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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Bangkok nabs 60,000 snakes a year, 1 reported every 15 minutes
Bangkok is well known for its hundreds of temples and thousands of… snakes. Emergency hotline employees reported that they capture and remove around 60,000 snakes per year in the capital city. Calls come in for help with snake removal at an average rate of about one every 15 minutes throughout the day. The 199 hotline handles calls regarding snakes in…
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Anti-Corruption Network complains of smelly wastewater in coastal Thai province
A local chapter of the Anti-Corruption Network has complained of foul smelling wastewater released onto a beach in Thailand’s coastal province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, located near the Gulf of Thailand. The chapter says that six officials are overlooking the problems with a hotel dumping wastewater onto the beach near the town hall, in the main city district. A recent…
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PM warns Thailand to brace itself for potential flooding
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha warned Thailand to brace itself for another deluge of water this month. The 68 year old PM ordered governors in provincial areas to prepare for potential flooding after weather forecasters predicted more heavy rainfall until the end of the month. Thailand witnessed a heavy taste of what is to come over the past 24 hours after…
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Thai officials help restore Australia’s Koala habitats
Thai officials from several different bodies are helping to save the homes of a beloved Australian animal, the koala. On Australia’s National Tree Day on July 31, the officials pitched in to help plant 1,000 trees in Australia’s You Yangs Regional Park. The groups rolling up their sleeves to help included the Royal Thai Embassy and the Tourism Authority of…
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Officials look to tackle Phuket’s coastal erosion following floods
Phuket officials held a meeting yesterday to discuss coastal erosion impacting the island province, as storm weather is causing huge floods. Phuket’s Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan said that Governor Narong has ordered him to look into measures to tackle the problem. One area officials are particularly concerned about is Sai Kaew Beach. Last month’s king tide in Phuket, along with…
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More tigers in Thailand than any other Southeast Asian country
Happy International Tiger Day! Thailand is celebrating it by declaring that, after over a decade of conservation, Thailand now has the most tigers in the wild of any nation in Southeast Asia. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa announced that this is due in large part to the National Strategy for Tiger Conservation, a programme that has been…
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130 tonnes of imported waste going back to Australia
Many expats living in Thailand are shocked when they see locals dumping their trash on the side of the road, but it turns out there is a much bigger perpetrator of illegal dumping in the kingdom. The Inter-Pacific Paper Company was caught by Thai authorities shipping 130 tonnes of illegal waste to Thailand from Australia. The Department of Customs contacted…
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Officials launch rubbish cleaning contest in central Thailand
Thailand has a problem with rubbish polluting its streets, but one central province is determined to clean up the mess. Yesterday, officials launched a rubbish cleaning contest in Suphan Buri province. The contest is being organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Highways Department. The contest is urging communities to clean their roads, intersections, and sidewalks.…
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Oldest giant male panda on earth dies in Hong Kong
Wildlife lovers have a reason to mourn, now that the oldest giant male panda on earth has died today in Hong Kong. The panda, named An An, was 35 years old when he passed away today at Ocean Park. The giant panda believed to have lived the longest was a female panda who died at 38 years old in 2016.…
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Electric vehicles are now available to rent in Phuket, Thailand
Phuket has entered a new era of sustainability by welcoming the island’s first ever rentable 100% electric vehicle (EV). Tourists can rent the Nissan Leaf from SIXT Thailand and cruise around Phuket without producing any harmful emissions at all. SIXT Thailand partnered with InterContinental Phuket Resort on the project, who have installed a series of EV charging stations compatible with…
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Thailand’s iconic Maya Bay to temporarily close again
Thailand’s iconic Maya Bay – located on Koh Pi Pi Leh in Krabi province – will be off-limits to tourists for the duration of August and September for another period of environmental restoration. The bay, made famous by “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, reopened to tourists on January 1 after a three and a half year closure. All tourist activities…
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Amazing Dark Sky Thailand programme by TAT to boost stargazing
If you’re looking for the next big thing for Thailand, the Tourism Authority of Thailand suggests looking up. The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand has teamed up with the TAT to launch the new Amazing Dark Sky Thailand, which focuses on attracting those who appreciated staring up at the night sky. In a country whose main concern with celestial…
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VIDEO: Rare footage reveals family of tigers feeding on prey in Thailand
Rare footage of a family of wild tigers feeding on prey in Isaan’s Dong Phayayen – Khao Yai Forest Complex has been captured by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. With only 250 wild tigers estimated to be left in Thailand, the chances of capturing footage of tigers are next to none. The short clip shows a…
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Say no to shark fin, says new WildAid video featuring Miss Universe Thailand
In honour of shark awareness day, WildAid launched a video entitled ‘Sea of Chaos’ to highlight the important role of sharks in the ocean and how the consumption of shark fin is disrupting the ecosystem. The video features activist Maria Poonlertlarp, who is also Miss Universe Thailand 2017, alongside actor Nawat ‘Pong’ Kulrattanarak, who is WildAid’s shark ambassador. In ‘Sea of…
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Where to see tonight’s ‘supermoon’ in Thailand, even in the rain
Today marks the world’s biggest celestial event of the year, with the full moon orbiting at its closest point near the Earth, creating a “supermoon” or “buck moon.” Once the sun goes down tonight in Thailand, the sky will reveal the biggest, brightest moon of the year that can be seen by the naked eye… provided that it isn’t cloudy…
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Dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its throat washes up on Phuket beach
A dead sea turtle with plastic lodged in its mouth and throat washed up on Mai Khao Beach in Phuket yesterday, July 11. Winai Seh-ew, the village chief of Mai Khao subdistrict in Thalang district, received a call from lifeguards at Mai Khao beach to say a big Hawksbill turtle carcass had washed up on the shore. Upon inspection, the…
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Phuket will have a tsunami drill on July 20 following multiple small tremors offshore
There will be a tsunami evacuation drill in Phuket’s Thalang district on July 20 after a number of underwater earthquakes off the Nicobar Islands, some 500 kilometres away, increased residents’ fears of a possible tsunami. Phuket tsunami 506 kilometres away from Thailand’s Andaman coast, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were continuously hit by 4.0 to 4.9 magnitude underwater earthquakes for three…
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Series of earthquakes strike 500km away from Thailand’s Andaman coast
A series of continuous 4.0 – 4.9 magnitude earthquakes struck the Andaman and Nicobar islands for a period of 3 days, 506 kilometres away from Thailand’s Andaman coast. More than 40 tremors occurred, beginning July 4 at 6:00am and continuing until this morning, July 6. The epicentre of the tremors was only 10 kilometres deep, making the chance of a…
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Ukrainian woman caught smuggling 116 live tortoises from Tanzania into Thailand
Police arrested a Ukrainian woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday after airport security found 116 live tortoises in her luggage. The woman smuggled the protected wildlife on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Bangkok, transiting in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia along the way. Yesterday at 2:40pm, Chief of the Wildlife Checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport Sathon…
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Sewage nightmare continues for Pattaya village after years
A village in East Pattaya has suffered from horrendous sewage problems for more than 7 years, and things aren’t getting any better. Wastewater regularly flows into Daraphan Village 5 from the neighbouring Eakmongkol Village 8, and officials’ minimal efforts have not brought about change. In 2015, officials had agreed to install suitable pipework to carry the wastewater into Pattaya city…
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Cathay Pacific plants 999 mangrove trees in Thailand
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific has planted 999 mangrove trees in the Khlong Khon Mangrove Forest in Samut Songkram, central Thailand as part of its “1 Ticket, 1 Tree” initiative. The airline launched the initiative last year, committing to planting 1 tree for every plane ticket bought in a one-month period. About 50 volunteers, including Cathay Pacific staff and…
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Giant honey bees swarm home in southern Thailand
A man from Krabi, southern Thailand, was left terrified and thankfully unharmed after tens of thousands of giant honey bees – or Apis dorsata – swarmed his home on Sunday. Thailand’s giant honey bees have been called “the most dangerous stinging insects on earth” by Cornell University apiculturist Roger Morse. Somchai Kaewkasorn, a Department of Highways official, was watching television…
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That sinking feeling – the Maldives is building a new ‘floating’ country
Run out of space? No problem. Just build another room. In the case of an entire country that is sinking into the Indian Ocean, the situation becomes a bit more acute. Technically, the Maldives isn’t sinking, the sea levels are rising and slowly swamping the low-lying Indian Ocean nation, scattered south west of India. The Maldives, a country of some…
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Young whale spotted caught in rubbish in Phuket
Another damning video is exposing the danger of Thailand’s pollution towards its wildlife, this time in Phuket. On Thursday, a fisherman spotted a young sperm whale stuck in rubbish near Phuket’s Racha Island. The fisherman, Pongsakorn Naksaard, posted a photo and 2 videos of the poor creature on Facebook. One of the videos shows the pile of rubbish more clearly.…
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Artificial reefs placed around Pattaya’s Koh Larn and Koh Sak
Thailand’s authorities are building new homes for Pattaya’s marine critters, hoping to boost coastal tourism. Yesterday, government authorities placed 300 sets of artificial reefs around Koh Larn and Koh Sak, 2 small islands off Pattaya. Pattaya’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Kiattisak Sriwongchai, said the island’s coral reef had been especially damaged by people walking in them. The artificial reefs are made…
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Pink pineapple is illegal in Thailand, smugglers face jail time
A type of genetically-modified pink pineapple is being illegally sold in Thailand, according to a warning issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture yesterday. The ministry urges the public to keep a vigilant eye out for unusual fruit and report anyone involved in the illicit pink pineapple trade. Costa Rican company Fresh Del Monte has been cultivating ‘Pinkglow’ pineapples, which are…
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Officials raise awareness on World Oceans Day in Patong
A Thai official spoke about threats to the country’s oceans at an event marking World Oceans Day yesterday in Patong. Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Varawut Silpa-archa, led the event titled “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean” at Loma Park in Patong Beach. Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Services hosted similar events in 10 coastal provinces. Varawut…
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Phuket marine centre works to heal injured sea turtle
A marine centre in Phuket is working to nurse an injured sea turtle back to health. The turtle was spotted washed up by strong waves on the sands of Kata Beach earlier this week. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources arrived on the scene after a hotel staff alerted them of the struggling little snapper. The DMCR found the…
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Governor to drain the swamp with Bangkok’s criminal fraternity
Chadchart Sittipunt made over 200 pledges prior to his landslide election victory last Sunday with the economy, environment, and health, high on his list of priorities. And when the Bangkok governor-elect vowed to clean up the metropolis, he wasn’t kidding. The 56 year old’s four-year term as governor began in earnest this week and, his agreement to use criminals to…
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Phuket looks for new groundwater sources to cope with acute water shortages
The Department of Groundwater Resources started a project to explore new groundwater sources in Phuket to cope with the ongoing water scarcity problem in the province. The project is also expected to be a model for other Thai islands to study groundwater resources and water management. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Varawut Silpa-Archa, assigned the Groundwater Resources Department…
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