Government House, The Prime Minister and 3 agencies launched the project to preserve 72 Thai beaches - Phuket SandBox in honor of His Majesty the King, aiming to maintain the balance of the sea, increase the completeness of the environment, and create a tourist attraction. Mr. Settha Thavisin, Prime Minister, together with Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Mr. Sermsak Pongpanich, Minister of Tourism and Sports, Mr. Chatuporn Buruspat, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Mr. Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, attended the launch of the 72 Thai Beach Conservation Project to Honor His Majesty the King on the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 6th Cycle Birthday Anniversary on July 28, 2024, and the Phuket Sandbox Project, a Model for Conservation of Thai Beaches to Honor His Majesty the King on the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 6th Cycle Birthday Anniversary on July 28, 2024. The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) to organize a project to celebrate His Majesty the King's 72nd Birthday Anniversary on July 28, 2024 to celebrate His Majesty the King's 6th Cycle Birthday Anniversary on July 28, 2024, as well as to raise awareness of the conservation of natural resources and the environment among the public, which will lead to sustainable marine and coastal conservation tourism and to campaign to reduce, abandon, and stop the use of single-use plastic packaging (Single-Use Plastic) and to promote the use of environmentally friendly packaging (Eco-Friendly Packaging) in marine and coastal tourist attractions. Mr. Settha said that marine and coastal resources are tourist attractions that generate income for the country, worth 2 trillion baht, which is considered a very valuable resource. In order to promote to urism and develop Thailand's marine tourism, he has assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to discuss with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to organize the project to preserve 72 Thai beaches in honor of His Majesty the King on the occasion of His Majesty the King's 6th cycle birthday anniversary on July 28, 2024, to maintain the cleanliness and beauty of the beaches, which will increase Thailand's potential to attract more foreign tourists to visit Thailand's marine tourism attractions. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is the main agency coordinating the implementation of the project. The target areas are 7 coastal provinces: Trat, Rayong, Chonburi, Surat Thani, Trang, Krabi, and Phuket. In addition, the second phase of the Plastic Waste Management Action Plan (2023-2027) was used as a framework for developing operational measures, consisting of 4 measures: Measure 1: Promote the production and sale of environmentally friendly packaging ; Measure 2: Campaign for the use of environmentally friendly products; Measure 3: Proper waste management; and Measure 4: Collect residual waste on the beach and in the sea. The goals of the project are to stop the production/sale of at least 3 types of single-use plastics, have more than 80% of consumers use environmentally friendly products, have 80% of tourism operators use environmentally friendly products, and have local administrative organizations issue local regulations on waste collection and separation, and have a system for managing the collection and separation of plastic waste properly, and have a system to prevent waste from rivers and canals from leaking into the sea. Most importantly, there is no waste left on the beach and in the sea. The Prime Minister continued that the Phuket Sandbox project, a prototype for the conservation of Thai beaches in honor of His Majesty the King on the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King's 6th cycle birthday anniversary on July 28, 2024, is a prototype area for operations to reduce beach waste problems, promote the use of environmentally friendly packaging, create cooperation with both beach vendors and tourists for proper waste management, and promote businesses that support beach tourism to operate in an environmentally friendly manner, which will be expanded to other beaches to be a part of the project to honor His Majesty the King on the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King's 6th cycle birthday anniversary on July 28, 2024. The goal of the project is to stop the production and sale of single-use plastics, no less than 1 type, consumers use environmentally friendly products more than 50 percent, the number of tourism operators use environmentally friendly products 50 percent, and have a system for managing and separating plastic waste, a system to prevent waste from flowing from rivers and canals into the sea. However, the Rak 72 Thai Beaches Project and the Phuket SandBox Project will create confidence for both Thai and foreign tourists to trave l to visit the marine areas of Thailand because the abundance of marine and coastal resources that all sectors have joined forces to conserve and restore will remain complete and sustainable, covering all dimensions efficiently and continuously. Source: Thai News Agency
Saturday, September 21, 2024