Czy opaski brzegowe uratują tajlandzkie plaże?

August 13, 2023 - South Cha-Am, Petchaburi province. Beach chair vendor Surat Khongjaroen glances at the raised concrete steps built atop of what was once its famed beach. From here, one must walk down a flight of 15 steps to the sea to its short strip of sand, which disappears entirely under the waves on some days. Even during this three-day holiday – the time that would draw crowds of families for a seaside holiday – many beach chairs remained empty. Local vendors say that tourist numbers have plummeted since its construction saying that people see the sea wall and just drive on to somewhere else with a beach. Negative press has also emerged in recent years due to the algae that forms on the steps making them very slippery. In March 2023, a Thai man in his 50s slipped on the algae as he tried to walk down the Cha-Am seawall, sustaining severe injuries to his spine, according to media reports. Seawalls have been making an appearance along Thailand’s shorelines since the late 1980s, introduced by officials as a measure to protect towns and beaches from coastal erosion, though they were strictly regulated due to environmental concerns. But a surge on construction began in 2015 shortly after the government at the time exempted the seawalls from the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment, or EIA, paving the way for officials to approve the seawall projects all over Thailand – each of them costing in the millions – without the usual stringent scrutiny mandated by the EIA. The authority responsible for the seawalls argues that such structures are needed to protect stretches of beaches from erosion or being wiped away by the increasingly potent storms. But environmentalists and conservation advocates say that relying on the seawalls as a one-size-fits-all solution can cause irreparable damage to the local ecology.