A third of coastal reefs destroyed by sediment.

[NomadJoe]

Thankfully not many corals have died at the main dive sites due to this, although the parts of Kata House Reef nearest the outlet of the klong has clearly suffered from sedimentation.

Massive sediments caused by near by land development cover coral reefs at Phuket Province's Au Tang Khen.

Pictures by Phuket Marine Biological Center.

More than a third of all coral reefs near coastal areas around the country have been destroyed by sediment from land developments to build hotels, resorts and private homes.

The area of destroyed reef totals more than 35,520 rai - in excess of 14,200 acres - of 96,000 rai of reef along coastal areas, according to the 2009 national strategic/action plan to protect coastal reefs.

On the Andaman coast, about half (50 per cent) the coral reefs covering 49,000 rai were degraded, while about a quarter (24 per cent) of 47,000 rai of reefs in the Gulf of Thailand were destroyed.

Land projects on coastal areas were the main destroyer of coral reefs, according to Pinsak Surasawadee, a director of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department's Office of Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation.

Full story here: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/A-third-of-coastal-reefs-destroyed-by-sediment-30178295.html

Edited July 18, 2013 by NomadJoe