Koh Samet to get restoration as top-class dive site

RAYONG: -- Once upon a time, the island of Koh Samet off the eastern coast of Thailand was one of the nation's top locations for diving.

But then the tourist hordes moved in, and the coral was destroyed, leaving diving operators out of work.

Now, however, the local authorities hope to restore the island to its original fame and natural beauty with an ambitious environmental rehabilitation plan.

Mrs. Manthana Saengsiwarit, director of the activities division of the Rayong Provincial Administration, admits that the island is undergoing 'virtual environmental crisis' through the destruction of its coral.

She is determined, however, that through an injection of funding and the help of local conservation networks, the local environment will be restored.

Seventy local leaders will study coral revival work at a local university, and will use their new-found knowledge to help improve the island's environmental conditions.

The local authorities hope that they will be able to put Koh Samet on the tourist map as an area of outstanding natural beauty once more, bringing jobs back to local people.

--TNA 2004-08-19

How many farangs visit the island,many I would think @ B200 a time,were has the money gone over the last 10/15 years.

I like Samet,but the last time I went(about 1 year) the island was very dirty,the island has not been spoilt by the tourists,its been spoilt by greed.

Beach and water was awful last visit. Full of muck...definitely better off elsewhere!

Yeah I think most would agree that this palce is filthy. The original news clipping should also differentiate between international tourist and domestic tourists. The domestic tourist here is a terrible beast. In sheer weight of numbers they can destroy any place they visit. Just go and see Sai Yok waterfall or ErawanWaterfall during a long weekend. They get overun with domestic tourists who literally walk over everything and drop their plastic everywhere. It is a disgrace and there is absolutely NO management excpet collecting plastic bottles at Erawan to prevent higher waterfdall levels from being polluted.

Koh Samet needs proper management seriously. All the money going in from international tourists should be channelled into a garbage collection campaign and there should be strict penalties on existing businesses as well as a tax to fund further services. Strong education may be a good idea also. We need a Mr Meechai of the environment in Thailand.......trouble is most activists get shot !!