Phuket Environment | The Phuket News

Beyond the Green: is ESG failing?

Sunday 16 July 2023 11:00 AM

The ESG movement of ‘environmental, social and corporate governance’, originally driven by good intentions, has been co-opted by lobbyists, special interest groups and various NGOs, and recent reviews have revealed its lacklustre performance in creating meaningful environmental change and have highlighted chronic abuse of flawed methodologies.

GRIP IT ‘Coastal Cleanup Fiesta’ targets Karon

Phuket Life / Environment

Monday 3 July 2023 11:47 AM

GRIP IT, a charitable organisation based in the south of Phuket that consists of friends from around the world who want to do good for the community, will hold their ‘Coastal Cleanup Fiesta’ at Karon beach today (July 3), from 3:30pm to 6pm.

EGAT a ‘bright spark’ for coral recovery

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 2 July 2023 02:00 PM

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has joined the efforts to help corals off Koh Maithon to recover by providing 240 frames of now-defunct frames of power cable insulators for corals to grow on and for reef fish to use as their new home.

Palm ornamentals for every occasion

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 4 June 2023 11:00 AM

When I was a boy, I had to endure long waits on sooty railway stations – yes, it was the age of steam – whose grimy walls were plastered with posters of sun-drenched resorts with azure seas, white sands, bronzed maidens and swaying palm trees. In austerity Britain, no beach in the UK looked remotely like that: it was years later that I glimpsed my first grove of bona-fide palms as I drove a rickety ‘banger’ across southern Spain.

Get ready for snake season

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 28 May 2023 11:00 AM

As with each year when the annual rains return in May, snakes across the island will be on the move, often finding their way into people’s homes.

When the washing is still green

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 14 May 2023 11:00 AM

Trillions of dollars have been poured into funds touting their green credentials via various voluntary disclosures as the world economy seeks to accelerate its low-carbon transition. More than 90 nations, representing an estimated 80% of global emissions, have pledged to commit to reaching net zero, according to the think tank World Resources Institute (WRI).

Growing goodies in the garden

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 30 April 2023 11:00 AM

In Thailand one is spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing edible plants to grow. If you can be bothered to count the number of different fruits and vegetables in any fresh market in Phuket, you will find at least 50 different species on display. And nearly all of them are cultivated in Thailand.

Contrasting Favourites: Heliconia and Hibiscus

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 26 March 2023 02:00 PM

Following our previous article on ‘Sun Gods and Sun Worshippers’, despite the name, the heliconia’s connection with the sun is less obvious than that of the sunflower.

Every day is the day! Phuket’s united call on Earth Hour 2023

Phuket Life / Environment

Saturday 25 March 2023 12:00 PM

PHUKET: At 8.30pm today (Mar 25) Phuket residents and businesses will join thousand of like-minded people around the globe for the Earth Hour by switching off non-essential electric lights to draw attention to climate change and other environmental issues.

New orchid species discovered in Songkhla

Phuket Life / Environment

Wednesday 1 March 2023 09:52 AM

A team of researchers from Prince of Songkla University has discovered a new species of orchid called “Aphyllorchis periactinantha” in the area of the province’s Paribatra waterfall, sparking interest and wonder among botanists and plant enthusiasts alike.

Green Thoughts: Sun Gods and Sun Worshippers

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 26 February 2023 02:00 PM

As readers familiar with this column will be aware, I often iterate the point, perhaps ad nauseam, that botanical names are worth mastering since they offer valuable clues to a plant’s characteristics: maybe its place of origin (Japonica), its physical features (odorata) or even its cultural requirements.

Climate Cycle - Chiang Mai to Phuket in 10 days

Phuket Life / Environment

Monday 30 January 2023 04:00 PM

PHUKET: Joanna and Max Hellier, founders of the sustainability change organisation ‘Root The Future’, have begun their 10-day, 1,500km bicycle ride, starting in Chiang Mai and finishing in Phuket ‒ all in the name of climate action.

Green Thoughts: Bizarre trees bear strange fruit

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 22 January 2023 02:00 PM

You don’t expect to find trees with bizarre labels such as the “pong-pong”, sausage or cannonball tree, but all these species, alive and well here in Phuket, are so named on account of their strange fruit.

Green Thoughts: Consider the Casuarina

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 25 December 2022 11:00 AM

When it comes to tropical trees, the mangrove is top of the pops for environmentalists. Rightly so. It not only protects all our silt-laden and sandy coastlines from erosion, it is a nursery for a pullulating array of marine life.

Green Thoughts: Scraping the barrel ‒ A cautionary tale for our times

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 23 October 2022 02:00 PM

Ever since I started to write for the late-lamented ‘Phuket Gazette’, I have endeavoured, from time to time, to address what I consider to be the burning issue de nos jours ‒ namely the continuing and, as I see it, irreversible destruction of our planet’s natural resources.

Sustainably Yours: Your part in climate change

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 23 October 2022 01:00 PM

In our previous article in Sustainably Yours, we looked at things that the government can do to prepare Phuket for Climate Change. In this article, we’ll look at things that you can do in your daily life to help mitigate and adapt to it.

Working towards a ‘Plastic Free Phuket’

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 16 October 2022 11:30 AM

A local environmental group led by students at UWC Thailand International School, Phuket is gaining momentum and working towards having single-use plastic bags phased out by law through a six-month project.

Southeast Asia’s hospitality leaders step into the ring to fight for sustainability at PHIST 5

Phuket Life / Environment

Thursday 29 September 2022 10:24 AM

PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism), Southeast Asia’s biggest and best responsible travel and hospitality forum, returned on Monday (Sept 26) to deliver a knockout blow to unsustainable tourism in Southeast Asia. Back as a live, in-person gathering, this fast-paced event tackled the key topics impacting the region and supported the green recovery of hotels and tourism operators following the global pandemic.

Preparing Phuket for climate change

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 25 September 2022 01:00 PM

As temperatures break records in the UK and fires break records, while scorching the European countrysides of Portugal, France and Spain, Phuket has had to contend with worsening annual floods. While climate change may be inevitable, there are things that Phuket can do to better prepare itself, to limit damage to infrastructure, reduce the potential for loss of life, and protect homes and businesses.

Green Thoughts: In the blooming water

Phuket Life / Environment

Sunday 4 September 2022 02:00 PM

As the high annual rainfall continues to soak Phuket during these months of the southwestern monsoon, we continue our look at water-borne plants that feature prominently across Thailand’s floral landscape. Among those are water lilies (nympheas).

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