Sand bags are seen stacked up on Pattaya waterfront to help prevent
further erosion of the beach. Researchers at Chulalongkorn University
have forecast that the city’s beach could disappear beneath the waves
within as little as 5 years unless urgent remedial action is taken.
Manoon Makpol
Researchers at Chulalongkorn University say
government officials need to quickly move to rebuild Pattaya Beach
before it disappears into the sea entirely in as few as five years.
Professor Thanawat Jarupongsakul, head of the
university’s disaster studies program, said erosion has shrunk the
city’s once-expansive beach to as little as five meters wide. If nothing
is done, the sand will be swept completely out to sea within the decade.
Former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun shows grave concern for the
future of our beaches.
Chulalongkorn’s Aquatic Resources Research Institute
has proposed a 600 million baht plan to restore Pattaya Beach to 30 m.
wide by adding 200,000 cubic meters of sand, with another round of
filling needed within 15 years.
Thanawat told a panel of local and national officials
at a Pattaya City Hall meeting Jan. 21 that in 1952, Pattaya Beach
covered 96,128 sq. m. and was 36 m. wide. Erosion cut that to 49,919 sq.
m. by 1975.
Pattaya’s explosion as a tourist center and the
uncontrolled development that came with it actually resulted in the
entire beachfront disappearing during the 1992-1993 storm season. Only
emergency measures managed to restore the sand to 18 m. wide over 50,500
sq. m. by 2002.
Today, however, rampant exploitation of beach
resources and unchecked erosion has again resulted in some parts of
Pattaya Beach now having only 5 m. of sand.
The university’s study suggests dredging deep-water
sand to refill beachfront, with different quantities needed for North
Pattaya – the worst affected area – central and South Pattaya. Work
would need to be done during the winter and rainy months, at which time
currents shift to properly form the restored beach, Thanawat said.
Another option would be to greatly expand the beach
near Bali Hai Pier to 30 m. wide to change current patterns so as to
protect beaches north of it. The dredging and construction of Bali Hai
only exacerbated their erosion.
Any plan and budget would need to be approved by the
Cabinet before work begins.
Fisherman Boonma Fungrak, one of the many members of
the general public that attended the city hall forum, said he was sad to
see Pattaya Beach disappear. He recalls how nice it looked 30 years ago,
before the beach chair, jet ski and food vendors took it over.
He said he hopes authorities do more than simply talk
about theoretical solutions and actually do something before the city’s
signature landmark disappears forever.
Tourists are squeezed between dwindling
beaches and the rocky shores of Pattaya.
