MENZZOO MAGAZINE

Above; Maya bay Koh Pi Pi, Thailand. 

Maya Bay has become a symbol of how difficult it can be to restore the natural environment after years of mass tourism.

Authorities now want to close the parks annually for two to four months at a time, starting from next year, in order to improve the conservation of the areas, he said.

“This is so that nature can rehabilitate itself and the park rangers can improve the parks,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg in Bangkok.

Thailand has more than 100 national parks, which cover the mountain regions in the north to tropical islands in the south, containing popular attractions such as the Phi Phi Islands and Phangnga Bay.

The annoucement comes after two enthusiastic divers in Koh Phangan were arrested for encroaching on a protected area under the sea.

KOH PHANGAN

A fun and enthusiastic underwater dive filmed by a pair of European diving enthusiasts, living and working on Ko Phangan, saw their life on the idyllic Thai island brought to a full stop on Thursday following their arrest on Tuesday at the local police station. They now face immediate deportation after the Surat Thani Immigration Bureau confirmed that it was revoking their visas and expelling them from Thailand. The pair had encroached on a protected area under the sea and played with some of the creatures for an online audience, many of whom in Thailand, were not amused.

The men were seen in the video showing the exotic creatures and life that lies at the bottom of the sea in an environmental protection zone of the idyllic island of Koh Phangan.

Their video went viral when a local conservationist objected to their online entertainment production and called on such activity to stop. The viral reaction soon drew in Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Varawut Silpa-archa, who ordered robust action against them.

The two men on Thursday, learned through the media that their visas and permission to remain on the island, where they work and live, has been revoked by the Surat Thani Immigration Bureau.

The move is being made under the Immigration Act which allows that any person charged with an offence can be immediately deported from the kingdom if the bureau deems them to be harmful to the public good.

The pair will now be deported from Thailand.

The Immigration Bureau quoted the case brought against them on Tuesday for causing harm or damage to underwater sea life. 

The harsh official response to the pair has been welcomed by many Thai people online who were outraged at the video which was seen as an attack on Thailand’s environmental heritage.

Both men are reported to be long term residents. One is married with a family and significant business on the island while both are living there on a long stay basis.

‘An expensive lesson’ for the two European men was how the Deputy Director of the Immigration Bureau Civil Service, Pakpong Saibol, described the story. 

SOURCE: Bloomberg/ The Thai Examiner