Phetchaburi refinery expansion faces backlash over threat to salt farms and birds
Bird conservationists and local networks have rallied against a proposed power plant and oil refinery expansion in Phetchaburi, warning of damage to salt-farm ecosystems and migratory bird flyways.
On Saturday (March 21), the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, along with environmental partners and members of the local community, joined a campaign march under the slogan: “No refinery, no power plant — for the peaceful lives of our families and communities.”
The march went from Bang Tabun subdistrict in Ban Laem district to Hat Chao Samran subdistrict in Mueang district, Phetchaburi.
Public forums were held along the route to declare opposition to the planned power and steam generation unit, with a capacity of 90 megawatts, as well as the proposed oil refinery expansion.
The network said the project is located in a sensitive area that would affect the livelihoods of salt farmers and run counter to international commitments on biodiversity conservation. The site lies on the border between Bang Kaeo and Pak Thale subdistricts, which form part of a fragile coastal wetland ecosystem.
The area is also one of the longest-established sea salt production sites in Thailand and falls within the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) in the inner Gulf of Thailand, recognised by BirdLife International.
It is also Thailand’s second Flyway Network Site and the 121st site in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), an international cooperation network for the conservation of migratory waterbirds.
If the project proceeds, campaigners warn that it will directly affect 270 species of resident and migratory birds recorded in the area. Particular concern surrounds species facing a high risk of extinction, including:
- Spoon-billed sandpiper — critically endangered
- Nordmann’s greenshank — endangered
- Great knot — endangered
- Far Eastern curlew — endangered
Civil society groups said they are especially concerned that the construction of the power plant, intended to support the oil refinery’s expansion from 35,000 barrels per day to 175,000 barrels per day — a fivefold increase from a small refinery to a large-scale operation — would bring air pollution, wastewater and noise disturbance.
They said the impacts could extend across a 3-5 kilometre radius, covering nine areas in Phetchaburi province:
- Bang Kaeo
- Pak Thale
- Bang Khun Sai
- Laem Phak Bia
- Bang Chan
- Chong Sakae
- Pho Phra
- Ban Laem
- Hat Chao Samran municipality
They added that although the project site is designated as a purple industrial zone under the Phetchaburi provincial town plan, all surrounding areas are classified for rural and agricultural land use, which serve as vital resource bases for small-scale fishers and salt-farming communities.
The arrival of heavy industry in such an area, they argued, would therefore amount to a threat to the community’s right to live in a healthy environment.
