Phuket’s east coast worries

Today, the west coast of Phuket is a location for property developers. Land has become extremely expensive. A piece of land that cost only a couple of hundred thousand baht per rai in 2002 has been raised to a million baht a rai.

There are three main reasons that are the cause of the land price hike. The first reason is because of the increasing population on the west coast of the island. Sea view and beach front land then are very expensive.

Secondly, the growth of the marine tourism industry. Mega-projects like the Marina-Seaworld have been quietly approved by parliament recently.

The third reason is the tsunami catastrophe. Investors are still concerned about what happened on the west coast of the land and are now paying attention to the other side, which had minimal effects from the disaster.

“Due to these reasons the east coast of Phuket is undoubtedly becoming popular”

Besides the outstanding landscape, such as the bays, the brilliant surrounding island archipelago and accessible marine transportation, as well as its mind climate, Ao Phuket and Ao Phang Nga are still plenty of lush mangrove swamps suitable for eco-tourism activities.

But there’s worry about marina center projects that may cause negative environment geology impact, and this can be divided into two groups; coastal Geology and Coastal Ecology System.

Coastal geology

Phuket east coast geology form the north to south, which is from Sarasin Bridge to Laem Kar, and Leam Hin are classed as mud beaches.

They are made up of mudstone, shale, silt-sandstone layers with Phuket group rock thathas fractures, joints and faults. Therefore, Phuket group rock is very sensitive to weathering and erosion If there are anyhuman activities they generate aggressive devastation, and it is hard to prevent collapse in a widespread area.

Coastal ecology system

Ecology is the functional unit of living creatures. Environment and non-living environment, which allinfluence eachother. Living things create mass circulation of both living and non-living parts, which generates the ecology circle take too much benefit from it then the system is imbalanced.

Coastal ecology system comprises of six elements as following

1. Inorganic compounds; rock, soil, sand in the environment that may contain some mineral like carbon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen
2. Organic compounds; protein, carbohydrate, fat, plants such as mangroves, coastal marine animals such as crab, fish, shrimps and mussel
3. Climate; temperature, humidity and wind
4. Producer; autotrophic photosynthetic organisms
5. Micro consumer; bacteria, fungi, micro or organisms
6. Micro consumer; carnivores, omnivores such as humans, monkeys, crabs, fish, shrimps, mussel, etc.

The key area and the cause for worry are human beings or what we call ourselves developers, who willsurely destroy the coastal geology and thecoastal ecology system Nature’s balance its ecology structure have been affected from marine activities such asboatyards, entrance of boat every site.

To make a water way we need to dig a channel on the same area that hadn’t been a natural channel before. Normally a channel is a 15-meter wide and more than 10 meter deep. Mangrove has been seriously damaged.

Sediments spread over coral reefs, activities change waterways and the food chain is altered, especially at estuaries.

Impacts on coastal natural resources and coastal geology are—

1. The food chain is altered and results in lack of coastal breeding.
2. Soil erosion and sediment spread out to deep sea during the rainy season.
3. Coastal and marine pollution.
4. Sea water replaces fresh water resources and results in a shortage of fresh water.
5. Mangroves are destroyed and thus cannot be served as natural barrier against the natural monsoon.
6. This can cause natural disasters to people living in coastal area especially in case of earthquake. Do not forget that Phuket is located on the Phang Nga fault and the Klong Marui fault. If there were to be another earthquake in this area it would result in another tsunami.

Is it time?

Concerned departments such the department of coastal natural Resource and Environment,
Harbor Master, mangrove officials,
Phang Nga national park, Phuket governor,
Provincial administration organization, should really strive together to preserve and develop coastal resources before it is too late.