Paskorn Jumlongrach

Lush coconut trees have long been the symbol of Koh Samui, the country’s second-largest and a famous tourist spot in the southern region.Unfortunately, a vast area of coconut plantations is plagued with black-headed leaf-eating caterpillar or black-headed worm disease which some locals liken to chronic problems that the tourist paradise has experienced.

For many, dying coconut plantations seem to signify the poor situation of the country’s second-largest island, once a must-visit destination for local and international tourists. The change of land use induced by tourism led to the decline in the number of coconut trees that made Samui famous. Former chief of Koh Samui district agricultural extension office Waichon Yamban said coconut tree plantation decreased from over 98,000 rai to 60,000 rai or only one-third remains in the present. He believed the iconic trees will be gone from Koh Samui within 60 years.

Some of the problems derived from the island being a top tourist destination which forced Samui to open the door to strangers. In the bygone days, island villagers treated fellow villagers like relatives. With tourism and influx of strangers into the area, such relationship, together with their traditional way of life, have vanished. And that has given rise to attackes on tourists becoming common. Like it or not, other tourists destinations in the country such as Phuket, Phi Phi, Samet, to name but a few, have shared the same fate as Koh Samui.

It’s a result of developing tourism without effective control measures. As tourism booms, the demand for land for resort development increases leading to sky-rocketing prices. The island is faced with growing environmental issues including waste problems, water sources contamination, traffic congestion. Access to beach access has largely been taken by luxury resorts. Parts of forest have been encroached and turn to durian plantation which raises concerns as durian farming requires heavy use of farm chemicals. The most crucial problem is water scarcity, an issue that few people thought would have occurred on this fertile island.

Some locals realize that they can no longer just sit on the problem. Early this month, a group of people led by former university lecturer Pramual Pengchan and other people from Samui launched a around the island which aims to raise awareness of problems faced by locals people. They hope to bring about a turnaround and restore the ol Samui they once knew. The march, still going on, involves participants paying respect their ancestor’s spirits and Mother Nature. It’s expected to end next week.

A native of Koh Samui, Pramual had moved to Chaing Mai where he worked as a lecturer on philosophy at Chiang Mai University for 16 years. But love of hometown made him decide to leave his job in 2006 and move back from Chiang Mai to Samui. When he left Samui for the northern province, he took a small bag of soil with him, and when he returned he brought it back to the place he was born. The former lecturer decided to do a rally walk around the island at least three times before he dies.

The April 8-May 1 march is his second, during which he aims to trace back the family trees of locals, an activity called “Sao Yan Yot.” Mr Pramual believed villagers on the island are all related. The march participants visited 39 communities, and talked to the elders. Pramual hoped this rally which zigzaggs through mountainous and forested area could restore the old-time feelings and sense of community.

In their talk with community people, the march participants encourage them to save the forest, grow more trees, and abandon from the use of toxic farm chemical. Such activities, they hope, will help revive watershed in some areas.
“My dream is this march will bring about a change in a better way. That may not happen overnight. This occasion allow me to tell the fellow villagers of my dreams, and they tell me theirs, and we will see if they are the same,’’ said Mr Pramual.

The ultimate goal of the walk rally campaign is to promote civil society.

With support from highly respected pharmacist Krisana Kraisintu, who is known for her alternative medicinces for malaria and HIV to help the poor, the campaigners want to promote alternative organic farming, and herbal plantation that will be the source of income for locals.

Ms Krisana’s house has become a market for these safe, chemical-free produces.

“I want to do things that are practical with the use of my expertise, said Krisana who dubbed the project as “Samui Model.” It’s not an easy task but the expert believes in the potential of Samui people.

Samui has suffered similar degradation to other places like Phuket and Phi Phi, but what makes the island different is the strong will of local people who want to help bring back Samui’s charm.

I hope the “Samui model” will become a success, and that people can learn from it.

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Paskorn Jumlongrach is the founder of www.transbordernews.in.th
งานเขียนนี้ตีพิมพ์ใน Bangkok Post, April 28, 2018