Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tion of jetties, breakwaters, oceanfront hotels and roads), land subsiding (due to ground-
water depletion) and rising sea levels. Accurate data is lacking on coastal water quality,
but analysts admit that wastewater treatment facilities are outpaced by the area's popula-
tion and that industrial wastewater is often insufficiently treated.
Coastal degradation puts serious pressure on Thailand's diverse coral reef system and
marine environment. It is estimated that about half of Thailand's coral reefs are classified
as highly threatened, indicating a disproportionate number of dead coral to living coral,
according to a World Bank 2006 environmental report. The 2010 global bleaching phe-
nomenon, in which El Niño weather conditions contributed to warmer sea temperatures,
exacerbated the health problems of Thailand's reefs. Eighteen areas in seven marine parks
that had experienced widespread bleaching were closed to tourism by the Thai govern-
ment. Many of the reefs, especially in shallow water, will never recover.
The overall health of the ocean is further impacted by large-scale fishing, an important
part of the Thai economy. Fisheries continue to experience declining catches, and an in-
dustry once dominated by small family fisherfolk has now shifted to big commercial en-
terprises that can go into deeper waters and devote more resources to a profitable catch.
Energy Consumption
Thailand's increasingly affluent society is expected to consume 75% more energy in the
forthcoming decades, according to the Oxford Business Group. As Southeast Asia's
second-largest energy consumer (Indonesia ranks first in the region), Thailand is looking
to increase its energy supply and production by expanding oil and gas resources or devel-
oping alternative fuel sources. Most of the existing fields are in the Gulf of Thailand in an
area known as the Pattani Trough and the government is working with Cambodia on the
development of reserves in the upper Gulf of Thailand near the border of the two coun-
tries. Thailand is the leading producer of biofuels, including ethanols from molasses and
cassava, and biodiesel from palm oil. Power generation, agriculture and industrial activity
account for the largest proportion of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. While the
energy sector searches for additional fuel supplies to feed the economy, the country's
greenhouse gas management division is pushing for a voluntary carbon market in an at-
tempt to meet international standards set for 2020.
