Every year, there is a small memorial service where family members and friends come to pay their respects and talk about those they lost.

Thus, the Ao Nang TAO allocates only about 170 million baht per year to the Phi Phis.

The money, up to 20,000 baht per day (2014), is then paid to a private company to haul roughly 20 tonnes of rubbish from the island daily to Krabi for disposal.

Collections from visitors amount to only about a third of the sum needed to effectively handle the solid waste generated.

The problem stems from the period of low rainfall coinciding with the high tourist season, exacerbated by improper handling of wastewater.

During the driest period of the year, from November to April, the island is packed with tourists, causing water demand to spike.

[1] Short of substantial infrastructure investment, the lead Kasetsart researcher recommended that the number of visitors be capped at the carrying capacity of the island: 12,000 to 27,000 people per day.