Environmental Degradation
Thailand’s popularity with tourists and its recent prosperity have benefited the country’s economy, but the downside is the degradation of its natural environment.

Logging and encroachment have decimated forests. Industry and ignorance have polluted waterways. Unchecked development has buried greenery under concrete. Also to blame are grandiose and sometimes questionable government projects such as dams and pipelines. The ocean has suffered too. Over-fishing and looting of marine life have ruined previously pristine areas. Animals have borne the brunt of the onslaught, as habitats shrink and illegal trading in wildlife continues. Perhaps most obvious to visitors is the proliferation of garbage.

Sustainable Development
Thankfully, Thailand is realizing the need to preserve its natural heritage. Green groups are working with government and international organizations to establish guidelines and practices leading to sustainable development, not just in tourist areas, but all over the kingdom. In forest and marine parks, local people have been invited to participate in tourism, showing them the benefits of preserving the environment rather than exploiting it.

Responsible Tourism
Please help. Boycott goods made of turtle shell, ivory, or body parts of tigers and leopards. Refuse shark’s fin soup, bird’s nest soup and exotic ‘jungle food’. This is meat from endangered animals such as Asiatic black bears and Malaysian sun bears, creatures that endure horrific torture before ending up on the plate. Report any trade in endangered wildlife to Wildlife Fund Thailand (tel. 02-521 3435, fax 552 6083). Dispose of garbage properly and encourage others, especially tour operators, to do so too.