Dr Vipawee from the Prince of Songkla University at a recent club meeting challenged our club to consider the issue of Toxins in the Klong and the impact it has on personal health and well-being and the tourist economy.
Phuket has a total of about 16.63 square kilometers of coral reef cover. Coral reef areas close to the open sea are in good condition. However, on the west side from north of Karon up to Nai Yang Beach the coral is in decay, although there are some encouraging signs of restoration undertaken by local business.
In east Phuket, where the sea grass bed and mangroves grow, there is still capacity to grow. The cleaning of sewage to a tertiary level so it can be used as graywater for irrigation is a worthy step if taken up by our resorts.
The rapid development of inshore and offshore activities over recent years have increased the damage to the coral reef areas. Therefore, careful monitoring using scientific indicators such as coral diversity, coral coverage, bleaching, sedimentation, salinity and coral recruitment helps us ensure that the coral is protected. This is a high priority so Phuket can be proud of its pristine beaches which are our biggest asset for international tourism.
At an activity day run by the PSU and supported by our Rotary Club over 150 students participated in a workshop which related to water quality and the Klong
It was two years ago that our Rotary club on Environment Day June 5th 2015 made a statement which supported the policy of an ISO standard being used to manage and monitor the beaches, establish a Patong Green Club , be involved in a street cleanliness strategy and monitor the discharge from the Klong into the Patong beach. The Green Club hosted by President Walter was formed. Whilst there has been some action by us as a club there have been significant changes on beach management and the Hotels Association has accepted more responsibility for beach clean ups.
However, some Rotarians are actively involved in Green Clubs and OB introduced artificial coral in the sea at Nai Yang which has now grown significantly at the front of his new hotel .The scholarship program is supporting post graduate research into environment management and more recently we have awarded 10scholarships to undergraduates undertaking a degree in environment management As the Rotary Club of Patong Beach the beach river and sea are of high interest to us