On 15 February 2024, Saensuk Municipality held a workshop for about 50 community leaders and citizens on community-based tourism (CBT). During the opening of the workshop, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) representatives were invited to give introductory remarks on IGES and the ASEAN SDGs FC Programme.
The workshop also involved collaboration with Burapha University and conducted mainly by academics from the Burapha Business School’s Tourism and Hotel Management. Through their presentations, the participants learned about coastal and marine tourism and its development, particularly in Thailand's eastern provinces of Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi, and Trat, the concept of Blue Economy which contributes to economic growth and sustainable development, tourism activities and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approach, "Green Saensuk Standard", which is Saensuk City’s collaboration with academic institutions, including Burapha University and Chulalongkorn University, to develop a guideline for tourism and hotel businesses in the city to pursue certification for environmentally-friendly practices at both national and international levels, and Wellness Tourism, which is considered as "high value-low impact" and a rising trend in the global tourism market.
On 16 February, another workshop was held for approximately 50 local community members to demonstrate the assembly of a beach cleaning tool. To manage and segregate small pieces of waste, such as rubber bands and cigarette butts around the public beach areas, environmental volunteers ideated a beach cleaning tool based on various designs from internet sources. Saensuk Municipality decided to accept the idea for developing and testing with support from the Office of Marine and Coastal Management 2 (Chonburi Province) and its network of marine rangers and marine defence volunteers. The participants were hopeful that it would ease the hard work of environmental volunteers in helping to keep the beach clean and manage land-based marine debris.
Under the ASEAN SDGs Frontrunner Cities Programme (Phase 2), funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), Saensuk Municipality proposed a project entitled ‘"Innovating Models of Circular Economy and Community-based Tourism: Towards Blue Economy and Sustainable Coastal Management’" for implementation to improve its waste management, particularly in the public areas along its famous Bang Saen beach, and develop a circular economy that helps the local community to generate income and which can be integrated with the eco-friendly tourism sector to minimise the environmental impacts, raise environmental awareness, and achieve sustainable development. Saensuk Municipality has pioneered many outstanding actions and policies for sustainable development and, as a result, won awards from the national sustainable cities programme of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand.
Event Details
Senior Development Center, Saensuk Municipality
