Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has released a report on the marine environment situation in 24 coastal provinces of the country in 2022 compared to 2021, which said the country has seen improvement in marine environment protection.

Thailand sees improvement in marine environment protection (Photo: thethaiger.com)

Throughout 2022, there were reports of 22 oil spill events within the Gulf of Thailand, and an astonishing 507 tonnes of various waste gathered from surrounding seas.

The report categorised the purity of seawater, concluding that just 7% of the sample tested was indeed in a very clean state, water cleanliness was rated at 57%, moderate cleanliness at 30%, with the remaining 6% identified as polluted.

The crisis of oil leaks noted in the year prior primarily struck in the region covering Rayong and its adjacent Chon Buri - a hub for abundant industrial plants and bustling locations for tourism-related activities.

Distressingly, 168 out of the 659 marine creatures found beached had lost their lives due to impacts associated with plastics like ingestion or entanglement in floating trash.
Coastal erosion has also been a significant concern for Thailand’s environmental stability. Out of the lengthy 3,151 kilometres of the country’s coastline, 823 kilometres suffered from erosion. However, 753 kilometres of the eroded coastline now repaired through efforts such as the construction of barriers and sand fences.

The report said the presence of 273 dugongs and 2,310 dolphins and whales within the Thai seas. Steps towards protecting the native marine species were seen, with reports of sea turtles laying eggs in 604 nests.

Source: VNA