorities need to band together to enforce the law, says the chief of the Natural Resources and Environment Department of Phuket, Ong-art Chanacharnmongkol.
Residents must also take care of the environment as the island develops, Khun Ong-art added.
He told Phuketwan that Phuket's natural attractions were the main reason why people came to Phuket, so any development had to come with conservation as a priority.
''If you forget about conservation, then the future of Phuket will be lost,'' he said.
Khun Ong-art, an advocate for preserving the 80 metre height limit on development, said it was a means of retaining Phuket's natural beauty.
''Phuket has grown very quickly without any controls except for the 80 metre limit,'' he said. ''Without the 80 metre limit, the green vista in the hills and the pleasant environment it presents would be gone.''
Khun Ong-art said another issue was the islands off Phuket. ''One authority cannot control what happens next,
''All authorities need to be involved in issues such as garbage disposal, waste water, and future development.
''Private companies also need to cooperate. Environmental Impact Assessments are an important means of protection.''
He said that even the government needed to undergo EIA checks on public projects.
Asked why some projects were above 80 metres, Khun Ong-art said that he did not have power to approve building projects, only to ensure EIA checks were made.
''Mayors are the people who give final approval for construction,'' he said.
''The 80 metre limit for Phuket was created 13 years ago,'' he said. It has to be renewed every five years.
Asked about the accuracy of Google Earth, which shows properties above 80 metres on Phuket, he said: ''Google Earth is not accepted as a legitimate method of accurately measuring the height of anything.
''If you show me an official survey, then I will believe what the figures say.''
Of the 3000 rai of Bang Kanun, cleared of timber by thieves on Phuket's uplands, he said there were 260 people who now claimed title to segments of the cleared land.
Each of them would need to prove they had been farming in the area before April 30, 1987, to win their cases.
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Comments
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Yes, lets have some law enforcement!
1. Stop prostitution
2.Stop tuc tucs driving drunk and drugged.
3.Put the people who attack tourists, and Thais, into prison.
4.Check the mini vans and buses , many of which have fatal accidents.
5.Get some traffic lights on busy roads ,Airport road, Patong, Karon, everywhere.
6. Put some radars there while you are at it, lots of Baht to be gained here !
7.Enforce helmuts and licenses for motor bikes AND helmuts for passengers !
8.How about some zebra crossings in the towns , (especially Patong, Taweewong, and Rat hutit also Phuket city) to enable people in this 1st class island to be able to cross a road !
9. Eliminate copy watches, clothes, bags, which are all openly on sale EVERYWHERE.
10. Ban the touts and rip off merchants.
Wow, you have a lot of work on your hands before even attacking the 80 metre law !
Maybe, once all that is done will people come here really to appreciate the beautiful island it once was.
Posted by
elizabeth
on
February 21, 2010 23:07
"60 people who now claimed title to segments of the cleared land. Each of them would need to prove they had been farming in the area before April 30, 1987, to win their cases."
Really? How could they have been farming in the jungle? What were they growing?
"the future of Phuket will be lost" Um, too late actually. Phuket is already ruined, it's no longer sustainable. The uncontrolled growth is gobbling up every inch of land on the island.
There has been no planning and very little law enforcement obviously. Unless willing to take radical steps to return Phuket to its former beauty, the authorities are just blowing hot air, acting like they care.
Posted by
Dave Williams
on
February 22, 2010 08:15
Hear hear elizabeth, spot on with you comments, but we all know that nothing is going to change.
Posted by
Local
on
February 22, 2010 08:44
My theory is, because tropical peoples, and their generations of descendents never had to gather and store food for long, freezing cold winters, they never developed a, "worry" gene causing them to think and plan for the future.
That is why Thailand is the way it is ( "Mai pen rai ") while neighboring Malaysia, with its British colonialist influence, IS capable of planning and implementing strategy for preservation of the environment.
Posted by
Christy S
on
February 22, 2010 10:36
My theory is because tropical peoples, and generations of descendants never had to gather and store food for long, freezing cold winters, they didn't develop a, "worry" gene causing them to think and plan for the future.
That is why Thailand is the way it is, ( ''Mai pen rai" ) while neighboring Malaysia, with its British Colonialist past influence, IS capable of planning and implementing strategy for preservation of the environment.
Posted by
Horse Doctor
on
February 22, 2010 10:47
@ elizabeth
Get rid of prostitution?? Are you nuts? It is the lifeblood of Phuket and has been going on long before you ever got here. If it wasn't for prostitution nobody would even know about Phuket!
The money from this finds its way to villages all over Thailand. Having sex is as natural as breathing! You're just jealous coz all these men come here and won't even look twice at the likes of you!
If you're not happy about the rules here or with what you see here,then do us all a favour and go back from whence you came.
The natural beauty of this place IS the women, not the polluted beaches or the monstrous concrete construction going on everywhere.
Posted by
Booty Hunter
on
February 22, 2010 10:48
Lizzie this is "The Wild West" darling.
Why do you think so many expats live here?
They are sick and tired of the over regulation that they have in thier home countries.
Even thought they winge about the price of things here just compare water, electricity and bar prices with 'more civilised' countries.
If they did all the things that you suggested nobody (including yourself) would come here as if they did not have 'female companionship' (not prostitution) there would not be the infrastructure here. Lizzie I would have loved to have seen you going over Patong Hill when it was only a dirt track.
Yes there are many wrong things in Thailand but do not forget that we are guests in their country and therefore we should not be impolite and tell them how to run Thailand.
As your friends undoubtedly told you, if you don't like it here go home.
Posted by
Whispering Jack
on
February 22, 2010 18:18
As you may or may not disagree to some topics of elizabeth, you can easily see her concern for Phuket. As "local" put it, it is "Spot on", free talk about pressing issues.
So please discuss where you disagree or in your view right her wrongs. But this 'go home' thing is really cheap and unfair. And yes, even as she advocates the end of prostitution.
I really think the funny land title thing, the unclear ownership of land, the vast holdings of land by agencies, ministries, army etc. create a climate of non-responsibility.
If the land would be owned by private people or only one public agency and the people in charge would be held accountable, misuse would not be so epidemic.
You can buy 50 rai of rubber trees in Phang Nga without land title (you can guess where) for 1-2 Mill Baht. After paying the agency / town head, you can do, like you own it for real.
Downside is only, you may loose it, when a breakdown is coming. Result? You rob the land. No preservation.
So actually the claims by this 260 people may be right, as it is not unusual.
Posted by
Lena
on
February 22, 2010 22:59
May I suggest that Khun Ong-art looks at the 'solution' employed by one developer in the east of Phuket. It's quite simple: you remove any land above 80m to bring it all level down to 79m then press on. Soon no land will exist above 80m. Good eh?
Posted by
Anonymous
on
February 23, 2010 01:12
If nobody minds, Im going to try and answer my critics.
Yes, whispering Jack, I do remember driving over a dirt track to Patong, walking down a beach road made of sand, and sitting under a tree on a beach that had no chairs or umbrellas.
]To you, Booty Hunter(!!!), if you think prostitution (accepting money for sex is prostitution) is ok, I don't. Of course, many people can only get sex this way.
It's people like you who have given Thailand a bad reputation .Saying that paying the girls for sex is keeping the villages in food is just an excuse to make you feel better about doing it!
Aids is rife in Phuket, and no one cares about these girls and women once they become ill. Do you know girls with aids? I do.
So, some decent traffic laws could save lives, is that a bad thing?
Mister REE, I dont want to ramble. I love Thailand and especially Phuket, otherwise I wouldnt be here .I love and respect the Thai people, and I have wonderful friends in Phuket.
Don't even think about me going home, in fact, I might be around much longer than you.
Posted by
elizabeth
on
February 23, 2010 23:36
While I disagree w Elizabeth on prostitution - I think it should be de criminalised and regulated to make it fairer for the workers - I cringe when Editor chooses to publish her detractor's nasty personal insults of a sexual nature in leui of passionate, but reasonable argument.
Posted by
Horse Doctor
on
February 24, 2010 09:16
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Tuesday October 8, 2024
FOLLOW PHUKETWAN
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Yes, lets have some law enforcement!
1. Stop prostitution
2.Stop tuc tucs driving drunk and drugged.
3.Put the people who attack tourists, and Thais, into prison.
4.Check the mini vans and buses , many of which have fatal accidents.
5.Get some traffic lights on busy roads ,Airport road, Patong, Karon, everywhere.
6. Put some radars there while you are at it, lots of Baht to be gained here !
7.Enforce helmuts and licenses for motor bikes AND helmuts for passengers !
8.How about some zebra crossings in the towns , (especially Patong, Taweewong, and Rat hutit also Phuket city) to enable people in this 1st class island to be able to cross a road !
9. Eliminate copy watches, clothes, bags, which are all openly on sale EVERYWHERE.
10. Ban the touts and rip off merchants.
Wow, you have a lot of work on your hands before even attacking the 80 metre law !
Maybe, once all that is done will people come here really to appreciate the beautiful island it once was.
Posted by elizabeth on February 21, 2010 23:07