Applying Ocean Account in Thailand: Lessons learned and challenges from the Phang Nga Bay Pilot Project
Keywords:
ocean account, marine environmental management, Phang Nga BayAbstract
Oceans are composed of various marine and coastal ecosystems, contributing to global biodiversity and providing essential services to humanity. However, anthropogenic pressures such as overexploitation, pollution, and climate change threaten the health of marine ecosystems, degrading the quality of ecosystem services and thus affecting socio-economic development and livelihoods. The concept of an ocean account emerges as a tool to quantify and value the services provided by the ocean, facilitating informed decision-making for sustainable management. In this paper, we introduce the core concept of ocean account and its application through the case illustration of the Phang Nga Bay Ocean Account Project. Relevant secondary data and primary data were compiled and systematically analyzed under the ocean account framework. Remote sensing technology and current models were employed to determine spatially analytical units: drainage basins and marine regions. For each analytical unit, ecosystem assets and conditions, as well as governance accounts were established for key ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs, rare marine animals, etc.; human activities were also spatially analyzed. An example analysis of solid waste flow revealed the land-sea interaction in terms of pollution. From an economic perspective, the value added from the ocean in 2017 was 417,339 million baht consisting of directed marine economic activities (214,415 million baht) and activities related to marine tourism (202,923 million baht), employed 178,911 people. The main challenge is the data availability of the ecosystem and economy, making the interaction between ecosystem-economic sectors more difficult. This highlights that the ocean account framework is valuable as basic scientific information that supports other management tools, particularly marine spatial planning. Lessons learned and challenges from the Phang Nga Bay Pilot Project serve as an initial step and model for using this concept in other areas in Thailand, contributing to the effective management of marine and coastal ecosystems in Thailand.
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