Pattaya beach could erode away within five years, academic warns

By The Nation

World-famous Pattaya Beach is in danger of disappearing due to the erosion there, an academic warned yesterday.

"If we don't do something, Pattaya Beach will likely vanish within five years," said Prof Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.

The latest survey found Pattaya's shore was only four or five metres deep, compared to 35.6m in 1952 and 18.7m in 2002, he told a meeting on the master plan for the development of Pattaya Beach.

The plan recommends drawing back sand that has been swept away. Up to 200,000 cubic metres would be needed.

"The refilling process will take about one year," he said.

Then the beach would be restored to a state very similar to 1952.

"This measure proved successful in Japan and Singapore," he said.

It would not hurt the environment either because the sand belonged to the beach, he said.

Researchers would need to inform locals of this choice and hear their opinions before the master plan could be implemented.

"The sand refilling will take place only after locals and authorities give approval," he said.

Pattaya City Major Ittipon Khunpleum said the erosion of Pattaya Beach was an urgent problem.

"All parties should lend a hand," he said.

Rerm Chiawkij, however, was reluctant to embrace the idea of reconstituting the beach. This 78-year-old man has rented beach chairs there for half a century and does not think there is any real problem.

"From what my eyes can see, the beach gets smaller between November and February only. But when the wind changes direction after that, the beach gets bigger again," he said.

The sand project could waste the budget for nothing, he said.

Former prime minister Anand Panyarachun, who is in his late 70s, believes efforts must be launched soon to save Pattaya Beach.

"When I came here many decades ago, Pattaya was much more beautiful than today," he said.

Montra Krachubkrachuay, a 35-year-old visitor from Bangkok, was shocked to learn that Pattaya Beach could sink beneath the waves.

"This beach is so close to the capital," he said.

-- The Nation 2011-01-24

Will that's one way to clean up a major blight on the community.

Will that's one way to clean up a major blight on the community.

two rows less off chairs and people take care of the big rubbish would also help !!

....and who would even notice?

I wonder how much of the loss has been taken up by the newish beach path. I.E. errosion caused by city planners!!! Or is it that the mean sea level has risen resulting in less exposed beach?

World-famous Pattaya Beach

Somehow, I don't think Pattaya is world famous because of its beach

"Then the beach would be restored to a state very similar to 1952"

I think if you let the beach vanish, along with the thugs and hookers, then it would be restored to a state very similar to 1952.

This is the most dirty beach here in Thailand, the authorities and people must be blind if they don't see this big rubbish bin. I guess no one really cares as many other things going on all over Thailand.

The sand project (rubbish project) could waste the budget for nothing, he said.

One solution only:

bring in the specialist dredgers from Holland to restore the beach; suck the sand from further away and spit it out....

Costly, but there's no other option.

If they can build many islands in Dubai they can restore a few kilometers of beach in Pattaya.

LaoPo

Dr. Thanawat is a lecturer in geology at Chulalongkorn University specializing in soil erosion. He studies coastal areas with severe erosion problems, and more recently has been investigating how climate change and sea level rise may be an important contributing factor to accelerating coastal erosion. He recently engineered a new type of coastal barrier installed in Baan Khun Samut Jeen in Samut Prakarn. These new barriers have received wide acclaim for their effectiveness, and are now being promoted as one of the tools Thailand should use to respond to sea level rise caused by global warming. (Source: His speaker biography.)

I don't dispute that the gentleman has a point, but beach erosion is normal and can be argued to be a healthy activity. The constant reshaping and changing of the coastline has been occurring since there were oceans and land. One need only look at the millions upon millions of dollars the U.S. government wasted on maintaining Miami Beach. The money could have been better spent on other environmental projects. Same for Cancun Mexico. Beach resortoration in the absence of mangrove and marsh/wetlands protection is a waste of money.

Where do you think all the sand came from for all those hotels and condos

In any case, I'm sure they'll find a way to blame whitey. :whistling:

Dr. Thanawat is a lecturer in geology at Chulalongkorn University specializing in soil erosion. He studies coastal areas with severe erosion problems, and more recently has been investigating how climate change and sea level rise may be an important contributing factor to accelerating coastal erosion. He recently engineered a new type of coastal barrier installed in Baan Khun Samut Jeen in Samut Prakarn. These new barriers have received wide acclaim for their effectiveness, and are now being promoted as one of the tools Thailand should use to respond to sea level rise caused by global warming. (Source: His speaker biography.)

I don't dispute that the gentleman has a point, but beach erosion is normal and can be argued to be a healthy activity. The constant reshaping and changing of the coastline has been occurring since there were oceans and land. One need only look at the millions upon millions of dollars the U.S. government wasted on maintaining Miami Beach. The money could have been better spent on other environmental projects. Same for Cancun Mexico. Beach resortoration in the absence of mangrove and marsh/wetlands protection is a waste of money.

Correct and erosion is not a big problem in remote areas since erosion is a natural phenomenon;

but beach restoration is also quite normal for touristic areas, like Pattaya, who are depending on lots of tourists*. But beach restoration is also put in place where the sea endangers the coastline when the sand has been washed away.

like here:

* http://gousabeaches.com/virginiavacationbeaches.html

LaoPo

I am for action to recover the beach and preserve it, never mind the other problems there dealing with something is progress

"When I came here many decades ago, Pattaya was much more beautiful than today," he said

Yes at that time there was less "Scum" around.

everyone should sell their condos and houses immediately as the waters will continue to rise around the World look whats happening in Rio, Australia, Sri Lanka, USA, Thailand

We are all doomed - the sky is falling

sell sell sell

everyone should sell their condos and houses immediately as the waters will continue to rise around the World look whats happening in Rio, Australia, Sri Lanka, USA, Thailand

We are all doomed - the sky is falling

sell sell sell

Sell, sell, sell...?..to whom? There aren't any nutcases left

LaoPo

Over the past five years from living in Bangkok, sometimes my friends and I escape to Pattaya to get away from the noise of Bangkok. When you do to either beach Pattaya and go its famous beach destinations, the one near walking street and Jomtiem are the most popular, you can see less shoreline being taken by advancing waters. Even though this can be attributed to High tide and low tides, maybe to global warming and rising seas, who really knows. I asked one of the staff members at Jomtiem beach about their chairs and umbrella's getting closer to the sidewalk. They said, it is because the beach is getting smaller.

They did say also. Each morning all vendors along Jomtiem groom the beach for the day, extending the beach outwards to provide more room for when guests arrive.

....and who would even notice?

Yes. These are the people who would notice: the Russians, the Chinese, me, my friends who live here, Thais from BKK. Even sex tourists who are looking for more than just bars/brothels 24/7.

Regardless of how cynical we may all be, one fact is undisputable: Pattaya by a clean-ish beach is better than Pattaya by a degraded beach.

Dr. Thanawat is a lecturer in geology at Chulalongkorn University specializing in soil erosion. He studies coastal areas with severe erosion problems, and more recently has been investigating how climate change and sea level rise may be an important contributing factor to accelerating coastal erosion. He recently engineered a new type of coastal barrier installed in Baan Khun Samut Jeen in Samut Prakarn. These new barriers have received wide acclaim for their effectiveness, and are now being promoted as one of the tools Thailand should use to respond to sea level rise caused by global warming. (Source: His speaker biography.)

I don't dispute that the gentleman has a point, but beach erosion is normal and can be argued to be a healthy activity. The constant reshaping and changing of the coastline has been occurring since there were oceans and land. One need only look at the millions upon millions of dollars the U.S. government wasted on maintaining Miami Beach. The money could have been better spent on other environmental projects. Same for Cancun Mexico. Beach resortoration in the absence of mangrove and marsh/wetlands protection is a waste of money.

Unless beach erosion is due to humans like at our house on Koh Phangan. dredging of the channel to deepen it for the car ferry and the building of a harbor in a shallow reef area has changed the natural water flow and sand movement and we have lost over 2 meters of beach.

Pattaya has a beach?

I have it on good authority that all this erosion is a direct result of the overabundance of Jet-ski's.

Get rid of all the Jet-ski's and you could kill two birds with one stone.

:jap:

I don't get it. It was 35.6 meters deep in 1952 and now it's only 4-5 meters? That means sand was deposited on the beach and not washed away!

Dr. Thanawat is a lecturer in geology at Chulalongkorn University specializing in soil erosion. He studies coastal areas with severe erosion problems, and more recently has been investigating how climate change and sea level rise may be an important contributing factor to accelerating coastal erosion. He recently engineered a new type of coastal barrier installed in Baan Khun Samut Jeen in Samut Prakarn. These new barriers have received wide acclaim for their effectiveness, and are now being promoted as one of the tools Thailand should use to respond to sea level rise caused by global warming. (Source: His speaker biography.)

I don't dispute that the gentleman has a point, but beach erosion is normal and can be argued to be a healthy activity. The constant reshaping and changing of the coastline has been occurring since there were oceans and land. One need only look at the millions upon millions of dollars the U.S. government wasted on maintaining Miami Beach. The money could have been better spent on other environmental projects. Same for Cancun Mexico. Beach resortoration in the absence of mangrove and marsh/wetlands protection is a waste of money.

Unless beach erosion is due to humans like at our house on Koh Phangan. dredging of the channel to deepen it for the car ferry and the building of a harbor in a shallow reef area has changed the natural water flow and sand movement and we have lost over 2 meters of beach.

They should have taken the opportunity and (re)move the sand and put in on the beaches nearby; a stone-pier also helps, avoiding washing away beach sand.

But no, they just dredge and move the sand elsewhere in the sea, or didn't they?

LaoPo

The latest survey found Pattaya's shore was only four or five metres deep, compared to 35.6m in 1952 and 18.7m in 2002, he told a meeting on the master plan for the development of Pattaya Beach. <BR sab="341">

Probably they forgot they put a promenade where the beach is

Well, we can spin this, don't worry. Pattaya is already becoming Bangkok by the sea. Next step, Bangkok will be Pattaya by the river ...

I don't get it. It was 35.6 meters deep in 1952 and now it's only 4-5 meters? That means sand was deposited on the beach and not washed away!

Deep is the wrong word to use. The correct term is 'wide', as measured from the edge of the road?

Can it possibly happen and quicker that that? And will it suck all the dirt and scum out to sea also? WOW. If so it may just be time to invest in some land just East of Sukhumvit Rd for the near future.

been here 6 years and never set foot on the beach because it's a health hazzard, if it was in the west it would not be fit for humans and closed, how about doing some testing of water quality throughout Thailand and publishing the results like they do everywhere else, Koh Larn is a little better but they just running raw sewage from the toilets in there, there is a brown foam floating on the shore now

Can it possibly happen and quicker that that? And will it suck all the dirt and scum out to sea also? WOW. If so it may just be time to invest in some land just East of Sukhumvit Rd for the near future.

Or on the recently formed island called "Pattaya Hill"...

Will that's one way to clean up a major blight on the community.

two rows less off chairs and people take care of the big rubbish would also help !!

It would also help to use the sanitation plant and fine the street vendors for dumping all kinds of garbage and used oil down the storm drains....that go straight into the sea.