Journey to clean Thailand’s oceans takes another step forward

 

 

Help save our seas and save on your diving trips

 

Building on the success of the ‘Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand’ project, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has officially kicked off the ‘SAVE the Ocean & SAVE for Your Next Dive’ campaign, offering divers the chance to earn discounts on dive trips, in return for helping to protect Thailand’s marine ecosystem.

 

Interested divers are encouraged to take part by following just three easy steps: first, they need to inform a participating dive operator that they would like to join the project. The dive operator will then give them a special rubbish collection bag. Second, divers collect rubbish while enjoying their dive, and return the bag to receive a stamp on their ‘Diving Passport’. Third, they can use the stamp to redeem special discounts on their next dive trip with a participating dive operator.

 

Participating operators and dive sites are located in easy reach of Bangkok, on Thailand’s picturesque Eastern Seaboard – from the conveniently located Ao Sattahip and Ao Samae San in Chon Buri to the magical island of Ko Samet and the hidden gem of Hin Phloeng in Rayong province.

 

The campaign is part of ‘Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand’ – a collaborative project among TAT, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) and the Ecoalf Foundation – which aims to not only transform plastic debris found in the ocean into thread to make fabrics, but also to preserve the sea and coastal areas.

 

During their dive, participating divers are encouraged to practice good buoyancy control while also being careful to maintain the fragile ecosystem they are helping to protect – for example, when removing fishing nets from coral, it is best to use scissors to carefully trim the net and not pull it in such a way that will cause the coral to break.

 

For more information and for a list of participating dive operators, visit www.utodive.com.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Travel_log/30334889

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-01-01

It's a great initiative, real success will depend on getting the fishing industry on board and keeping general litter out of the waterways. 

What success? TAT has done nothing.

They forgot to mention that smoking cigarettes while diving has been banned and carries a heavy fine and possible jail term.

1 hour ago, upena said:

What success? TAT has done nothing.

 

The first rule of management is that your job isn't to do it all by yourself. 

 

Is a work permit required 

Nice thought.  But its not going to made even a slight dent in the rubbish and pollution problem.. as more junk will wash in with the next tide.  

 

Its the governments job to stop industry creating and disposing of this stuff in the ocean in the first place.  And I can't see that ever happening here with the people in charge at the moment and all the endless corruption.

Yesterday they got off to a great start.

 

Thousands of flying lanterns were launched and floated merrily up into the skies over the ocean.

 

What goes up, will eventually come down.

If all you keyboard warriors get up of your backsides and Join in www.Trasheros.com of which there are 26 chapters at my last count in Thailand. we can make a difference

Trash hero's in Thailand are doing this every week

Ah image and publicity ...it’s everything and then... what to talk about the next day ?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

when I go to the local port I see people throwing their household rubbish in the water on the inside of the pier then fishing the other side, when this is how many thais think there is very little chance of the oceans here ever being clean, they would have to actually be concerned/care first

Baby steps has to lead to a 

full on gait, so long overdue.

I don't dive , but would gladly donate a tank of air cost

to a participant 

35 minutes ago, alkazared said:

If all you keyboard warriors get up of your backsides and Join in www.Trasheros.com of which there are 26 chapters at my last count in Thailand. we can make a difference

Trash hero's in Thailand are doing this every week

That's a noble idea. but I'm sure that the keyboard warriors you refer to would be afraid the lunatics running the Thai asylum would charge them with doing volunteer work without a permit. It happened 13 years ago when the tsunami came by.  Perhaps you can have a word with your friends in authority?

All talk, no action, as usual!

A tiny little band aid on a gaping wound. This will do nothing to fix the problem as there is nothing to address the problem of indiscriminate discarding of rubbish upstream of the oceans.

A lack of educating people, a lack of proper disposal facilities and a mai pen rai attitude is the real problem. Address this and there will be no reason for discounted diving trips. These people who come up with these "solutions" are not earning their pay and the general public should feel cheated by their efforts but it's the same mai pen rai attitude that allows them to get away with it. There is no accountability, just photo opportunities and false tales of grandeur to justify their positions. Wake up Thailand before it's too late. You get what you deserve and if you do nothing you get nothing.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, alkazared said:

If all you keyboard warriors get up of your backsides and Join in www.Trasheros.com of which there are 26 chapters at my last count in Thailand. we can make a difference

Trash hero's in Thailand are doing this every week

Before getting off my backside to find out more seems very difficult. Neither http://www.trasheros.com (nor http://www.trasheroes.com/)  are registered domains.    

7 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Before getting off my backside to find out more seems very difficult. Neither http://www.trasheros.com (nor http://www.trasheroes.com/)  are registered domains.    

Didn't take me long to find the following:

https://trashhero.org/

https://www.facebook.com/trashherothailand/

 

Actually trashheros.com domain is up for sale. One needs to allow for some 'finger trouble' on new year's day.

3 hours ago, Pdavies99 said:

All talk, no action, as usual!

Stunning feel good media exercise.... but if they really want to clean up their ocean they have to get people to stop throwing rubbish anywhere they feel like and having it end up in the ocean in the first place.  A nation wide garbage collection and disposal system would be a start... along with an education program to get people to dispose of their waste properly..  To often I see people getting up from a picnic and walking away from all the plastic and other trash that their food and drinks came in.. EDUCATION.. the starting point...  

4 hours ago, 12DrinkMore said:

Yesterday they got off to a great start.

 

Thousands of flying lanterns were launched and floated merrily up into the skies over the ocean.

 

What goes up, will eventually come down.

As you say, but aren't the lanterns paper and biodegradeable ?

5 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

That's a noble idea. but I'm sure that the keyboard warriors you refer to would be afraid the lunatics running the Thai asylum would charge them with doing volunteer work without a permit. It happened 13 years ago when the tsunami came by.  Perhaps you can have a word with your friends in authority?

That's exactly what has happened in Chiang Mai.  Trash Hero is NOT going to get the place clean.  Its about developing an awareness of the issue and planting the seeds for change.  They are also involved in local school presentations to teach the next generation a different ethic.  I urge everyone on here to get involved and help.

A good start, but when you images as the ones attached from Phi Phi an Koh Tao you understand that not even a million divers will be enough to clean up the Thai Ocean. 

Wow, that would be a great dive, hauling a plastic bag of garbage around. Just about as much fun as a bunch of people with their nice T shirts, picking up garbage for a couple hours, and thousands more leaving garbage on the beach. 

 

7 hours ago, markaoffy said:

Ah image and publicity ...it’s everything and then... what to talk about the next day ?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

 

 

Did you expect anything else?

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Baby steps has to lead to a 

full on gait, so long overdue.

 

 

 

One friend of mine,  who is seriously devoted to Thailand   freely says the country is abut 50 years behind most Western countries.

 

That is a matter of opinion.    

 

What do others think?

 

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, alkazared said:

If all you keyboard warriors get up of your backsides and Join in www.Trasheros.com of which there are 26 chapters at my last count in Thailand. we can make a difference

Trash hero's in Thailand are doing this every week

Farangs cleaning up the thai mess as locals cannot be bothered, Can't see the Chinese doing that can you on their bucket holiday

3 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Farangs cleaning up the thai mess as locals cannot be bothered, Can't see the Chinese doing that can you on their bucket holiday

Actually yes.  There are Chinese expats in Trash Hero.  And Thai.  And Korean and German and British and Russian and Malay and more.

 

17 hours ago, lincolnshire poacher said:

As you say, but aren't the lanterns paper and biodegradeable ?

 

They are more biodegradeable than plastic bottles; paper, wire and a bit of cloth to hold the fuel. But it will take how many weeks or months? How many fish will try and eat the stuff?

 

But that is not the point.

 

Why are we doing it at all?

 

More utterly unnecessary and totally avoidable human created cr4p into the environment.

Edited January 2, 20188 yr by 12DrinkMore