Foreign Tourists Head To Myanmar Islands As Thai Reefs Decline

[Jim walker]

Thailand
will have to learn that life does not just revolve around greed money and
making even more money from the stupid tourists, and understand that tourists
have a choice where they will go for a holiday some people like to see things
of extraordinary environmental beauty also animals in there natural surroundings,
and soon Thailand only claim to fame to attract tourists will be its fantastic sex
industry, because everything else is gone including the tourists, the outlook
is not looking to rosy for tourists coming to Thailand in the future.

[vijer]

Well it isn't just tourism that is messing up the waters, it's Thai's. Went to the beach down by the Thai Naval docks 8 months ago and it was very clean, but there were very few Thai's there. Just went there today and the Thai's seem to have found out about this little beach and now it is covered in garbage from one end to the other. And that is not an exgageration.

Driving to the beach I was behind a new SUV and the family rolled down the window and threw out two bottles. I honked at them and flipped them the finger. This made my wife mad as she fears that every Thai has a gun and will shoot us. So Thai's just accept this crap.

[vijer]

fyi. One of the main causes of coral bleaching globally is warmer temperatures. These are widely acknowledged to be due to the overwhelming amounts of CO2 produced by fossil-fuel burning. That's me and you, bub. Excerpts are posted below. Sorry if this info is redundant to you, gentle reader.

http://www.reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C2_BleachBasics.html

What Causes Bleaching?

The primary cause of mass bleaching is high water temperature. Other

stressors can have a cumulative impact that weakens corals, making

isolated bleaching and eventual death possible. Sources of stress on

coral communities include:

• Elevated water temperatures and bright sunlight
• Disease
• Urban and agricultural run-off pollution
• Salinity shock from heavy rains or floods
• Sedimentation from activities such as dredging

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/08/idUS52935383320110208

from Reuters, below, dated Feb, 2011:

"If there is a long-term solution to the Thai problem — and the global problem — it

lies in finding a realistic alternative to the combustion of fossil

fuels, thus reducing the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere," said

Monty Halls, a spokesperson for the UK-based Shark and Coral

Conservation Trust (SCCT), who warned that it is quickly becoming too

late for the world's corals.

The bleaching in Thailand is said to be the worst in 20 years or more, while damage to the corals may well be the worst the country's ever seen, said Kasemsan Jinnawaso...

'Rainforests of the Sea'

The problem demands "urgent attention," Halls told SolveClimate News. He

estimated the cost to Thailand in lost diving tourism dollars at $2.5

million per year.Coral reefs, known as "the rainforests of the sea," are key to the planet's marine ecosystem and support about 4,000 species, including the marine food that more than two billion people depend on, according to figures from SCCT.

Bleaching occurs when oceans get unusually warm. Under heat stress, corals — which are living things — eject the algae that live inside their tissues and provide food in exchange for shelter. The ejection process is known as bleaching because of the white skeleton left behind when the corals get sick.

Sustained whitening can trigger the partial or total death of coral colonies,

which has happened to some parts of the Thai reefs.

In response to the bleaching, Thailand's Department of National Parks has

temporarily shut down 18 popular diving sites, including tourism hot

spot Phi Phi, and Similan, which is one of the top 10 diving

destinations in the world, according to the National Geographic Society.

The bleached reefs will stay closed for up to 14 months to let the coral recover.

Agencies responsible for the reefs are providing news and information to officials, tourism operators and "Moken" sea-gypsy communities, to keep all concerned groups updated and foster cooperation in reducing environmental impact, the DNP said.

Thailand Not Alone

Besides Thailand, many other countries have suffered coral bleaching outbreaks.

Last year, between May and August, 80 percent of some coral species

died off Indonesia's Aceh province. The U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation

Society (WCS) blamed the disaster on a dramatic rise in sea temperature

linked to global warming.

Further afield off Australia on the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world's best-kept marine parks,

which stands to gain diving tourists from Thailand's closures, is also

dogged by the problem. The Great

Barrier Reef experienced bleaching events in 1980, 1982, 1992, 1994,

1998, 2002 and 2006. While most areas recovered with low coral death

levels, some suffered severe damage, with up to 90 percent of corals

killed.

In 1998, a mass bleaching event killed 90 percent of the corals in the Indian Ocean. In 2010, the second hottest-year in recorded history, reefs bleached throughout the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean and off the coasts of Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as Thailand.

Unregulated Tourism a Cause

Some observers blame Thailand's bleaching epidemic on tourism, rather than

warming, though when contacted by SolveClimate News, local marine

biologists and environmentalists working around the reefs said they were

reluctant to speak with foreign media on any goverment-related issues.

Conservationist Niphon Phongsuwan, who has devoted his career to

protecting the Andaman Sea, singled out visiting swimmers and snorkelers

in an article in the local Nation newspaper. While surveying a damaged

reef around Koh Hey, known as Coral Island, he said he witnessed a group

of tourists destroy live coral as they swam and snorkeled.

Others have publicly blamed visitors for gathering coral in baskets for the

souvenir value, sometimes encouraged by rogue guides.

Despite the undoubted harmful effect of unregulated tourism, Halls

believes that only with carbon emissions cuts can the world "bring about

any significant change" in the health of coral reefs.

"The rate at which coral reefs can engender regrowth will be outstripped by

erosive [fossil-fuel burning] processes by the middle of this century,"

he warned.

Marine biologists — such as the ex-chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine

Science, Charlie Veron — have warned that if the processes continue and

globally coral colonies collapse, the whole food chain might crumble.

At least 19 percent of the world's coral reefs are already gone.

Another 15 percent could be dead within 20 years, according to figures

from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Full list of Thailand marine sites that now ban divers:

Phang Nga province: Mo Koh Surin Island 's Ao Sutep, Ao Mai Ngam, Koh

Ster, Ao Pakkard and Hin Kong. Mo Koh Similan's East of Eden and Ao

Faiwab.

Krabi province: Nopparat Thara Park, Phi Phi, Hin Klang.

Satun province: Hat Chao Mai National Park's Koh Cher. Mu Ko Phetra

National Park's Koh Bulon Mai Pai and Koh Bulon Don. Koh Tarutao

National Park's Kohtakiang, Koh Hin Ngam, Koh Rawi and Koh Dong.

Chumphon province: Koh Maprao National Park's Mo Koh Chumphon.

<fyi. One of the main causes of coral bleaching globally is warmer temperatures. These are widely acknowledged to be due to the overwhelming amounts of CO2 produced by fossil-fuel burning. That's me and you, bub.>

Ever heard of volcanoes? Thay also produce CO2 etc.

I take it you do not use any carbon based transportation, or use electricity generated by carbon fuel???????

<Despite the undoubted harmful effect of unregulated tourism, Halls

believes that only with carbon emissions cuts can the world "bring about

any significant change" in the health of coral reefs.

"The rate at which coral reefs can engender regrowth will be outstripped by

erosive [fossil-fuel burning] processes by the middle of this century,"

he warned.

Marine biologists — such as the ex-chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine

Science, Charlie Veron — have warned that if the processes continue and

globally coral colonies collapse, the whole food chain might crumble.>

If you are correct, the only realistic solution is to eliminate most of the human population- but that's not going to happen till Gaia steps in with pestilence and famine, or suchlike.

Why won't climate change advocates be realistic and push for population control?

A few windmills and electric cars isn't going to change anything.

Well I think we should slash and burn and consume as much fossile fuel as possible and care very little for the future. This will bring about the next iceage and will kill off a majority of the vermin that is man. A reset of humanity if you will. Unfortunately, the only people that will be able to heat their homes and feed themselves will be the rich, who are the worst of the vermin. So the new human race will be starting off with the worst gene pool possible.

[Phronesis]

The headline of this article is misleading because it contains the phrase "Thai reefs".

The definition for a coral reef is as follows:

A mound or ridge of living coral, coral skeletons, and calcium carbonate
deposits from other organisms such as calcareous algae, mollusks, and
protozoans.

Can someone please point out some "living coral" for me here in Phuket...I haven't found any after 3 years of snorkeling around the island.

[simon43]

Hotels are very expensive in comparison as are taxi fares, rail fares and food

apart from the hotels, I can't agree with you. Taxi fares are cheap, rail fares are cheap, food is extremely cheap. I live on about 200 baht or less a day....

Simon

[crawforb]

I really want to visit Myanmar, but I will wait until next year.

@stickyrice2000,

I just did a 5-day live aboard in the Mergui Archipelago and it was some of the best diving I have seen in years. Coral as pristine as you will find anywhere in the world. You can see images at my website.

As for boats, according to Burma Immigration, there were only 4 other boats in the archipelago during the week we were there. We saw only one other dive boat during the week and never dove on a site at the same time as them.

The dive company I went with was Similan Diving Safaris out of Khao Lek. They run a really nice boat. It was my second live aboard with them and am planning to go back either in April or November. I would recommend them as a choice if you decide to head to Burma for diving. They also do 4-day live aboard to the Similans.

I think even if you wait until next year, the diving will still be super for you there.

David

Thanks for sharing your photos with us...looks like a beautiful dive site. Great pix!

[Tomtomtom69]

All the tens of thousands of SCUBA divers have frightened the fish away from the Thai reefs which without fish start to die. It the the noise of the air bubbles which spooks fish. And of course a lot of inexperienced SCUBA divers inadvertently tread on the coral and kill it. The water in Myannma is so clear you don't need SCUBA to see all the beautiful reefs. So the answer is to ban SCUBA and encourage snorkeling which does not scare the fish away. But of course there is no money to be made if people don't use SCUBA. So the operates of dive shops and all the SCUBA teachers would not be happy in spite of the fact it would save the reefs.

Wow!!!I have scuba dive for 30years and this is what I did to the reefs?I think I have to quit scuba diving.

BTW where do you get all that info?

There is money to be made from snorkelling...it's called hiring out snorkelling equipment just it doesn't make hundreds of dollars per person like scuba diving does. I used to want to learn scuba diving but for the time being I'm too scared - hearing stories of underwater drownings of young people learning how to scuba dive, including one incident in Sydney, Australia has scared me away. Snorkelling is pretty fun and it doesn't take you an hour to get ready. Still, I don't think it's scuba divers that are damaging reefs - it's more likely to be local fishermen with dynamite, particularly those in more developed Thailand.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Tomtomtom69

[ginjag]

Tourists will eventually be on their way to Burma, as most seem to be missing nowadays, At my age I doubt I will go there BUT if things get favourable, I might.

Let the Chinese have it here--The have controlled it for yonks and now Thailand is being overrun with Chinese tourists. They pay sure and the government gets the vast resources BUT that is not the same as the Europeans that have flooded Thai people in OTHER WAYS, that never gets mentioned much as it's HIDDEN going to Mama and popa's shops mama and popa up country, street venders, movies disco's Bars---

We Europeans/farangs put more money into Thai pockets directly.

The topic is true, naturally the Burma coral will be beautiful, good luck to them they deserve the revenue.

[candypants]

I'm not a lawyer, but couldn't the Burmese government enforce their border and not allow these Thai boats to come to their islands?

may i ask you where you rad anything that even vaguely suggested Thai boats were inhabiting Burmese waters?

[ginjag]

I'm not a lawyer, but couldn't the Burmese government enforce their border and not allow these Thai boats to come to their islands?

may i ask you where you rad anything that even vaguely suggested Thai boats were inhabiting Burmese waters?

On this thread ???

[IsaanUSA]

I'm not a lawyer, but couldn't the Burmese government enforce their border and not allow these Thai boats to come to their islands?

may i ask you where you rad anything that even vaguely suggested Thai boats were inhabiting Burmese waters?

It is in the original post.

a source at A-One Diving Co Ltd disclosed.

Based in Ranong, the company has arranged dive trips to various destinations in the Andaman Sea. Some destinations are in Thai waters while others are in Myanmar territory.

he believed Ranong could still reap benefits from the situation.

"We have the potential to become a gateway to hundreds of islands in southern Myanmar," Somchai said.

[thaibeachlovers]

fyi. One of the main causes of coral bleaching globally is warmer temperatures. These are widely acknowledged to be due to the overwhelming amounts of CO2 produced by fossil-fuel burning. That's me and you, bub. Excerpts are posted below. Sorry if this info is redundant to you, gentle reader.

http://www.reefresilience.org/Toolkit_Coral/C2_BleachBasics.html

What Causes Bleaching?

The primary cause of mass bleaching is high water temperature. Other

stressors can have a cumulative impact that weakens corals, making

isolated bleaching and eventual death possible. Sources of stress on

coral communities include:

• Elevated water temperatures and bright sunlight
• Disease
• Urban and agricultural run-off pollution
• Salinity shock from heavy rains or floods
• Sedimentation from activities such as dredging

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/08/idUS52935383320110208

from Reuters, below, dated Feb, 2011:

"If there is a long-term solution to the Thai problem — and the global problem — it

lies in finding a realistic alternative to the combustion of fossil

fuels, thus reducing the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere," said

Monty Halls, a spokesperson for the UK-based Shark and Coral

Conservation Trust (SCCT), who warned that it is quickly becoming too

late for the world's corals.

The bleaching in Thailand is said to be the worst in 20 years or more, while damage to the corals may well be the worst the country's ever seen, said Kasemsan Jinnawaso...

'Rainforests of the Sea'

The problem demands "urgent attention," Halls told SolveClimate News. He

estimated the cost to Thailand in lost diving tourism dollars at $2.5

million per year.Coral reefs, known as "the rainforests of the sea," are key to the planet's marine ecosystem and support about 4,000 species, including the marine food that more than two billion people depend on, according to figures from SCCT.

Bleaching occurs when oceans get unusually warm. Under heat stress, corals — which are living things — eject the algae that live inside their tissues and provide food in exchange for shelter. The ejection process is known as bleaching because of the white skeleton left behind when the corals get sick.

Sustained whitening can trigger the partial or total death of coral colonies,

which has happened to some parts of the Thai reefs.

In response to the bleaching, Thailand's Department of National Parks has

temporarily shut down 18 popular diving sites, including tourism hot

spot Phi Phi, and Similan, which is one of the top 10 diving

destinations in the world, according to the National Geographic Society.

The bleached reefs will stay closed for up to 14 months to let the coral recover.

Agencies responsible for the reefs are providing news and information to officials, tourism operators and "Moken" sea-gypsy communities, to keep all concerned groups updated and foster cooperation in reducing environmental impact, the DNP said.

Thailand Not Alone

Besides Thailand, many other countries have suffered coral bleaching outbreaks.

Last year, between May and August, 80 percent of some coral species

died off Indonesia's Aceh province. The U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation

Society (WCS) blamed the disaster on a dramatic rise in sea temperature

linked to global warming.

Further afield off Australia on the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world's best-kept marine parks,

which stands to gain diving tourists from Thailand's closures, is also

dogged by the problem. The Great

Barrier Reef experienced bleaching events in 1980, 1982, 1992, 1994,

1998, 2002 and 2006. While most areas recovered with low coral death

levels, some suffered severe damage, with up to 90 percent of corals

killed.

In 1998, a mass bleaching event killed 90 percent of the corals in the Indian Ocean. In 2010, the second hottest-year in recorded history, reefs bleached throughout the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean and off the coasts of Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as Thailand.

Unregulated Tourism a Cause

Some observers blame Thailand's bleaching epidemic on tourism, rather than

warming, though when contacted by SolveClimate News, local marine

biologists and environmentalists working around the reefs said they were

reluctant to speak with foreign media on any goverment-related issues.

Conservationist Niphon Phongsuwan, who has devoted his career to

protecting the Andaman Sea, singled out visiting swimmers and snorkelers

in an article in the local Nation newspaper. While surveying a damaged

reef around Koh Hey, known as Coral Island, he said he witnessed a group

of tourists destroy live coral as they swam and snorkeled.

Others have publicly blamed visitors for gathering coral in baskets for the

souvenir value, sometimes encouraged by rogue guides.

Despite the undoubted harmful effect of unregulated tourism, Halls

believes that only with carbon emissions cuts can the world "bring about

any significant change" in the health of coral reefs.

"The rate at which coral reefs can engender regrowth will be outstripped by

erosive [fossil-fuel burning] processes by the middle of this century,"

he warned.

Marine biologists — such as the ex-chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine

Science, Charlie Veron — have warned that if the processes continue and

globally coral colonies collapse, the whole food chain might crumble.

At least 19 percent of the world's coral reefs are already gone.

Another 15 percent could be dead within 20 years, according to figures

from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Full list of Thailand marine sites that now ban divers:

Phang Nga province: Mo Koh Surin Island 's Ao Sutep, Ao Mai Ngam, Koh

Ster, Ao Pakkard and Hin Kong. Mo Koh Similan's East of Eden and Ao

Faiwab.

Krabi province: Nopparat Thara Park, Phi Phi, Hin Klang.

Satun province: Hat Chao Mai National Park's Koh Cher. Mu Ko Phetra

National Park's Koh Bulon Mai Pai and Koh Bulon Don. Koh Tarutao

National Park's Kohtakiang, Koh Hin Ngam, Koh Rawi and Koh Dong.

Chumphon province: Koh Maprao National Park's Mo Koh Chumphon.

<fyi. One of the main causes of coral bleaching globally is warmer temperatures. These are widely acknowledged to be due to the overwhelming amounts of CO2 produced by fossil-fuel burning. That's me and you, bub.>

Ever heard of volcanoes? Thay also produce CO2 etc.

I take it you do not use any carbon based transportation, or use electricity generated by carbon fuel???????

<Despite the undoubted harmful effect of unregulated tourism, Halls

believes that only with carbon emissions cuts can the world "bring about

any significant change" in the health of coral reefs.

"The rate at which coral reefs can engender regrowth will be outstripped by

erosive [fossil-fuel burning] processes by the middle of this century,"

he warned.

Marine biologists — such as the ex-chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine

Science, Charlie Veron — have warned that if the processes continue and

globally coral colonies collapse, the whole food chain might crumble.>

If you are correct, the only realistic solution is to eliminate most of the human population- but that's not going to happen till Gaia steps in with pestilence and famine, or suchlike.

Why won't climate change advocates be realistic and push for population control?

A few windmills and electric cars isn't going to change anything.

Well I think we should slash and burn and consume as much fossile fuel as possible and care very little for the future. This will bring about the next iceage and will kill off a majority of the vermin that is man. A reset of humanity if you will. Unfortunately, the only people that will be able to heat their homes and feed themselves will be the rich, who are the worst of the vermin. So the new human race will be starting off with the worst gene pool possible.

I do everything that I can to be a "friend to the earth", I just have no illusions that I, or anyone in most ( excluding the USA ) developed countries, can make a difference in the long term. When we have countries like the US and China with out of control consumption and pollution it is a hopeless cause.

So, just enjoy the ride till it ends. No doubt the dinosaurs thought it was a bad deal when they became extinct, and unless mankind takes a lot more radical steps to change ( halving the world's population would be a good first step ) we are heading their way - won't be starting off again either.

BTW, without all the lackies to sustain them, the rich will die out a lot faster than the poor, who know how to survive on very little.