Showing 1 - 10 of 74
Tilapia saga resurfaces
News, Editorial, Published on 20/09/2025
» The issue of non-native Blackchin tilapia fish in Thai waterways has returned to public attention after a public prosecutor last week indicted environmental activist Witoon Lianchamroon, founder of BIOTHAI, in a criminal court for allegedly defaming agro titan Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF).
Floods 'a recurring nightmare'
Oped, George G van der Meulen & Chamniern Vorratnchaiphan, Published on 16/09/2025
» Thailand has faced floods for more than a century. Some years are worse than others, but the pattern is consistent. The catastrophic 2011 floods remain the most painful reminder: according to the World Bank, they caused US$46.5 billion (1.5 trillion baht) in economic losses, displaced 13 million people, and claimed approximately 800 lives. Much of the country's industrial heartland was submerged for months, severely impacting global supply chains.
Trawlers to get new lease on life
Editorial, Published on 31/08/2025
» Despite the devastation trawlers have caused for decades and the global shame Thailand has suffered from their use of slave labour, trawlers are set to return to ravage the Thai seas with a vengeance.
Global coral collapse a neglected crisis
News, Imran Khalid, Published on 16/08/2025
» Before the crack of dawn on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand, Somsak Chaisri paddles his wooden boat over waters that used to shimmer with life. A once-vibrant coral garden below the water surface now consists of dead skeleton-like structures. According to this fisherman, the bleached coral skeletons are the only things he pulls from the water after his father showed him how to fish in living coral reefs. "Now, I drag up ghosts," he murmured. His lament echoes across the tropics. From the Maldives to Mozambique, the once-thriving reefs of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans are being scoured of life.
Fish crisis needs action
Oped, Editorial, Published on 26/03/2025
» It is a positive development for local fishermen that the problem of invasive blackchin tilapia has returned to the public's attention courtesy of the censure debate against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Thai waters in peril
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/01/2025
» Thailand's waterways and seas both face ecological crises that could devastate ecosystems, food security, and millions of livelihoods if left unchecked. Two protests this week reflect the urgency of these issues. Small-scale fishermen and environmentalists have gathered at the Senate to oppose an amendment to the Fisheries Act allowing trawlers to sweep clean the sea. Meanwhile, fishermen and aquaculture farmers from 19 provinces have rallied at Government House, demanding the government address the spread of the invasive blackchin tilapia, or pla mor khang dam in Thai, a fish wreaking havoc in river ecosystems across the country.
Thaksin looms over Thai foreign policy
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 04/01/2025
» Thai diplomacy has recently reared its ugly head. Two approaches are at play -- the official one pronounced in parliament in September and the informal one made by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra at any given moment. Truth be told, the latter seems to overshadow the former. The Thaksinisation of Thai foreign policy is coming back with a loud bang.
Marine life under threat
Oped, Editorial, Published on 28/12/2024
» Parliament has handed the nation a troubling gift this holiday season by passing a law that threatens Thai seas and puts the country at risk of a fisheries export boycott.
Assad's fate haunts Myanmar junta
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 17/12/2024
» The recent overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad provides insights into the potential undoing of Myanmar's military regime in Nay Pyi Taw. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing must take note and study why even a strong 55-year-old family empire with heavyweight outside backing still crumbled like a house of cards.
Fishing changes angling for trouble
Editorial, Published on 08/12/2024
» The government is setting the stage for an environmental disaster by legalising destructive fishing practices that threaten to leave Thai seas barren and marine biodiversity in ruins.