THAILAND

The coral reefs off
the coast of Thailand may yet
be saved because of joint
action by conservationists
and villagers. A case in point
is the village of Sikao in
Trang province of southern
Thailand where 50 families
joined by villagers in 11
other Thai provinces are
making a beginning at saving
their reefs. To protect this
priceless resource, they have
taken to more sustainable
fishing practices and now
control local tourism, patrol
their waters, and work with
local authorities to keep
trawlers at bay. "We try to
show them that conservation
is part of their lives," says
Suraphol Sudara, the director of the Coral Reef and
Seagrass Research Unit at the
Bangkok-based Chulalongern University.

A similar story is being
unveiled in other parts of
south-east Asia too. In Apo
island in central Visayas, the
Philippines, villagers have
practiced sustainable use of
their reefs for the past decade
and today manage their own
marine park and tourism
industry. Decision-makers
and international funding
institutions are only too
happy to help out. Among
those pitching in to help save
the reefs of the region is the
World Bank which is tying
up its first coral reef loan
project, a us $40 million
stake in an Indonesian reef
management programme.