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Diver News Network, 8 Jan 05 Tourism and greed destroyed Thailand, not tidal waves by RANJANA WANGVIPULA Hilton Hotel PHUKET, Thailand -- The authorities have raced against time for two weeks to reach tsunami victims, but they now need to slow down to protect damaged shorelines and marine ecology, environmentalists said yesterday. Rapid rehabilitation could lead to a different type of disaster, said Anuchat Poungsomlee, dean of Mahidol's Environment and Resource Studies Faculty, at a forum held by the Thai Society of Environmental Journalists. Apart from restoring damaged areas, he said, authorities must also deal with greedy businessmen and people living on natural resources. ''It seems our society is now talking too much about how to restore tourism, but I say: Please take a break, because from an ecologist's point of view the disaster is signalling it is time for nature to take a rest,'' he said. The immediate response to the tsunami-hit areas has been acceptable, Mr Anuchat said, but the government should not return to a development pattern that is centred on tourism money without regard for the limited capacity of beaches and the sea. The academic said the many tourists killed by the waves clearly showed how weak regulations were to control the number of visitors who were allowed to overcrowd Phuket, Phangnga, and Phi Phi island beaches. Many beachside bungalows and beer bars, swept away by the giant waves, also raised the question whether they were built on lands that should have been preserved as public areas, Mr Anuchat added. ''If we want to do restoration work, don't rush it,'' he said. ''Give people there six months or one year to think of what to do next.'' Mr Anuchat said villagers, hoteliers and tour operators should be involved in drafting future land use and tourism plans, which should not be done in the traditional top-down approach. Former natural resources and environment minister Praphat Panyachartrak was uneasy about reports of a plan by state officials to evict local villagers, whose houses were flattened by the waves, from protected areas which, he felt, would lead to social conflicts. ''Ensuring the sustainability of natural resources is not done by completely removing people from nature,'' Mr Praphat said. However, he said, the disaster provides an opportunity for environmental officials to ask resort and tour operators, who also faced severe business losses, to follow the guidelines in the Phi Phi island restoration plan. The plan, initiated while he was in office a year ago and aimed to restore order to the island, was vigorously opposed by some operators fearing financial losses to their businesses. ''Phi Phi has been destroyed for a long time by a man-made disaster, not giant waves,'' Mr Praphat said. He cited problems such as improper discharge of wastewater and careless anchoring of tourist boats over coral reefs. links Related articles on Tsunami and the environment |
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