Wanton, mindless destruction of nature

The trees were sacrificed in the name of the so-called “Mae Ramphueng Beach Beautification Project”.

I write to report that stage one is now complete and where the casuarinas and palms once proudly stood, there now stand – slap bang in the middle of the beach – two huge raw concrete edifices which will shortly open as seafood restaurants. 

As a final act of “beautification”, the last remaining casuarinas between the restaurants and the sea were hacked down, no doubt to give diners an uninterrupted view of the polluted beach and its plastic-bag saturated ocean.

These are truly beautiful buildings. After all, the high authorities of the national park in charge of these matters have declared that this is a beautification programme. So be it! Who am I to differ? I suppose you could argue that at least these sterile concrete monstrosities don’t drop pine needles and dead palm leaves to add to the litter of this already filthy and polluted beach.

I think that only in Thailand could authorities charged with looking after national parks cut down the trees, build concrete blockhouses, and call it a beautification programme. I can’t wait to see what remains of the original beach once stages two, three and four are completed.

David Brown

Rayong