The colour of money is far from green

COMMENTARY

The colour of money is far from green

Published: 13 Feb 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Some 30 years ago, Thailand had abundant mangrove forests which enriched the coasts and sustained the sources of fish and seafood for the whole country.

Unfortunately, these mangroves were annihilated by the government policy in the 1990s to promote shrimp farming for exports. What were once lush green mangroves have now become barren land with abandoned, empty ponds.

The man who led the push for prawn farming and turned a blind eye to illegal encroachment on mangrove forests was none other than the then director-general of the Fisheries Department, Plodprasop Suraswadi.

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drsmith
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Discussion 5 : 13 Feb 2013 at 12.275
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It is great to have the courage to highlight this atrocity. However, one article is simply not enough. Please keep additional article updates coming that will continue to put pressure on these officials not to do something that could become deadly to the people in the future. Plodprasop should be investigated for unusual wealth. Who has the courage to do that? Until Thai's start standing up for their own country, more and more people like Plodprasop will pillage the environment and enrich themselves.
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dao
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Discussion 4 : 13 Feb 2013 at 09.074
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Very informative article .Thank you for writing it .The water management system sounds liek a huge waste of money to me .Dams being left unattended in a heavy rainy season caused the flood when they were released into an already full river system .Now PT wants to build 16 more ? Short sighted stupidity .
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commonman
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Discussion 3 : 13 Feb 2013 at 07.523
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Another fine member of the present government who has proven his value to the elite by his work on the frontline of destroying the environment for their enrichment.
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oldairman
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Discussion 2 : 13 Feb 2013 at 07.512
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D1 Being born to rich parents helps as does being in the right place at the right time.
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petdcat
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Discussion 1 : 13 Feb 2013 at 04.221
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Isn't this the same Mr Plodprasop that is the richest of all MP's? I wonder how He managed to accumulate so much wealth.
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The colour of money is far from green | Bangkok Post: opinion