Much of the country's renowned coastline is
                 eroding away because man-made structures are
                 disrupting the natural flow of the sea

                 BANGKOK -- Some of Thailand's most popular
                 beaches are disappearing as man-made structures
                 speed up coastal erosion, reports said yesterday.

                 A 115-km line of beaches famed among Thais and
                 foreigners since the reign of King Rama VI had been
                 severely eroded, the Bangkok Post reported.

                 The resort regions of Hua Hin, Cha-am and
                 Phetchaburi south of Bangkok had lost thousands of
                 tonnes of sand, said Mr Saksit Tridech,
                 secretary-general of the Office of Environmental
                 Policy and Planning (OEPP).

                 A huge amount of sand had been swept away from
                 the Chao Samran, Peektian, Cha-am, Hua Hin and
                 Klaikangwol beaches, the Post said. The erosion is
                 particularly serious around the Phetchaburi estuary
                 near Wat Khome Naram, where currents have eaten
                 away 200 m of the coast.

                 The Maruekkathaiwan Palace, the first royal retreat
                 built by King Rama VI on Cha-am beach, and
                 Klaikangwol Palace in Hua Hin, built during the reign
                 of King Rama VII, were also affected, the newspaper
                 said.

                 The 70-year-old sea wall protecting
                 Maruekkathaiwan Palace has sunk into the sand, its
                 height halved to one metre.

                 A beach road built in 1997 along the mangrove forest
                 to the palace has been severely damaged by sand
                 subsidence.

                 Experts point the finger at man-made structures.

                 "Nature in itself does not erode this coastline. But the
                 accelerated pace is man-made," said Mr Nawarat
                 Krairapanond, the OEPP's expert on coastal erosion.

                 The coast receives heavy rain and is lashed by storms
                 during the north-eastern monsoon.

                 Man-made structures such as piers, buildings and
                 retaining walls impede, disrupt and divert the natural
                 flow of the sea, which gouges out nearby beaches
                 instead.

                 The impact of the diverted flow was unpredictable,
                 sometimes occurring 2 km or 3 km north or south of
                 a beach, Mr Nawarat said.

                 "The damage cannot be estimated easily since Hua
                 Hin and Cha-am are popular tourism destinations,"
                 Mr Nawarat said.

                 The break waters along Hua Hin and Cha-am
                 beaches proved unsuccessful in preventing erosion.

                 People fear waves might consume all their land, so
                 stones are thrown into the sea, and walls are built to
                 block waves. -- AFP

                       Adapted from The Straits Times, 2 May 2000.