Environmental issues in Thailand

Thailand's Twelfth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021) warns that, "At present the country's natural resources and environmental quality are deteriorating, and have become a weakness in maintaining the basis of production, services and sustainable living.

[13] In June 2015, as a severe drought gripped northeastern Thailand, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged farmers to forgo a second rice crop in order to save water.

Wetlands and mangroves in coastal areas have been seriously degraded by expansion of commercial fishing, shrimp aquaculture, industry, and tourism, causing much of Thailand's biodiversity losses.

This initiative provides flexibility for local government to approach mangrove conservation efforts as they see fit, which has proved successful for communities in the Phuket, Phang Nga, and Trang provinces.

[37][38] In research conducted between 2005 and 2009 in Chiang Mai, average PM10 rates during these months were found to be well above the country's safety level of 120 μg/m3 (microgrammes per cubic metre),[39] peaking at 383 μg/m3 on 14 March 2007.

[42] In February 2016, Director-General Chatchai Promlert of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said that the haze affecting northern Thailand has reached levels that can be considered harmful to health.

The Pollution Control Department issued warnings that particulate levels had soared to 94 micrograms per cubic metre of air in some areas, almost double the safe limit of 50 mcg.

That month, high-pressure cannons were blasted around Bangkok's City Hall and other areas to combat the smog, leading to debate as to whether the method was effective at washing away the particularly harmful smaller particles.

Suphachai Chearavanont, vice-chairman of CP Group, said that corn planters will be encouraged to grow cash crops such as coffee, which requires less farmland and makes a higher profit than maize.

[56] In 1950, the newly constituted Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated that, globally, Thailand was catching about 20 million metric tons of fish (cod, mackerel, tuna) and invertebrates (lobster, squid, clams).

"[67] A twelve-month analysis of the catch composition, landing patterns, and biological aspects of sharks caught by Thai commercial fishing boats in the Andaman Sea off Thailand showed a significant difference from the results of a similar study done in 2004.

Thailand has failed to certify the origin and legality of its fish exports to the EU and now has six months, until October 2015, to implement a satisfactory action plan to address the shortcomings.

The labor abuses, often referred to as sea slavery, involve the trafficking of workers onto fishing boats quite frequently in the form of force, fraud, or coercion, including debt bondage.

More than 100 Bangkok restaurants serve shark fin soup[87] When Thailand was a rural, agrarian society, garbage was of no concern as everything was made of natural products such as banana leaves.

[91] Thailand's Pollution Control Department (PCD) estimates that plastic waste in the country is increasing at an annual rate of 12%, or around two million tonnes per year.

[92] The Thai Marine and Coastal Resources Department has noted that at least 300 sea animals on average—60 per cent of which are whales and dolphins—die from eating plastic fishing gear and trash each year.

[92] Filter feeding invertebrates tested off the coast of Chonburi Province showed high levels of microplastics, leading the authors to warn that, "Health risks are possible when people consume these contaminated marine organisms, particularly shellfish.

To make matters worse for the manufacturers, eight TV channels signed an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on 2 January 2020 to blur images and footage of single-use plastic bags on-screen, as is done in Thailand for firearms, cigarettes, and alcohol.

An official of the Basel Action Network, which campaigns against dumping waste in poor countries, said, "E-waste has to go somewhere, and the Chinese are simply moving their entire operations to Southeast Asia.

[citation needed] Water quality in the inner Gulf of Thailand, into which the Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, Pak Panang, and Rayong Rivers and several canals discharge, revealed high concentrations of domestic pollutants.

Red tides, caused by excessive algae growth and a result of pollution, oil spills, and invasive species are some of the factors that are affecting Thailand's marine biodiversity.

In the Chao Phraya estuary, mercury levels have far exceeded normal standards, and high concentrations of heavy metals on the river bed pose a serious threat to ecosystems.

[31] In March 2017 Associate Professor Thon Thamrongnawasawat, vice dean of the fisheries faculty of Kasetsart University, said, "... there is something terribly wrong with the Thai sea [Gulf of Thailand]."

Earlier, one six-month old Bruda whale was found dead on the beach of Ban Kung Tanod in Tambon Khao Daeng, Kui Buri District of Prachuap Khiri Khan.

He is referring to a case in Ratchaburi Province: there, since at least 2001, villagers of tambon Nam Pu have complained about toxic wastewater from an industrial waste treatment plant they suspected of contaminating their water.

Wax Garbage Recycle Centre, an industrial waste treatment plant, began its operation in the upstream area of Nam Pu Creek about the same time as contamination became evident.

Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who chairs the NHSC, said the committee reached its decision after reviewing information provided by the Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Public Health.

[154][155] The government's u-turn on the ban of dangerous chemicals prompted a columnist at the Bangkok Post to fume that, "...no further proof is required to show how some unscrupulous Thai mandarins are being held hostage by the agro monsters.

"[156] In November 2016, the UN's regional human rights office (OHCHR) condemned Thailand for a series of murders of land activists which have gone unpunished, drawing attention to the kingdom's poor record in solving such killings.