Erosion effort working, says coast agency

The shoreline erosion crisis affecting the nation’s coastal areas has been brought under control, according to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).

DMCR chief Jatuporn Buruspat announced yesterday that 559km of 800km of eroded shoreline has been restored.

Erosion has, over the past 50 years affected about 25% of the country’s 3,151km coastline, Mr Jatuporn said.

Sak-anant Plathong, a marine and coastal resources specialist, said he has conducted on-site surveys over the past three years and found certain methods of coastal repair have failed to work.

In fact, they have created more problems. For example, concrete walls were erected in an attempt to stem erosion.

However, they have intensified erosion along the Laem Tulum Phuk, as well as beaches in Pak Phanang and Hua Sai districts of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

“What he discovered was that when the waves washed against the concrete walls, they rose seven times higher. The force of the waves also ate into adjacent shore areas,” he said.

The intense rolling of the waves when they hit the walls pulled the sand away from the beaches.

“This demonstrates a failure in our attempts to tackle erosion. The repair methods proceeded without a clear direction,” he added.

However, Mr Sak-anant noted that traditional and environmentally friendly ways of saving the coastline have significantly mitigated the problem in Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkram, Trat and Chanthaburi where bamboo poles were erected as erosion barriers and mangrove forests replanted.

Mr Jatuporn said more projects are now under way to prevent further coastal erosion.

They were launched in collaboration with related agencies and involved arranging public forums to collect ideas from local residents on how to conserve the coastline in the long run.

The forums were held in all 23 coastal provinces and were given the green light for implementation by the cabinet on Jan 16.

The projects aim to better handle the impact of coastal erosion on the residents’ livelihoods and property.

Some concrete constructions are to be built in locations, but will be designed to prevent damage to nearby areas, according to the department.