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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Sponsored Long-term life in Thailand? 5 reasons private health insurance pays off in the long run
Thailand is a great place for expats and retirees, offering a warm climate, affordable living, and rich culture. However, healthcare can be tricky for foreigners since they aren’t eligible for public health coverage, and private care can be expensive. Private...
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Dugongs ‘live’ from today starring Miriam and Yamil
PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง Be your own director, choose the camera and follow your baby dugongs live. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and TOT are running live trials for a livestream of the care facilities where the two young dugongs ‘Mariam’ and ‘Yamil’ are now living, one in Trang and one in Phuket. The DMCR and TOT intend to provide…
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Bangkok’s Din Daeng Road area the noisiest in the city
Huh?! I can’t hear you!! Bangkok’s Din Daeng Road in Bangkok is noisiest road in the capital, with the average 24 hour noise levels measuring between 72-82 decibels, exceeding the standard level of 70 decibels, according to the Pollution Control Department Din Daeng is one of the 50 districts of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from north, are Chatuchak, Huai Khwang, Ratchathewi,…
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Thailand’s Princess Sirivannavari names Krabi’s baby dugong ‘Yamil’
Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari has proposed the name ‘Yamil’ for the orphaned baby dugong found stranded in Krabi on July 1. The animal was rescued by villagers and sent for treatment and rehabilitation by marine veterinarians in Phuket. Read about the baby dugong being found HERE. Netizens were invited to name the orphaned baby dugong by officials yesterday. Many…
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Dead dugong, dolphin found off southern Thai beaches
PHOTO: Manoch Wongsuryrat A three-metre long dugong has been found dead off the coast of Trang in southern Thailand. The total number of dead dugong found this year has reached seven, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources when they spoke to Thai PBS. Fishermen found the mammal and towed it ashore for veterinarians to examine. The dugong…
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Gulf waters flood into Samut Prakan coastline
High tides last night led to upper Gulf waters flowing over an embankment and flooding the homes of irrigation officials and a nearby community at Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok. Samut Prakan governor Chatchai Uthaiphan says he dispatched officials to help evacuate local residents adding the water was about one-metre high and that officials had helped relocate elderly people and…
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Competition to name dugong calf in Phuket
PHOTO: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources in Phuket is inviting members of the public to participate in a contest to name an orphaned baby dugong, found stranded on a beach in Krabi. The dugong calf is now under the care of DMCR vets to save rare marine animals in Phuket. Jatuporn Buruspat, the department’s director-general visited the…
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Pattaya netizens concerned over dead dolphin found by fishermen
Video of a dead dolphin offshore from the coastal city of Pattaya, east of Bangkok, has upset locals. The video shows the dolphin floating in the waters between Pattaya and Koh Larn in the Gulf of Thailand. The Pattaya Mail reports that the mammal became tangled in a fishing net, with the rope caught in its mouth. The net was cut…
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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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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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Cha-Am blackwater flowing into the beach is “natural in origin” – District Chief
PHOTOS: Daily News The Cha-Am district chief and a posse of officials have inspected a patch of ‘black water’ flowing into the Gulf of Thailand after social media posts showed “sewage” flowing into the sea at a beach north of Hua Hin. Not surprisingly, and without evidence, Khajornsak Somboon admitted the offensive outflow was “smelly” but denied it was effluent from…
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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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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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Sea turtle rescued from sea garbage off Phuket – VIDEO
PHOTOS: Marokus Chundee / Koh Racha Lifeguards A sea turtle has been rescued from sea garbage off the coast of Koh Racha, south of Phuket, yesterday. At about noon lifeguards on Koh Racha were helping to bring a big pile of sea garbage back to the beach. In amongst all the flotsam and jetsam they found a sea turtle stuck…
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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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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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Reconstructed Pattaya Beach officially opened
PHOTOS: Pattaya Unlimited | Pattaya Mail The Thai Transport Minister and senior marine-management officials have hailed the rebuilding of Pattaya Beach as a great success at the official opening of the reclaimed beach and shoreline. The reconstruction was completed early this year to muted applause from the locals, but the ceremony was the official recognition of Pattaya and Marine 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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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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Electric boats will help alleviate some of Bangkok’s air pollution
By Pratch Rujivanarom As part of yesterday’s World Environment Day, the UN Environment Program Agency says they’re working with local partners in Thailand to find new ways to mitigate dangerous emissions. One idea put forward yesterday was the development of electric public transport in Bangkok’s klongs (canals) that could help solve two of the city’s biggest problems – traffic congestion and air…
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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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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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30 False killer whales sighted of Koh Tao – VIDEO
PHOTO: DMCR VIDEO: Ban’s Diving Resort (Official Fan Page) About 30 of false killer whales sighted off Koh Tao, Surat Thani over the weekend. The Department of Marine and Coast Resources reported that they were notified from Ban’s Diving tours operator on Koh Tao that that they were on a speedboat with tourists just off the coast of Koh Tao.…
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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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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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