Environment News
Thailand environment news, climate change, sustainability, and natural disasters—stay updated on eco-initiatives, biodiversity conservation, and renewable energy efforts. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for environmental news in Thailand.
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Mariam the baby dugong ‘goes live’ soon
PHOTO: Hannaret Hripai and Srichai Anuraktichai Officials started installing six CCTVs along the coast of Koh Libong in Trang province today so that netizens will be able to monitor the life of Mariam, the baby dugong that was found washed up on a Krabi Beach in May. Residents and visitors will now be able to ‘bay sit’ (or dugong sit)…
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Sperm Whale found on Krabi beach had digested plastic bottles
Plastic waste has been found inside a whale that was washed up along Krabi’s shoreline. A sperm whale was washed up near Koh Lanta, in Krabi province yesterday. It was 12 metres in length and was estimated to weigh 11 tonnes. A marine veterinary team completed an autopsy today and discovered 3 plastic bottles inside the stomach of the whale.…
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Blackwater at Phuket’s Nai Harn beach due to ‘natural causes’
‘Blackwater’ has returned at one of Phuket’s favourite beaches, this time in the lagoon behind Nai Harn beach, which flushes out naturally when the tide conditions are right. For now, it is dammed up by the sand and has developed into an ugly cesspool for passersby to see. Responding to complaints from local residents, Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos has denied…
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Another baby Dugong found on a Krabi beach
PHOTO: Thai Rath Another lost baby dugong has been rescued after being found injured in Krabi. The baby dugong was found washed up on the shores in Klongthom District, Krabi yesterday (June 1) and was rescued by the officials from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC). Thai Rath reports that the baby dugong had a lot of scratches on it…
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Mall Group shopping centres to charge customers 1 baht for a plastic bag
PHOTO: Mall Group The Mall Group, that runs some of Bangkok’s leading shopping centres, including Bluport in Hua Hin, will charge customers for plastic bags from July 3. The initiative is to mark International Plastic Bag Free Day which falls on July 3. They are the first Thai retail company to take the bold step. Customers will be encouraged not to…
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Hawksbill sea turtle killed by plastic waste in Gulf of Thailand
by Pratch Rujivanarom A hawksbill sea turtle which was found washed ashore Pattaya’s Na Jomtien Beach is just the latest victim of the Thailand severe marine debris problem . The Royal Thai Navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Centre found the rotting carcass on Chon Buri’s Na Jomtien Beach on Sunday. An autopsy reveals that the turtle’s stomach was full of plastic…
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A pair of 200 year old trees in Chumpon on Thailand’s National Heritage List
PHOTO: Star2.com The Thai Ministry of Culture has declared a Durian tree and one Takien Thong tree, both about 200 years old, in Chumpon, to be part of the country’s national heritage. Culture Minister Veera Rotepojanarat went to Patoh district to preside over the “ordination” ceremony for the two old trees in Tambon Patoh. The ceremony also featured an exhibition,…
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Mariam Live – the Trang baby dugong show
Mariam LIVE. Coming soon to your laptop or smartphone. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is preparing to live stream the daily life of the orphaned baby dugong Mariam currently being nursed at Koh Libong in Trang province. Mariam, now six months old and weighing 30 kilograms, is the latest internet star after being rescued in Krabi on…
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Marium, the Trang dugong, washed up on Libong beach
Six month old dugong, Marium, was released back in the sea early yesterday after she washed up onto the beach for a second time in Trang’s Libong Island. Marium was found on Krabi’s Ao Tung Beach on April 29 after getting lost and separated from her mother.and taken to Trang to recover. Dugongs are classed as “vulnerable to extinction” and…
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Homeopathy ‘doctor’ forced to back down on Dengue-cure claims
The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine has been forced to backtrack from its un-researched claims that its homeopathic formula is highly effective for dengue-fever protection. “It’s just a supplementary measure that needs further research,” Dr Sunpong Ritthiruksa admitted in his capacity as the chair of the department’s centre for herbal medicine, Thai traditional medicine, folk medicine and alternative…
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change.org petition calls on Phuket locals to take action on construction dump
Locals have launched a petition on Change.org to draw attention to a construction dump operating in central Phuket, in the suburb of Cherng Talay, which adjoins the coastal towns of Bang Tao, Layan and Surin. We print the article verbatim, spelling and all. The article is titled “Close burning dump near Laguna Phuket” and has been penned in English and Russian…
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Formal complaint made about Phuket OrBorTor chief for inaction over environmental issues
Danai Yardee and Chamroon Kerndum, representing a group of Phuket environmental groups, have made a formal complaint against Cherng Talay President Ma ‘Ann Samran. The complaint calls for investigation into the construction of an anti-erosion sea wall at Surin Beach, unfinished wastewater treatment plants and alleged tampering of evidence. A report by IsraNews.org says they’ve filed a complaint with Department…
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Electric vehicles on the rise but the take up is slow in Thailand
“Two trends will develop in Southeast Asia. The first is new operators of EV taxi fleets such as cars and motorcycles, and the second is electric buses for public transport.” Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says the electric vehicles (EVs) remain expensive and unaffordable for individual buyers in Thailand and ASEAN. Mr. Wu says…
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Thailand: Paradise Lost? Part 1.
by guest blogger Kent Bowie Thailand has seen rampant tourist development and expansion over the past 25+ years, but at what cost? Is this sustainable or even ethical? Social media has seen an explosive growth too over the last 15+ years, and one thing that annoys many governments worldwide is how the facts and figures delivered by their own agencies…
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Little Marium growing up in a Dugong Thai nursery
Marium, an orphaned baby dugong found along the Krabi shore two months ago, will remain in the care of a dugong nursery on Koh Libong in Trang for at least six more months. ‘Marium’ means ‘beautiful woman of the sea’. Chaiyapruek Weerawong, head of the Koh Libong Wildlife Preserve, says the female dugong would then be released in the open…
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Not everyone is happy with the closure of Thailand’s National Park hot spots
PHOTO: Sunrise Divers Nature happy. Tour operators unhappy. The closure, albeit temporary, of several of Thailand’s favourite marine national parks and coastal sites, is not universally supported. As the country’s tourist growth plateaus, the baht remains strong and hungry tour operators battle for the same tourist dollar, having many of the most popular attractions struck off their tour list is causing…
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First year report card for Thailand’s battle against plastics
“Plastic waste is a major environmental problem because it takes hundreds of years to degrade.” Yesterday was World Environment Day, a fitting day to give Thailand’s fight for a reduction on plastics a report card, after the first full year of campaigns to reduce single-use plastics. The Pollution Control Department says Thailand’s efforts have been successful after receiving general cooperation from…
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Baby dugong ‘Marium’ being cared for in Trang
PHOTOS: DMCR A baby dugong, which was found lost in Krabi two months ago, has been given the name ‘Marium’ and continues to be cared for at a dugong nursery in Trang. The baby dugong, found on a Krabi beach, was taken back to its home area in Trang, southern Thailand, on April 30. Read more about the wayward baby…
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Grab electric tuk tuks launch in Chiang Mai
Grab, the nemesis of the old taxi and red bus network in Chiang Mai, has signed an agreement with government and private sector partners to establish the Chiang Mai Smart Mobility Alliance Network. It is the first such partnership in South East Asia. Thai aim is to reduce Chiang Mai’s public transport footprint by 35% within the next five years. The…
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Thailand’s Maya Bay settles into an extended period of rest – VIDEO
You can look but you can’t touch. Maya Bay’s beach, closed last year to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, is likely to remain closed to visitors for many years, even up to five. The famous Koh Phi Phi Ley beach and bay, made famous in the 2000 movie The Beach, needs time for its ecology to fully recover years…
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2019 Dengue cases soar as Thailand enters monsoon season
Dengue fever cases have doubled in Thailand compared to the same time last year. 20,000 cases have been reported since January 25 this year. And health officials are wary as Thailand heads into the annual monsoon, the traditional peak period for dengue cases. The Chief of the Disease Control Department says the number of infections has doubled since figures for…
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Wildlife groups call for reviews on elephant export regulations
“Before elephants are allowed to be exported, he suggested a check is made to find out how many Thai elephants had been exported and how many of them have been smuggled out.” Wildlife conservation groups and an MP Nikorn Chamnong, representing the Chart Thai Pattana party, is opposing the export of Thai elephants and demanding that the Commerce Ministry review…
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Just how many hazardous chemicals are going through Laem Chabang port?
“The containers were loaded with “dolls and toys” and there are no chemical substances present.” That was the first explanation we heard after the fire that happened last Saturday, May 25, when containers from the KMTC Hongkong burst into flames at Laem Chabang Port, south east of Bangkok. The port area is just to the north of Pattaya on the eastern…
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Harsher penalties for encroachers and illegal loggers in Thai forestry areas
Yesterday four marine species were added to the ‘reserved’ list, providing addition legal protections for the animals. Read that story HERE. Now it’s been announced that forest encroachers caught clearing land or burning trees, in any of Thailand’s national parks or gardens, in order to occupy the land, will soon face jail terms of up to 20 years and/or a…
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Ship owner fined 50,000 baht for chemical fire at Laem Chabang port
The Port Authority of Thailand has slapped a 50,000 baht fine on the South Korean owner of a container ship which caught fire at the Laem Chabang deep-sea port on Saturday morning, causing a chemical fire and smoke blanketing surrounding communities. Laem Chabang is just north of Pattaya fronting the Gulf of Thailand. Meanwhile, Thai PBS reports that about 1,000…
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Four Thai marine species announced as ‘reserved animals’
PHOTOS: DMCR / Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat Bryde’s whale, Omura’s whale, whale sharks and leather back turtles have been added to the list of ‘reserved wild animals’. The new Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act was announced yesterday. Animal species which included Bryde’s whale, Omura’s whale, whale shark and leather back turtle are now a registered ‘reserved animal’, before they are…
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Bryde’s whale found dead off Petchaburi coast
PHOTOS: Troy Beer/Thai Whales An autopsy is being conducted on a dead Bryde’s whales found off the Petchaburi coast in the Gulf of Thailand. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) report that they were notified of the dead Bryde’s whale being found off the Petchaburi coast yesterday. The female Bryde’s whale is about 10 metres long. It had…
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Patong municipality reports untreated wastewater from Kalim hotel to police – VIDEO
VIDEO: Bong Marquez The video of the untreated wastewater bursting on Kalim beach on Sunday afternoon has caused an official report made to Patong police. A Facebook user “Bong Marquez” posted a video of the black water gurgling up through the sands at Kalim Beach and into the Patong Bay on Sunday. The video has had 230,000 views. Patong’s…
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The magic disappearing murky and muddy waters of Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach
PHOTOS: Pattaya Message Officials from Chon Buri Municipality says there is no source of wastewater found after inspections along the canals. The video of the untreated sewage and wastewater gushing into the Gulf of Thailand has accumulated 1.5 million views already. Read more and see the video HERE. The ‘stop gap’ solution was a real STOP GAP solution as they rammed…
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Koh Lan stinks! Environmentalist calls for limit on tourism.
“The atmosphere at the island’s Ta Waen Beach resembles that of a disaster refugee camp.” An environmental health expert is calling for the number of visitors to Koh Lan in Chon Buri to be cut to less than 5,000 a day to tackle the overwhelming garbage problem. Ko Lan is 10 kilometres off the coast of Pattaya. Sonthi Kotchawat, in…
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