Mangroves boosted to control erosion
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is to spend Bt41million nurturing mangrove forests around five coastal provinces in the Gulf of Thailand to try and prevent coastal erosion, which has already eaten away some land.
"Studies have shown that mangrove forest is effective in preventing coastal erosion," Marine and Coastal Resources Department director-general Samran Rakchart said yesterday. Samran said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Sanidwong Na Ayudhaya had assigned his ministry to tackle the coastal erosion problem, which was serious in the coastal provinces of Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Samut Prakan, Phetchaburi and Bangkok. According to Samran, Thailand's mangrove forests have drastically shrunk from 2.3 million rai in 2003 to 1.5 million rai today. On other policies, Samran said his department has been instructed to regulate marine tourism to ensure that the huge number of tourists who arrive during the high season do not cause problems to popular sites.
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