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• Body ID center looks future
• Shoddy housing doesn't make a home
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• Counting the costs to the environment
• Underwater tourist trails
• Turtle hatchery at risk after waves
• Where the money went
• Covered for everything but the wave
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• Swedish survivor gains perspective after wave 'turned my life upside-down'
• Reasons to smile
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REUNION
Underwater tourist trails
Two new projects are designed to make scuba diving and snorkeling for visitors without endangering the Andaman's coral reefs
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| Tears of joy For many, the long and painful search ends with a joyful reunion. Their close brush with death brings home the importance of love and family. |
Two projects to create controlled trails for snorkellers and artificial attractions for scuba divers could help ease the tourist loads on the Andaman's coral reefs, according to Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, lecturer at Kasetsart University's department of marine science.
The first 'Snorkelling Trail', which requires snorkellers to explore the coral reef along a designated route, will open at Moo Ko Surin Marine National Park next month.
''In the past, snorkellers just wandered around aimlessly. But on the trail, there'll be information signs along the way to help them appreciate the reef ecosystem even more,'' said the marine biologist.
''Snorkellers will also be provided with plastic slates showing pictures and facts about the fish species that they will encounter in the reefs,'' he said, adding that the idea is to make the trailn while not endangering coral reefs.
The trail, Dr Thon continued, will enable park personnel to monitor tourists' activities better. ''And it can be rotated to different areas to avoid too much stress on a particular site,'' he added.
The other project, called 'Artificial Coral Reefs for Tourism', will see one new underwater attraction created in each of the six Andaman provinces.
''A set of sculptures will be placed at each site, with a theme relevant to the province where the site is located,'' said Dr Thon, who initiated the two projects. ''These artificial dive sites will be set up on the sandy sea floor because the aim is to attract part of the crowds out of the coral reefs.''
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| As seen in these drawings, themed sculptures will be used to create new underwater attractions for divers in the Andaman. | |
''I don't want to give away too much, but one star attraction will be giant Chinese zodiac signs and replicas of famous paintings. Divers can also take photos of themselves in front of their zodiac sign and use the huge post box that resembles the famous one in Betong town, Yala province, to mail it to themselves or friends from under water.''
The marine biologist expects that the project will play a pivotal role in lessening damage to healthy corals from tourist activities.
Moo Ko Similan Marine National Park alone, he said as an example, attracts approximately 70,000 scuba divers each year. And each diver makes no fewer than 10 dives per trip.
''Since not everybody gets to dive very often, it's a normal practice that each diver does at least one 'check dive' first to get acquainted with the equipment and underwater conditions,'' he explains. ''These check dives should be done in artificial sites instead of in the natural coral reefs. This would greatly reduce the chances of the corals being damaged by the fins of the practicing divers.''
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| One way of reducing human impact on the coral reefs is to promote better understanding among the public of the need to preserve this precious ecosystem. |
Both projects, said Dr Thon, are results of scientific studies that he and fellow marine biologists from Kasetsart, Ramkhamhaeng and Prince of Songkhla universities have been working on for many years.
''But due to lack of funding, we weren't able to materialise them earlier. In the past, we had to use our own finances to keep the projects going. Now the government will shoulder the cost,'' he said.
''Aside from limiting the environmental impact on the Andaman's coral reefs, I am confident that both the snorkelling trail and the artificial dive sites will be popular because of then and knowledge they will provide.''
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