Banners opposing the government’s land bridge mega project have surfaced in Phato district of Chumphon province and conservation groups will hold a forum for discussion of the project at the Phato Tambon Administrative Organisation’s office on November 15^th.

Sak-anan Plathong, a lecturer at the Department of Biology in Faculty of Science of Prince of Songkhla University, said that the proposed land bridge project would be located in the Andaman Sea Nature Reserves, which were nominated by Thailand for inclusion in the UNESCO world heritage site list two years ago.

He said that at issue is not that the project will delay the listing of the reserves, but that it could have extensive impacts on marine resources, mangrove and coastal forests, which are known to be the breeding grounds of sea turtles and other marine creatures.

One of the most worrisome aspects of the project, he pointed out, is the reclamation of about 1,120 hectares of land from the Andaman Sea, which is equivalent to the size of Payam Island in Ranong province. This would have an impact on sea currents and the movement of marine species in the area, claimed Sak-anan.

He suggested that the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources as well as the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning conduct an in-depth study on marine species in the area and potential impacts of the project.

He also expressed concern that the land reclamation would cause problems from heavy metal, which is normally settled on the sea bed, being scattered in the sea water and posing a threat to health.

He said that oil spills from the tankers, which will dock at the deep-sea ports on the eastern and western coasts of the southern region, in Chumphon and Ranong provinces, are another cause of serious concern, citing the numerous oil spills in Laem Chabang, Map Ta Phut and Si Racha.

The government has given top priority to the land bridge project, regarding it as a major potential driver of the Thai economy. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin plans to sell the project to foreign investors at the APEC CEO summit in the United States this month and at ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Japan in December.