The
Tongsai Bay was established
in 1987 with the philosophy
of preserving nature in
mind. The accommodation was firstly
built among trees, and not a single
big tree was
cut down during the construction where
Cottage Suites stand. The hotel was
created
in compliance with Tongsai’s and Koh
Samui’s own landscape and environment.
At
the time, the island was still
very much covered with forests and
coconut
plantations. Various wild
animals still roamed around. There
were not many hotels or
resorts since most roads were not
well-paved and many parts of the island
did not even
have electricity.
However, between
2001-2006, Koh Samui has been developed
rapidly. Lots of
investors local and international
have flocked onto the island, purchasing
lands from
the locals. They cut down big trees
and coconut trees - a symbol of the
island - in
order to build up resorts and houses
or sell the land for profit. Some
local residents
have transformed their own properties
into rental rooms or houses. As a
result,
wildlife has been disturbed by human
beings, losing their natural inhabitants.
In addition,
more workers from mainland Thailand
have moved in and settled down
on the island. They sometimes even
eat (in the name of “Jungle” food)
wild animals
such as squirrel, monitor lizard,
snakes etc., causing the imbalance
towards the
island’s nature. In the earlier days,
nature had its ways in dealing with
the ecological
system. For example, in the woods,
when fallen leaves piled up, natural
microbes
helped disintegrate them into a natural
fertilizer. A number of animals had
been
properly controlled in the food chain
by natural predators e.g. squirrels
eat coconut
weevils: one type of animal eats another
and then is eaten by another animal.
Naturally, a dead animal will finally
be granulated by natural microbes.
In the old days
in Thailand, as an undeveloped agricultual
country, we used natural
materials to wrap food and things
e.g. banana leaves. Synthetic materials
such as
plastic and foam were scarcely used.
Therefore, the garbage problem in
the past
was manageable and controllable. However,
when the community has adapted itself
to development, the synthetic materials
were brought in, causing a garbage
problem
in terms of improper disposal location,
inadequate waste land, insufficient
management
budget and garbage increase. Landfill
and burning in an incinerator pollute
the earth
all the same.
Another problem
is that more people moving into the
island, hence consuming more
resources such as water and electricity.
The water consumption has always been
the
major problem on Koh Samui, particularly
during summer when most water resources
are dry. Even though a Reverse Osmosis
plant has been built and in operation,
it does
not really solve the problem efficiently.
One of many reasons is the number
of hotels
and resorts collective rooms (there
are now over 15,000 rooms on a small
district Island
of Koh Samui) are not controlled in
compliance with the resources provision
e.g. water,
electricity and oil.
There is also
an air pollution problem although
small comparatively, usually caused
by
local people who have incorrectly
burnt the garbage e.g. foam and plastic.
Although
there is a garbage incinerator, its
ability to burn and manage pollution
is not good enough.
The garbage incinerator produce ‘Dioxin’
(acid rain), created from burning
synthetic
substances with insufficient temperature.
Besides, they cause ‘greenhouse effect’,
destroying the ozone layer that protects
the world. Once the ozone layer is
destroyed,
the sun’s ray can easily access to
the earth, making the world’s temperature
increase.
With the environmental destruction,
there will apparently be a chain reaction
that affects
everything in the ecological system.
We do see this now with the ever changing
seasons
which are not as consistent as in
the past – 2004 Monsoon season was
one of the
driest while 2005 Monsoon saw a huge
flood with torrential rain.
Due to the above
environmental problems within the
past 4-5 years, The Tongsai
Bay’s management have realised the
significance of nature and environment.
In
terms of Tourism industry, Koh Samui’s
outstanding feature is basically nature.
If
entrepreneurs do not realise this,
in the near future Koh Samui will
be unable to
maintain itself as one of the top
destinations in Thailand, let alone
the world. Hence,
The Tongsai Bay has set up ‘Green
Project’ in an attempt to
preserve the balance
among human beings, animals, trees
and environment. Even it is merely
a small part
of the whole society and Samui community,
we all strongly hope that Tongsai’s
staff
would apply Green Project’s practices
and guidelines to their own households
and
disseminate them for wider usage.
At least, they could be regarded as
good examples
for Koh Samui. In order to improve
the sustainable tourism on Koh Samui,
the material
development should be carried on together
with the environmental management.
Although, the above practice could
only be a small part in the society,
the hotel would
like all staff to realise the significance
of nature and endeavour to conserve
it for the
latter generations.
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