ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF THE TSUNAMI IN THAILAND,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BANGKOK 000717

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TAGS: SENV EFIS TH
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF THE TSUNAMI IN THAILAND,
ONE-YEAR LATER

This is the first of a two-part report on Thailand's
environmental recovery and tsunami reconstruction.


1. Summary. Thailand's one-year commemoration of the
tsunami garnered international attention, as well as

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national introspection into the country's recovery. With
the immediate needs of the humanitarian crisis attended to,
academics and aid organizations have been focusing on the
long-term environmental effects. Although it was created by
a sea-bottom fault line, the tsunami was not an underwater
disaster; it was a coastal disaster. Seagrass beds, coral
reefs, and marine life, while affected by the tsunami, have
proved resilient. The more significant environmental damage
occurred onshore, specifically related to water resources,
and this has drawn attention to long-standing practices that
degrade the environment far more than the 2004 tsunami did.
Some groups see this moment as an opportunity to rebuild
with enviro-friendly guidelines, and Septel will discuss
tsunami reconstruction, including some controversial new

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zoning regulations. This report examines the environmental
effects of the tsunami in Thailand. End Summary.

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UNDERWATER DEBRIS: AN "ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF JUNK"
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2. As the waves of the tsunami receded, they swept a huge
collection of land objects into the ocean with them. These
items now lie buried under 1 to 1.5 meters of sand, melding
with the long shallow slope of the area's underwater
topography. The sand shifts with every storm and lunar
cycle, re-burying and re-exposing refrigerators,
televisions, box springs, and various other man-made pieces
of wreckage and debris. Amcit Reid Ridgway, head of the
Ecotourism Training Center (ETC) in Khao Lak, told Econoff
that "there is still an enormous amount of junk" on the
ocean floor. His students have been researching and
collecting data on the extent of the buried matter by
uncovering buried scraps and fragments during dives over the
past year. The work has been painstaking, as poking around
the debris stirs up the sand to near-zero visibility. ETC
is fundraising for a sonar sidescan that can penetrate the
sand without disturbing it.


3. According to Ridgway, even though the amount of debris is
enormous, the highly buffered nature and sheer volume of
seawater enables it to absorb and dissolve a great deal of
compounds that may be released during the breakdown of the
trash; the high alkalinity of seawater can neutralize
polluting acids, such as battery acid. Khao Lak's open
Andaman waters, with high ocean circulation, are well
situated for environmental recovery. Lagoons and other
poorly circulated coastal areas may suffer, however, and
areas that were chemical storage sites will become dangerous
if PBCs and CFCs move to nearby beaches or bio-accumulate in
the food chain. Swimmers also may cut themselves on stray,
sharp objects. Ridgway, as well as a marine and coastal
zone specialist currently working in the Marshall Islands
and experts from the Phuket Marine Biological Center, says
that much more needs to be done to address the issue of
underwater debris. Their suggestions include: a complete
survey of the trash's chemical composition to ascertain the
potential of bottom feeders introducing dangerous chemicals
into the food chain; continued monitoring of the debris,
especially after tidal movements and storms; and removal of
as much of the debris as possible using dredging machinery,
which they acknowledge would be an extremely expensive
undertaking.

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CORAL REEFS: TSUNAMI ONLY ONE OF THEIR DANGERS
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4. Econoff met with a coral reef expert from the Phuket
Marine Biological Center, which was part of a joint academic
and governmental study that investigated 324 coral reef
sites, ranging from off-shore islands to coastal-fringing
reefs, within one month of the tsunami. Their study
concluded that only 13 percent of the reefs suffered heavy
impact; 61 percent suffered either no impact or very low
impact from the tsunami. The worst coral reef destruction
occurred at Koh Phi Phi Don, an island 50 kilometers
southeast of Phuket where more than 1000 people died; the
Surin Islands 180 kilometers north of Phuket; and Patong Bay
on Phuket Island itself. A survey by a visiting team from
the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts likened some of
the coral reef destruction to the smoking ruins of a bombed
city, as large coral heads of 4-7 meters in diameter were
overturned, and transported tens of meters from their
original locations. They noted, however, that even severely
impacted reefs continue to support a diversity of fish
fauna, with only a slight decrease in numbers of species
present compared to unaffected reefs. The reef expert from
the Phuket Marine Biological Center told Econoff that
continuing damage from human sources - boat anchors, over-
fishing, and tourism, as well as coral bleaching - present
far more danger to coral reefs than the tsunami did. (Note:
Coral bleaching, a damaging response by corals to
environmental stress, has a variety of causes. Many
scientists link the worldwide increase in coral bleaching of
recent years to global warming and increased ultraviolet
radiation exposure from ozone depletion. End note.)

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MANGROVES: WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GREEN
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5. During the tsunami, mangroves demonstrated that, as in
previous storms and cyclones, they provide coastal
protection by reducing wave velocity and volume. Areas with
healthy mangrove cover and their associated ecosystems
suffered less damage than those without mangroves, prompting
more discussion among academics and government environment
officials about the importance of mangrove conservation.
Dr. Maitree Duangsawasdi, head of Thailand's Department of
Marine and Coastal Resources was quoted in the press saying,
"Mangroves in Ranong and Phang Nga saved hundreds of people.
We need to plant more of them along the coastline." The
tsunami damaged about 20 percent of the mangroves on

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Thailand's western coast, but like coral reefs, mangroves
have and continue to be more at risk of destruction by human
causes than by natural disasters. John Pernetta, an
official at the United Nations Environment Programme,
estimates that the cutting down of mangrove forests to make
room for shrimp aquaculture farms, seaside tourist resorts,
and coastal urban expansion, have resulted in a decline of
up to 80 percent in mangrove coastal cover on Thailand's
eastern seaboard in the past few decades.

6. Seagrass beds received little damage from the tsunami. A
survey released by The Ministry of Natural Resources and the
Environment revealed that about five percent of the Andaman
Coast's seagrass area was affected, concentrated around
Phang Nga province. The January 2005 survey found fast
growing leaves, which were expected to replenish the area in
a few months' time.

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MARINE ENDANGERED SPECIES: MOSTLY UNHURT
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7. Experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center told
Econoff that the marine mammals generally fared well in the
tsunami, with the notable exception of over 1000 captive

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turtles, located at various research institutions, which
were washed away. Two dolphins, one bottlenose and one
unidentified, were found dead onshore, they said, adding
that endangered species of the Dugong, or Sea Cow, were not
affected.

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FISH: HEALTHIER THAN BEFORE?
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8. According to Dr. Maitree Duangsawasdi, the tsunami was in
many ways healthy for the underwater world, acting as a kind
of reset button. The turbulence unearthed new nutrients,
and plankton increased temporarily, which enriched the fish
and lobster. A study released by the New England Aquarium
stated that the negative impact of the tsunami on coral reef
fish stocks appeared to be negligible, and that the
robustness of coral reef fish stocks illustrates the
effectiveness of Thailand's marine sanctuaries.

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OVERFISHING: "NOW EVERYONE HAS A BOAT. THEY PARK THEIR BOATS
EVERYWHERE."
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9. The above statement by a disgruntled Khao Lak villager to
Econoff captures an oft-repeated sentiment that prolific
post-tsunami boat-recovery assistance programs have created
more fishermen than ever before. However, the problem of
declining fish stocks, not only in tsunami affected waters,
but in the Gulf of Thailand as well, is more attributable to
illegal fishing practices by large commercial fishing boats
than to any increase in the numbers of small-scale village
fishermen. These boats trawl the ocean with nets that reach
to the sea floors and scoop up everything in their paths.
In addition, another illegal practice, "light fishing" --
using lights to attract the fish to nets at night -- is
growing, according to the chairman of Save Andaman Network,
a coalition of more than 50 NGOs coordinating community-
based tsunami response efforts with a focus on small-scale
fisherfolk and marginalized populations. He told Econoff
that enforcement of laws against "light fishing" is
extremely lax, partly because of the influence of certain
government officials from areas in southern Thailand where
the practice is common.

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OCEAN WATER QUALITY: IMPROVED?
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10. A water specialist from the Phuket Marine Biological
Center expressed amazement at the results he found in post-
tsunami ocean quality. Having tested the ocean water just

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two weeks before the tsunami, he tested it again two weeks
afterwards. Expecting high contamination levels, he instead
found the quality to have improved on the bacterial level,
specifically with respect to coliform bacteria originating
in waste water. He hypothesizes that the bacteria bonded to
the immense run-off of land sediment that occurred during
the tsunami and sank to the ocean bottom along with the
sediment. Samples from areas all along the western coast
tested in the "good" or "very good" water quality level,
with the exception of Ranong near the Burmese border, which
has historical river contamination problems.

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GARBAGE AND WASTE WATER: NEEDS BETTER MANAGEMENT
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11. The lessening of coliform bacteria is likely to be only
temporary. An employee at the Khao Lak garbage facility
told Econoff that local inhabitants throw 20 percent of
their garbage directly into the ocean and bury much of the
rest, creating underground run-off further polluting the
ocean. Wastewater facilities serving communities along the
Andaman coast also are insufficient in number and inadequate
in capacity. A representative of the NGO Thailand
Environmental Institute told Econoff that the government's
taxation and budget allocation structure and mechanisms are
partly to blame. The budget for wastewater management is
allocated to municipalities based solely on the size of the
indigenous population, and do not include the significant
numbers of tourists continually present in some locations.
Moreover, taxes collected from the numerous tourist hotels
accrue to the provincial, not municipal, governments. The
result is that the demand for waste water treatment services
is underestimated, and funds that could be used to address
the problem are used elsewhere. The representative from the
Thailand Environmental Institute said that Phang Nga
province could in theory use tourist taxes to build a new
wastewater treatment plant sorely needed for Khao Lak
municipality, but has chosen instead to undertake a road
construction project, which will likely contribute to
increased tourism and further strain existing wastewater
treatment facilities.

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DRINKING WATER: BETTER TO BUY IT
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12. Before the tsunami, most villagers drank tap water.
Now, because of pollution of water sources and soil
salinization, many tsunami-affected villages lack potable
water and rely to a large extent on more expensive bottled
water. Inadequate drainage and waste water systems has
caused underground drinking water sources to be contaminated
by the seepage of soil nitrates and phosphates, as well as
by run-off from debris at construction sites. Salt, infused
into the soil by the tsunami, also contaminates shallow
wells. According to a water consultant with the American
Red Cross, installation of reed bed filters could solve the
problem, but this option may not viable in Phuket and Khao
Lak as most of the land is privately owned.

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SOIL SALINIZATION: THE SALT OF (OR IN) THE EARTH
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13. The prolonged flooding of coastal lands by saltwater
from the tsunami caused large amounts of salt to seep into
the soil and groundwater. So far, the effects of the
salinization have received little academic attention, but
locals and aid workers attest that the region's ecology has
changed. The extent of the damage is unknown, beyond
reports of "dead areas." Farmers who formerly grew longan,
durian, and rambutan in small fruit orchards in the region
complain that their trees are unable to thrive and bear
fruit. The options available are to either wait for the
salt to dissipate, although no one knows how long that might
take; or to bring in plants suitable for the now brackish
soil. NOAA scientist Dr. Chip McCreery notes that the
tsunami that swept over parts of Hawaii in 1957 turned

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formerly lush areas into deserts that persist 50 years
later. Professors at Thailand's Prince Songkla University
and Chulalongkorn University told Econoff that no one has
yet conducted the research necessary to understand the
effects of soil salinization on Thailand's western coast.


14. Comment. The underwater ocean environment suffered
relatively little lasting damage from the tsunami; the major
impact to the onshore environment has been the saltwater
contamination of soil and drinking water sources. Continued
environmentally unsustainable practices, such as over-
fishing, mangrove deforestation, and unregulated urban
growth along the coast, are more gradual, more insidious,
and ultimately more devastating to Thailand's coastal
environment than any damage from the tsunami. End comment.