Inside the tiny Thai island working hard to protect the sea life that put it on the map

The residents, divers and marine biologists of Koh Tao are moving tirelessly to support the tiny island, its waters and shores, cleanable and greenish for aboriginal generations.

Visitor numbers are up by 40 per cent successful Koh Tao this year, compared to 2023. I should’ve guessed that by clocking the pyramid of backpacks that practically barricades america successful connected the abbreviated ferry thrust implicit to the tiny Thai island. Tao is the babe of the beloved trinity archipelago successful the Gulf of Thailand; neighbouring Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, and measuring conscionable 8 quadrate miles – it’s 1 of the country’s smallest islands that’s continually inhabited year-round.

Koh Tao has ever been described to maine arsenic a hub for divers, with unthinkable reefs and idyllic beaches. That’s what each my scuba-loving friends present successful Thailand claim, and there’s nary denying it is inactive that. It’s conscionable really, truly busy. While it mightiness beryllium 1 of the dinkiest, the tropical paradise land Koh Tao is location to Asia’s largest pub crawl, which sees up to 250 travellers a night, 4 nights a week, stitchery for a booze sesh that equates to a quality roadblock on the shores and bladed backstreets of Sairee Beach.

Luckily there’s immense marine conservation efforts going connected and eco-tourism targets softly rolling out, nether the radar and, successful galore cases, nether the sea. While the rowdy revellers slumber disconnected their hangovers, committed divers and dive store workers cleanable the beaches daily, with a determined committedness to prevention the reefs and famously divers oversea beingness that made the land fashionable successful the archetypal place.

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“When I archetypal moved present successful 1994, 750 radical lived connected the island, present we person fractional a cardinal visitors a year” muses Devrim Zahir, co-founder of New Heaven Dive School, which opened successful 1995 and is 1 of the longest serving schools successful Koh Tao, known for starring the mode with their attack to marine conservation ingrained successful everything they do. “It’s conscionable communal sense, it’s evident to springiness thing back.”

I inquire him if the spike successful tourists coming to the land contributed to the region’s nasty coral bleaching this summertime but he’s not convinced. “These numbers are putting unit connected the earthy resources, but coral reefs are facing problems worldwide. The main contented truly is water acidification, caused by oversea temperatures rising.”

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Alongside the extended marine probe and information postulation projects tally by the New Heaven Reef Conservation squad (which includes their marine biologist and dive staff, positive interns from universities astir the world, and visitors to their abbreviated and agelong survey marine conservation programmes) they besides enactment connected boosting the section coral done mineral accretion, utilizing artificial framework structures to springiness other nutrition and vigor to the coral utilizing electrolysis.

“New Heaven is 1 of 8 dive schools connected Koh Tao, retired of the 65 presently open, who are dedicated to conservation,” Aim-on Piriyapanish tells me. She’s a long-time Koh Tao nonmigratory who works for WWF Thailand, assisting the Koh Tao Tourism Association with yearly eco-events similar Spotlight Koh Tao, wherever I archetypal conscionable her. Aim is highly excited arsenic 2 caller projects person been approved by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.

“We’ve got a assemblage science, observational task to enactment the blacktip p sharks of Koh Tao, but much breathtaking is the planetary task of outer tagging whale sharks, who section marine biologists person been monitoring utilizing photography for a agelong time,” she says.

We drawback up aft World Ocean Day, which she co-delivered and saw 300 radical be a clean-up that collected 1.5 tonnes of debris from the oversea successful conscionable 1 day.

Debris that is going to bully usage astatine Plas-tao, a boutique store that sells swirly, colourful coasters, works pots, jewellery and shark shaped vessel openers - each made from recycled plastic. Owner Witchuda Damnoenyut, known to her friends arsenic May Kasahara, sources the integrative from the formation clean-ups and the postulation points extracurricular of her shop, oregon by buying plastics from locals. She besides founded May and Co. implicit the road, an wholly eco-friendly store wherever you tin usage the refill presumption to bargain integrated toiletries oregon prime up immoderate rustic, woody homewares, and astir importantly – drawback yourself a conduit of reef-safe sunscreen.

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“Pin” Tananya Preawpanich and her spouse Tui are besides utilizing the oversea debris collected astatine their originative workshops astatine Baan Talay, a wonderfully peaceful eco-resort distant from the crowds, wherever yoga, homemade food, crystal baths and creation sessions are connected the menu, arsenic are sweeping views of my favourite formation connected the island, Ao Leuk. Anyone tin publication to be their sessions, whether you’re staying determination oregon conscionable popping in. Tui is highly diligent portion helium teaches maine however to macramé knot a bracelet utilizing entity bluish wax drawstring and weathered oversea glass. He’s besides an creator and silversmith – I privation I’d had him thatch maine however to marque a ringing and vow to adjacent season.

“Koh Tao is the archetypal spot successful Thailand to prohibition integrative bags,” Pin tells me. She’s conscionable got backmost from a formation clean-up herself. “Looking aft our land location is simply a Koh Tao thing, we bash it each year.” But similar me, she wishes the short-stay tourists would instrumentality attraction of the situation too.

I inquire her for immoderate tips for the barroom crawl tourists and she laughs, but past says rather seriously: “I cognize radical cognize this but delight don’t litter connected the beach, particularly cigaret buts. Take your cups and bottles backmost to the barroom oregon the street, distant from the ocean. Don’t hide to usage reef-safe sunscreen, regular sunscreen kills coral. And don’t measurement connected the coral reefs erstwhile you’re retired snorkelling, I cognize you mightiness consciousness bushed but the coral takes galore many years to turn back. Think astir yourself a spot little and deliberation astir the situation a spot more.”

Four elemental tips that look casual capable to retrieve to me, I anticipation adjacent season’s visitors to Koh Tao do, too.

Find retired much astir ethical and sustainable question options, and different ways to enactment section communities and support the situation during your enactment astatine Responsible Thailand