2. General overview of pre-tsunami state in affected provinces

The worst hit area, the central Thai Andaman coast from Phang-Nga to Krabi with Phuket at the centre, has undergone rapid economic development in recent years. In the past, the rural and coastal communities of Phang-Nga and Phuket relied more on land based activities such as collecting forest products, commercial agriculture (fruit orchards, cashew, copra, rubber) and especially tin dredging (Phang-Nga, Ranong and Phuket provinces). Fishing and aquaculture, although present, were very marginal activities some 30 years ago. They are now significant employers and economic contributors to the Andaman provinces, especially in areas that do not enjoy major tourist incomes.

The boom in the tourism industry brought an attractive source of income and jobs for the locals, especially for the younger people (up to 50 percent of the staff employed by the destroyed major tourism complexes of Khao Lak were from the surrounding communities). The tourism industry also provided new opportunities for other businesses such as small souvenir shops and restaurants.

In summary, the flourishing and fast development of the coastal areas of Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi provinces attracted people from all over the world, in addition to those from the kingdom. This has “artificially” increased the population having their livelihoods almost entirely oriented, directly or indirectly, towards the exploitation of the coastal natural capital and resources.

The tight interdependency of a limited range of livelihoods all linked to the coastal environment and sustaining a large mixed population constitutes the major source of vulnerability for the post-tsunami recovery.

Coastal Fisheries/Agriculture: All along the central portion of the coast, the fishing communities, which are traditionally among the poorest in Thailand, saw an opportunity and directed a significant part of their activity to supplying restaurants and resorts with fresh, highly prized reef fish species and seafood products in general. This increased the over exploitation of marine resources, including those in protected areas, and expanded in size the area exploited. There was also an opportunity to provide sea transportation services for tourists to nearby beaches and islands as an alternative to the less profitable fishing activities.

Migrant workers from Myanmar have become a significant part of the labour force in the commercial fishing industry, shrimp farms and other rural farming activities as young Thai nationals from fishing communities tended to target the more profitable tourism related jobs.

Unfortunately, data on the number of fishing boats/vessels, various fishing gears as well as the statistics on aquaculture, shrimp farms, etc. and their catches/production in the six tsunami affected provinces were not available.

Agriculture/Livestock: The worst affected provinces namely, Ranong, Phang-Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun are located on the western coast of Thailand. The livelihoods of the people in these provinces are mainly based on fisheries, agriculture (crops such as rice, rubber, oil palm, fruits, vegetables, coconut) and raising farm animals such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, and quails. The majority of farmers grow rubber, fruit trees, and oil palm. The average income is about 30 000 - 100 000 baht per year per household. Rice fields in these provinces are very small (total area ranging from 7 165 rai in Ranong to 100 000 rai in Satun) and the production is not enough to meet the demand. The areas under different crops are presented in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1 Details of pre-tsunami cropping area in the six tsunami-affected provinces in 2004

Sources: DOAE Provincial Office in Ranong, Phang-Nga, Phuket, Trang, Krabi, Satun, 20 January 2005

Table 2 Details of pre-tsunami livestock production in the six tsunami-affected provinces in 2004

Source: Department of Livestock Development, 10 February 2005

Mangroves and other coastal forests: In the last few decades, the mangrove forests in Thailand were largely lost during the process of development activities. By the mid 1990s, the total area had dropped to 167 582 ha, about one-third of the original area. Due to rehabilitation efforts in recent years, by the year 2000, 245 255 ha had been recovered; 209 310 ha or 85.3 percent were located in southern Thailand (RFD, 2002). The mangrove forests in the south mostly spread over the mud flats of river mouths and shore lines, but they also decorate the fringe of semi-sandy beaches in a narrow, broken belt. Their ecological niches are restricted to tidal zones, which is regularly inundated by brackish water.

There are other types of forests in the coastal zones of the south. These include the rear-mangrove forests, freshwater swamp forests, Casuarina forest, and various types of mixed forests with tree species of Terminalia, Tamarindus, Thespesia, Hibiscus, Pandanus, Cocos, etc. Coconut palm and rubber plantations, as well as rambutan, mangosteen and durian orchards are representative of the landscape of the south. They are not generally recognized as forests, but such woody vegetation forms quasi-forests.

The majority of mangroves in the south are secondary forests, partly because of their historical utilization for charcoal and timber production. Other reasons include illegal logging, clear cutting for fish or shrimp farming, and socio-economic development activities, e.g. construction of harbours, roads, etc. Some degraded areas have naturally regenerated or been artificially replanted. Most mangrove trees are less than 12 cm in diameter and 10 m in height.