On fish and politics in SEA
bangkokpost.com
en.wikipedia.org
Natural resources in the three southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala have been depleted to a ''critical level'', which could hamper efforts to restore peace in the region, local villagers and senior environmental officials have warned.
Jintawadee Pittayamethagoon, chief of the Pattani provincial natural resources and environment protection office, said the problem was most serious in the Gulf of Pattani, where fish stocks had sharply decreased as a result of over-fishing by large-scale operators and waste water discharge from factories and shrimp farms.
The Gulf of Pattani, which is a major source of seafood exports and food for local people, also contains extremely high levels of lead and tin released from fishing ships and factories, said Mrs Jintawadee.
Yala and Narathiwat, meanwhile, are facing serious deforestation problems, she told a public forum on the environmental crisis in the three southern provinces, held at Thammasat University yesterday.
Mrs Jintawadee said tackling environmental problems and conflicts over natural resources between influential figures and local people was beyond the ability of local officers, whose work has been paralysed by the ongoing unrest.
And she complained that environmental officials have been demoralised by the refusal of central state agencies to support environmental work in the region.
Maroning Sarae, a fisherman from Pattani, said the decline of fish stocks had led to a number of fishermen leaving their families to work in Malaysia. This trend has led to a sharp increase in drug addiction among youngsters in communities around the Gulf, he said.
Mr Maroning said the government was to blame for the serious depletion of natural resources and the environment in the three provinces because it has neglected to deal with influential fishing operators and factory owners.
''The government itself is also a troublemaker because it initiated a number of projects and policies that badly hurt local people,'' he said, adding that the most worrisome projects include the planned establishment of a Halal food industry hub and the Seafood Bank project.
He said the Halal food hub would speed up the depletion of marine resources and worsen pollution in the three provinces while the Seafood Bank project would create conflict between fishermen.
Initiated by former deputy agriculture and cooperatives minister Newin Chidchob, the project aims to increase aquaculture farm areas from 130,000 to 284,000 rai within four years. So-called ''water deeds'' would be issued to at least 100,000 aquaculture farmers, who could use the paper as collateral for loans under the government's scheme to convert assets into capital.
Sama-ae Jemudor, secretary-general of the Southern Local Fishermen Group, said protection of natural resources had been neglected because the government focused mainly on ending unrest in the South.
''Suppressing influential large-scale fishing operators and coastal land encroachers is as important as getting rid of the insurgents because these people have badly destroyed the locals' livelihoods,'' he said.
Madaming Areeyu, a farmers' leader from Yala's Raman district, said local participation in the government's decision-making process was the key to restoring peace and the livelihoods of the people in the three provinces.
Maj-Gen Boonchu Keodchok, of the Anti-Poverty Centre in the deep South, admitted that the government had failed to end poverty and violence in the region partly because state officials were inexperienced in working with local people.
''State officials must learn more about public participation, sustainable development and natural resources rehabilitation in order to bring about peace in the southern region,'' he said. |
