PHUKET: Saving Phuket's popular Racha island was ''very important'' for Phuket tourism's future, the Director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, Boomchob Sudtamanatsawong, said yesterday.
He was speaking after his speedboat trip to see the troubled island for himself had to be aborted because of Phuket's spate of storms.
Racha resorts in one of Phuket's most environmentally sensitive destinations were accused this week of feeding a toxic time bomb of bad water and buried rubbish.
The pollution is said to be taking place on a daily basis even though Racha has long been a favorite ''natural Andaman'' destination for Phuket day-trippers and divers.
While Racha is not the only island being destroyed by profit-seekers with no thought for future generations, Khun Boomchob said yesterday that it represented the chance for a changed approach.
''In the future I believe every sector - residents, visitors and business-people - will join together and stop water pollution,'' he said. ''We must treat the sea properly and avoid contamination.''
He said reports were that the coral reefs around Racha - which are close to the coast and likely to be affected by garbage and bad water on land - were still in good condition but needed constant protection.
This had become even more important after damage inflicted by the coral bleaching phenomenon two years ago, he said.
It's believed divers and dive companies engaged in a regular reef clean-up yesterday and today were urged at one stage to abandon the project because of the lack of care shown by all eight resorts on Racha.
The resort managements were invited to a meeting on Phuket this week to discuss accusations that they are polluting the island, but none turned up. Vice Governor Dr Sommai Preechasin is insisting that they join the next meeting, in July.
Resorts on Racha are expected to suffer the consequences of the bad publicity until the island's pollution problems are resolved.
He was speaking after his speedboat trip to see the troubled island for himself had to be aborted because of Phuket's spate of storms.
Racha resorts in one of Phuket's most environmentally sensitive destinations were accused this week of feeding a toxic time bomb of bad water and buried rubbish.
The pollution is said to be taking place on a daily basis even though Racha has long been a favorite ''natural Andaman'' destination for Phuket day-trippers and divers.
While Racha is not the only island being destroyed by profit-seekers with no thought for future generations, Khun Boomchob said yesterday that it represented the chance for a changed approach.
''In the future I believe every sector - residents, visitors and business-people - will join together and stop water pollution,'' he said. ''We must treat the sea properly and avoid contamination.''
He said reports were that the coral reefs around Racha - which are close to the coast and likely to be affected by garbage and bad water on land - were still in good condition but needed constant protection.
This had become even more important after damage inflicted by the coral bleaching phenomenon two years ago, he said.
It's believed divers and dive companies engaged in a regular reef clean-up yesterday and today were urged at one stage to abandon the project because of the lack of care shown by all eight resorts on Racha.
The resort managements were invited to a meeting on Phuket this week to discuss accusations that they are polluting the island, but none turned up. Vice Governor Dr Sommai Preechasin is insisting that they join the next meeting, in July.
Resorts on Racha are expected to suffer the consequences of the bad publicity until the island's pollution problems are resolved.
8 resorts? How many are legal, more than 2 of them?
"The resort managements were invited to a meeting on Phuket this week to discuss accusations that they are polluting the island, but none turned up. Vice Governor Dr Sommai Preechasin is insisting that they join the next meeting, in July. "
Inviting? Insisting?
What about, to summon 'em? Amazing Thailand, illegal managers of illegal resorts get asked to come to a small talk.
Or closing all the resorts. Some b/c of illegality, the others b/c of complicity. 'It isn't believable, that one resort on Racha island isn't knowing/worrying about the other resorts (under construction) on that island. This smells very fishy! Who are the people behind this?
Posted by ??? on June 2, 2012 10:55