Our Partner Organization: Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR)
Location: Thavorn Beach Village Resort and Spa
Time frame: October 2017 – September 2021
Principle and reason of project:
In the past, Patong bay was one of the locations in Phuket with the healthiest coral reefs. These healthy coral reefs are crucial to various aspects of marine life – shelter, spawning area, and the growth of young marine life. Due to these aspects, there are numerous beautiful marine lives to be seen, attracting tourists and many fishermen. There were around 51 acres of healthy coral reefs situated at the front of Thavorn Beach Village Resort and Spa. However, as time passes, the number of nature-loving tourists and the abundance of marine life have drastically declined due to the increasing damages sustained by our coral reefs.
The following reasons act as a catalyst for the decline of coral reefs:
- Beginning in year 2010, climate change has significantly increased the temperature of our sea water, causing coral reefs bleaching and the overpopulation of a coral reef predator, the ‘Crown-of-Thornes Starfish’
- 2004’s infamous Tsunami tragedy
- Increasing construction projects in Phuket generating metallic rust that are washed by rainwater and ocean waves onto our coral areas
- Wastewater release from resident houses, hotels, and businesses contributing not only further coral reef damages, but also the overall declining quality of water in the area of Patong bay
- Fishing activities that involve participants trampling the reefs in search of crustaceous marine animals, squid, and near shore fish
Thavorn Beach Village Resort and Spa, a resort with the values to preserve nature, saw the ongoing issues and decided that they would work together with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources to restore the reefs.
In the beginning, they have explored the place and concluded that Patong bay’s coral reefs can still recover by itself provided certain initiatives are supported and pioneered. Therefore, the resort has started to raise awareness for the issue to the public and begun educational hands on activities to preserve the reefs. For example, these activities include but are not limited to transplanting corals, bringing broken corals to a the resort’s nursery, or setting up free/subsidized environmentally enriching classes for local enthusiasts.
Finally, the resort set up a project plan to promote and support the coral reef growth and development within the time frame of 5 years.
Aims and goals:
- To restore coral reef and marine life in Patong Bay
- To support the partnership between the government in marine and coastal resource restoration activities in Patong Bay area
- To create a new image for entrepreneurs to participate in social and local benefits
Location of project: Nakalay Bay beach, Patong Bay, Amphoe Kathu, Phuket
Procedures:
- Communicate with the team to explore the area and evaluate the possibility of the project
- Conclude the findings of the exploration of the area to set up a detailed plan for next projects
- Communicate with organizations that may want to be involved
- Organize the following activities:
– Exploration and evaluation of the status of coral reefs
– Restoration of coral reef with appropriate options
– Raise awareness to the public and educate those who do not understand the importance of coral reefs
– Repairing and reinstalling the mooring buoys
– Diving activities to clean the reefs
– Supporting the campaign of reducing wastewater
– Supporting the participation of different entrepreneurs and Patong Municipality - Proceed with the organized plan
- Proceed with the public relations of the project
- Follow up and evaluate the progress of the project
This document is translated from the following blog
Who are we?
We are the first private organization to restore, preserve, and grow natural coral reefs in Phuket
We are the first private organization to establish a coral learning & nursery centre in Phuket
