Seawalls: A boon or bane for Thailand’s beautiful beaches?

[webfact]

 

Seawalls have sprouted at many of Thailand’s beautiful beaches, much to the dismay of locals and tourists alike. And that feeling is shared by many experts, who say these coastal defenses are nothing short of a death sentence for sandy shores and their shoreline habitat.

 

“Academics across the world believe that seawalls spell the death of a beach. No matter where they are built, the beach will eventually be wiped away,” said Apisak Tassanee, founder and coordinator of the environmental activist group Beach for Life.

 

Growing protests

 

People are voicing concern about the construction of seawalls in several seaside provinces in Thailand, complaining that the structures do more harm than good.

 

Constructed in the hope of preventing erosion, the seawalls often turn out to be nothing more than eyesores that damage nearby beaches.

 

Realizing that protests against bad coastal defenses were falling on deaf ears, Beach for Life held a noisy rally outside the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry late last month.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/seawalls-a-boon-or-bane-for-thailands-beautiful-beaches/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-12-26

 

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[KhunLA]

The one pictured in news-blip is at Prachuap, and it is very necessary.

 

Since the bay is nothing more than a sewer the wall is quite practical.  It's also nothing new and been there 20 years.

[ugghuggh]

Clearly they don't own beach front properties and would rather see tax money spent on other projects.. Proper seawalls stops specific erosion but will cause effects elsewhere as the sea moves around it.. 

[MRToMRT]

They are better looking than the deck chairs.

[KhunLA]

14 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

They are better looking than the deck chairs.

Our sea wall looks a lot better than say, Cha Am, where it's nothing but chairs & umbrellas.   Although nobody would be sitting on our beach, Ao Prachuap anyway, as too many storm/sewer drains.

 

Even if sitting on/near the wall, need to position yourself away & upwind from the drains, or one would easily lose your appetite.

 

Days past, before the wall, and prior to the small amount of 'major' development, obviously the vendors were illegally pass the high tide mark, and got seasonally flooded.

 

Easier & cheaper to spend tax money for a wall, than enforce building code, if there were any back then.   My first trip here, the wall was either getting build for first time, or getting a major upgrade.  And no wall on the N shore of the bay.

 

The Wat on top of the hill where I took photos from wasn't even open, let alone developed as a tourist attraction.  I had to climb over a locked fence to enter the vacant grounds.  Along with few monkeys noticed vs now easily a 1000+ in the area.

[Tropposurfer]

2 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

They are better looking than the deck chairs.

Bl@ody deck chairs ... the spawn of Satan !!  lol ????

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Our sea wall looks a lot better than say, Cha Am, where it's nothing but chairs & umbrellas.   

Agreed, Ch-am has been spoiled by all the beach vendors.

[mikebell]

Will they stop the bi-annual renewal of sand on Pattaya beaches?  Asking on behalf of the mayor's brother.

[KIWILEE]

These seawalls can be a double edged sword and need very careful specific design. A vertical one can cause more erosion behind it than it saves. Rock walls can also cause erosion if not designed correctly. Be very careful. 

[Burma Bill]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Seawalls have sprouted at many of Thailand’s beautiful beaches

Great idea to stop raw sewage being washed up onto the promenades!

[KhunLA]

SeaWalls are job security also, as the main one here/PKK has been revamped, full & partial twice in 20 yrs.  Have 2 sections now that didn't fair well lately and caved in.

 

About 1/2 km of, on the N shore of the bay caved big time, and that's been an ongoing project this year, and a much better job, materials being put in this time.

 

Sort of like the constant resurfacing of asphalt roads & highways.  Buddha forbid you'd do a proper concrete job to start, and then only do touch ups every 5 or 10 years.

 

Saying that, locally, they have done excellent job when replacing the asphalt with concrete.  We're supposed to get a new village road at the end of our stone soi, and surprisingly was told it will be replaced with concrete. 

 

Also told the wife to request a proper road for our dead end soi, which we are the only house of 8 lots on.  Pros & cons, undecided as kind of like the stone, and less interesting access for others to venture down.

[Aussieroaming]

Yeah Cha-am Beach is a great example of how the local economy can destroy a local attraction. Instead of being a beautiful promenade and beach it is a festering canker due to unregulated industry destroying the local area.