Industrial Water Pollution

          It is obvious that the increases in industrial expansion are the main causes of water pollution in Thailand due to the fact that the government shows their lacks of management and regulation. Factories dispose waste into natural water resource without processing, resulting in the destruction of aquatic ecosystem. This essay will identify the negative effects of water pollution in Thailand and suggest possible solutions.

The environmental effect is the most obvious of all. Shanley Knox, a journalist, said that 92.68 percent of the total water in Thailand was put at risk as the results of industrial, 6.87 percent of the bodies water was highly polluted especially in urban areas. As mention before, water pollution has terminated many water-based lives. For instant, animals may accidentally eat a plastic bag and suffer to dead. Consequently, this leads to the disruption of natural food chains.

Secondly, the country’s economy has an impact on this too. Despite the fact that industrial and agricultural are the main causes of water pollution, government is responsible for ensuring the standard quality of water. Therefore, the Thai government has to spend a large amount of money filtering polluted water. Another economic effect is on tourism.  Many tourist attractions are disturbed as a result of littering both from foreigners and Thai people, which also causes economic problem. Imagine Phuket beach full with plastic bags and aluminum cans, it is certainly not a nice picture to see, especially by local people.

Another direct effect from water pollution is on health. People are likely to have a disease from ingesting unprocessed water. Many bacteria and microorganisms are able to live in a highly toxic environment because it favors them to reproduce and replicate.

It is clear that water pollution has many negative effects; therefore, it is crucial that this problem will be solved before it is too late. This part of the essay will purpose possible solutions.

The Thai government has noticed the situation and been aware of the outcome for a time. Nevertheless, it has not been done in highest quality. According to UNESCO, their case study reported that in 2000, the cabinet had initiated the national water policy for conserving and maintaining water resources. Several of them can be summarized as follow:

• Accelerate the promulgation of the Draft Water Act.
• Set up water management organization both at national and river basin level.
• Promote water related topic in all level of education.
• Give financial supports to any action in line with the national policy

  (UNESCO.org)

It is clear that despite these actions, the policy has not been properly followed. The situation demands for an improvement and carefulness.

First of all, the government needs to enforce the law. Officers could fine any citizen who disobeys the law. In this way, people will be aware of polluting the water both by accidently and intentionally. The Government should consider this option as their priority due to the fact that it is the government’s direct responsibility.

Secondly, any financial, technical, or informational support, including education, should be offered to people who need, especially farmers in rural areas. Many times local people do things that were harmful to the environment without knowing; thus, it is unfair for farmers to be fined by government officers. Education can help people from being exploited and giving fairness. Also, it is unquestionable that any support, particularly education, will contribute in higher quality of lives of local people.

Another solution is to promote citizens’ conscience. One of Thai people’s attitudes is “sabai sabai”, which translates as “take it easy-no worries” (Knox). Therefore, many people think that their actions are insignificant comparing to size of the issue. If every people think like this, it will definitely lead to a major problem.

Finally, importance should be given more to the issue. Thailand has the technological potential to manage its wastewater, but no one cares. Because of the less obvious effects, people are not able to visualize the overall picture of the problem. Without the picture, it is difficult to have people’s interests in helping cleaning the pollution. A reason is that most residents in big cities, like Bangkok, have access to infrastructure, which provides clean water. This makes people think that water is abundant and has no serious problem.

In conclusion, it is clear that industrial water pollution a many negative effect to Thailand, but it is not too late to start the actions. The environment has the most impact. Many aquatic ecosystems are destroyed as a result of mainly industrial expansion. If people have enough conscience to consider the results of their actions and the government’s policy is done with highest quality, the problem will be certainly resolved.