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 Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Nonthaburi man says pythons ate 20 of his cats
It took snake catchers 15 minutes to capture a 4 metre long python after a scrap dealer in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok, discovered it at his store in the province’s Pak Kret sub-district yesterday. The snake weighed in at 15 kilograms and the handlers say it put up a fierce fight, even breaking some of their equipment. The dealer…
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A recovering China faces worst floods in decades
As China is still reeling from economic impacts of Covid-19, a new struggle has ensued as the nation is now seeing the worst flooding in decades which have destroyed the homes and livelihoods of millions. The devastating floods have impacted 38 million people. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, some 2.24 million people have been displaced, with 141 people…
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Officials confirm billion baht make-over for Pattaya’s Jomtien beach
Thailand’s Marine Department has confirmed a 1.1 billion baht project to widen Jomtien beach in Pattaya after years of sand erosion at the tourist favourite. Officials say they plan to widen 7 kilometres of the beach to a width of between 35 and 50 metres in a project that will consist of 2 stages. The first stage will involve transporting…
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Elephant’s death prompts plea to “say no” to plastic bags
Thailand’s ministry of natural resources and environment fears that the public campaign to reduce plastic bags is “falling on deaf ears”, after the latest loss of a wild elephant which died with plastic bags in its intestines and stomach. Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation found the male elephant, weighing about 3.5 tonnes and aged…
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Koh Lan to get “neo” branding to attract tourists
The popular resort island of Koh Lan, about 8 kilometres off the Pattaya coast in the Gulf of Thailand, will become “Neo Koh Lan”, as Pattaya is being upgraded as a tourism and investment hub under the Thai government’s poster economic project, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) scheme. Pattaya’s mayor says the island, along with Koh Sichang (north of Koh Lan)…
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Report claims air pollution “kills thousands”, costs billions annually
“In mere months, major cities around the world have lost tens of thousands of lives and well into the tens of billions of dollars in economic productivity.” New data released by environmental groups makes claims that air pollution in Bangkok alone has caused some 6,800 deaths and an economic loss of 81.4 billion baht so far this year. The data,…
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Rare big cats spotted in Thai national park
The Facebook page of Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand’s northwestern Kamphaeng Phet province, report that camera traps, set up to track the population of tigers, instead managed to capture a sighting of a black panther and leopard. “The appearance of the panther and leopard prove that the forest has become more abundant and attracted the return of these animals…
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Rescuers remove 4 metre python from Chon Buri car
A 4 metre long python has been carefully extracted from a car in Chon Buri’s central city district. It took rescue workers around 2 hours to locate and remove the reluctant reptile. Earlier, the snake was spotted by an unnamed local motorist, who stopped traffic to let the python safely cross Bypass Road in the Huay Kapi area. Afterwards it made…
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Activists want Thailand to lead total ban on wildlife trade
With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to sweep the globe and the World Health Organisation saying 75% of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, campaigners against wildlife crime say Thailand could become a global leader in helping to prevent pandemics by cracking down on poaching and ceasing to be a gateway for illegal wildlife trade. Activists believe this could help stop…
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Government defends “monkey business” after PETA call for boycott on Thai coconut products
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the US-based animal rights group, is no stranger to controversy and has been accused of double standards in the past. Now it faces accusations of “cultural racism” after its open call to ban all Thai coconut products because some of the coconuts may have been harvested by monkeys. In a statement issued this…
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Pattaya Museum denied the origins of the blackwater, then changed their mind – VIDEO
A heritage museum in Pattaya is blaming a “faulty pump” for the flow of black wastewater that was flowing into the coastline on the Pattaya beachfront at Wong Prachan Bay. The “Sanctuary of Truth Museum” VP denied that they’d intentionally allowed the dirty water onto the beach. But later the vice president of the Sanctuary of Truth, Warakorn Wiriyahan, added that the…
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Poll shows most Bangkok residents dissatisfied with public bus service
A recent survey by Bangkok Poll showed most of the city’s residents aren’t satisfied with the capital’s bus services, citing long waiting times, shabby conditions and thick black exhaust. The poll, conducted June 25-29 by the Bangkok University Research Centre, surveyed 1,299 people aged over 18 to gauge public satisfaction with city buses. The largest group, 46.7%, said they were…
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Opposition questions ministry’s plan to buy firefighting helicopters
Thailand’s interior minister yesterday defended his plan to purchase 6 firefighting helicopters, saying the ministry doesn’t have any such helicopters and relies on military choppers to fight wildfires, “which aren’t up to the task”. Anupong Paojinda was responding to an objection raised by the opposition during yesterday’s House debate on the budget bill for the financial year 2021. “I’m sure…
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Government nominates Tham Luang park for ASEAN heritage ranking
The Thai government has nominated Tham Luang Forest Park in the northern province of Chiang Rai for ASEAN heritage status. The park made headline news around the world when 13 young boys and their football coach became trapped in Tham Luang cave following flooding. Today marks two years to the day that all 14 were found alive by a team…
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International charity exposes Thailand’s abuse of elephants for tourist trade
The international non-profit organisation, World Animal Protection, has released distressing video footage that blows the lid open on the cruelty involved in the use of Thai elephants for the tourist trade. The footage, secretly filmed at several unnamed camps over two years, shows how elephants are beaten into submission so they will perform tricks for tourists. The training begins when…
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Phuket’s Sirinat National Park to open again from Wednesday
Sirinat National Park, along the west coast of the north end of Phuket, is set to re-open on Wednesday, according to the province’s deputy governor, Wongsakorn Numchukan. It follows the re-opening of other national parks around the country 2 weeks ago after a 2 month shutdown initiated to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. And as with re-openings elsewhere,…
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Surat Thani “cockle wars” are over, says navy chief
The chief of the Royal Thai Navy says local figures wielding influence are being “neutralised” and the disruptive, sometimes violent dispute between cockle farmers and local small-boat fishermen is drawing to an end. Admiral Ruechai Ruddit says the conflict off the coast of Bandon Bay in the southern province of Surat Thani has eased, after cockle farmers began dismantling the…
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More sea turtles lay eggs on Koh Samui
It’s been years since sea turtles have been seen laying eggs on Koh Samui beaches. But this year more than a dozen sea turtle nests have popped up around the island’s coast. Just over the weekend, 70 eggs were found by villagers at Laem So beach by the Ban Sai Ree Hotel. It’s rare for the turtles to come to…
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Baby elephants killed by electric fence in Chantaburi
2 baby elephants have apparently been electrocuted in the Tha Mai district of the eastern province of Chanthaburi, near the Cambodian border, when they touched an electric fence put up by an orchard owner to keep foraging animals out. A local police officer said he would summon the orchard owner for questioning about the electrified fencing. Authorities are awaiting the…
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Bangkok’s Skypark could inspire more green areas across the region
“It is an example of how to repurpose an abandoned structure and increase green spaces in Bangkok through cost-effective design.” Bangkok’s new “Skypark,” built on an abandoned, never-completed Skytrain track, could become be a model for turning the capital’s unused spaces into much-needed green areas. Such an initiative would also boost public health and mitigate the impacts of climate change,…
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Clean up Bangkok waterways: Report on littering, get paid
Need some extra cash? Catch someone dumping garbage into Bangkok canals and half the money in fines will go to you. The effort is to clean up the so-called “Venice of East” which has so much trash, city officials say it’s scary. The maximum fine is 10,000 baht, so potentially you could get up to 5,000 baht for one report. To…
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Injured whale shark looks for help from divers – VIDEO
Video footage of a huge whale shark swimming toward a diving instructor while showing its tail that was caught in a rope has gone viral on the internet. The encounter took place near Koh Pha Ngan in the southern Surat Thani province last Saturday. A 3 metre long whale shark, injured by a rope tightening around its tail, swam toward…
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Bangkok removing trees to make way for underground walkways
As part of a new “landscape improvement project,” the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has begun removing trees along Na Phra Lan Road, to pave the way for an underground network of walkways. 34 trees on the road will be removed, and the “Silpakorn Nokrob” (around Silpakorn) Facebook page yesterday called the decision “heartbreaking” for locals and conservationists. In April the BMA…
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Bangkok’s sky park bridging the Chao Phraya ready for opening
Bangkok now has an elevated garden overlooking the Chao Phraya River, after architects transformed a portion of an abandoned electric train project into a green pedestrian bridge. For 30 years, the unfinished Saphan Phut line stood as a reminder of the Lavalin Skytrain project, which was abandoned in 1992. The project began in 1984 under former PM Prem Tinsulanonda. Today…
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More masks, more problems: Covid waste pollutes oceans
Disposable face masks and plastic gloves are ending up in the oceans around the world, some calling it “Covid waste.” Conservationists and non-profits in Europe and Asia worry that the items used to protect those on land from the coronavirus are now threatening life underwater. In France, Laurent Lombard, from the non-profit Opération Mer Propre, posted a video on Facebook on a…
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Bang Saen plans to be a “zero waste beach”
A Chon Buri beach plans to be completely garbage free, aiming to be a so-called “zero waste beach.” The National Research Council of Thailand and Kasetsart University have teamed up to develop a waste management system and devices to help keep Bang Saen beach clean. Although there are far fewer people on the beach this year due to coronavirus restrictions,…
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Heavy rains, severe weather predicted for the south and east
Thailand’s worst drought in 40 years is officially over, as Thailand’s Meteorological Department today predicted continuous rains for the entire country with flash floods possible in the East and South. A low pressure cell is covering Myanmar’s Bay of Martaban while the southwest monsoon across the Andaman Sea and Thailand is growing stronger. The department predicts continuous rain over Thailand…
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National parks to require reservations, registration
“One of the certain measures is that visitors to national parks must make a reservation first. They cannot just walk in.” All Covid-19 vulnerable sites, including concert venues and events, pubs and karaoke and massage, amusement parks and national parks are expected to be reopened by the end of the month. But the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says…
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4 metre python caught after eating school’s pets
Cats and chickens have been going missing at a central Thailand school for the past month or so. Turns out they ended up in the stomach of a 4 metre, 70 kilogram python. The Pranchanukul Rescue Team in Ratchaburi eventually caught the python yesterday and released into the wild, away from villages. Ratchaburi is on the Burmese border, west of…
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Chemical ban now in effect, farmers say they have few alternatives
Thailand’s ban on 2 toxic chemicals in herbicides and pesticides, is now in effect. While the move focuses on a sustainable, eco-friendly future, farmers say they are at a loss with no alternatives to keep bugs and weeds from killing their crops. The 2 chemicals, paraquat and chlorpyrifos, have been shown to be toxic to humans in some studies, in…
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