Increasing sources of revenue for safeguarding biodiversity and environmental management in Koh Tao sub-district

Francesco Ungaro
Publicado: 07 Diciembre 2022
Última edición: 07 Diciembre 2022
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Summary

The island of Koh Tao, Thailand, attracts up to 500,000 tourists each year. This is important for the local economy but can also generates waste and pressure on the corals.The finance solution was introduced where tourists pay THB 20 visitation fee (US$0.6 per tourist), endorsed with an issuance of the amended municipal ordinance by Koh Tao sub-district Municipality Office with a hard-copy receipt being issued to each tourist at the pier upon arrival. It can generate up to $360,000 per year to protect island's biodiversity. This finance solution has aligned public finance (Koh Tao municipality fiscal budget) and private finance (tourists) to a nature-positive future. The issuance of municipal ordinance with specific pro-biodiversity finance provisions was introduced for the first time in a non-protected area of Thailand.The first-of-its-kind legal framework titled “Koh Tao Pier Fee Management and Collection Act 2021” was announced by the Koh Tao municipality office in late 2021.

Clasificaciones

Region
Sudeste Asiático
Scale of implementation
Local
Subnacional
Ecosystem
Arrecifes coralinos
Bosques costeros
Ecosistemas marinos y costeros
Playa
Theme
Actores locales
Comunicación y divulgación
Contaminación
Financiación sostenible
Fragmentación del hábitat y degradación
Gestión de residuos
Incorporación de la perspectiva de género
Islas
Manejo espacial de la zona marino-costera
Marco legal y normativo
Medios de vida sostenibles
Pesca y acuicultura
Servicios ecosistémicos
Turismo
Species Conservation and One Health Interventions
Comunicación de riesgos, participación de la comunidad y cambio de comportamiento
Challenges
Pérdida de la biodiversidad
Usos conflictivos / impactos acumulativos
Erosión
Pérdida de ecosistemas
Cacería furtiva
Contaminación (incluida la eutrofización y la basura)
Gestión ineficaz de los recursos financieros
Falta de acceso a financiación a largo plazo
Cambios en el contexto socio-cultural
Falta de conciencia del público y de los responsables de la toma de decisiones
Sustainable development goals
ODS 5 - Igualidad de género
ODS 11 - Ciudades y comunidades sostenibles
ODS 14 - Vida submarina
ODS 17 - Alianzas para lograr los objetivos
Aichi targets
Meta 1: Aumento de la sensibilization sobre la biodiversidad
Meta 5: Pérdida de hábitat reducida a la mitad o reducida
Meta 7: Agricultura, acuicultura y silvicultura
Meta 8: Reducción de la contaminación
Meta 15: Restauración de ecosistemas y resiliencia
Meta 17: Estrategias y planes de acción para la biodiversidad
Meta 19: Intercambio de información y conocimiento
Meta 20: Movilización de recursos de todas las fuentes
Mitigation
Business engagement approach
Compromiso directo con asociaciones
Indirecto a través de los consumidores
Indirecto a través de instituciones financieras
Indirecto a través del gobierno
Indirecto a través de actores legales

Ubicación

Koh Tao, Ko Pha-ngan, Surat Thani 84360, Thailand

Impacts

  • With an acknowledgement by the Governor of Surat Thani province, the first-of-its-kind legal framework titled “Koh Tao Pier Fee Management and Collection Act 2021” was announced by the Koh Tao municipality office.
  • The collection of THB20 (US$ 0.06) per tourist has been endorsed with an issuance of the amended municipal ordinance by Koh Tao sub-district Municipality Office.
  • The commencement of tourist user charges collection officially started in April 2022.  Estimated that the revenue generated from the user charges collection for the post-COVID situation is approximately $180,000 - 360,000 USD per year.
  • The mayor of Koh Tao sub-district municipality office and its council members have confirmed that the revenue generation from user charges will be earmarked for nature and biodiversity conservation and community-based environmental management activities at Koh Tao through the supervision of the Koh Tao Sub-district Environmental Plan Development Working Group.
  • 5 community-based organizations (CBOs) were trained on project proposal development to access the UNDP small grant programme(SGP) including  Koh Tao Small-scale Fisherfolk group, Mae Haad Taxi boat operators, Sairee Taxi boat operators, Koh Tao Women group, and Youth group of Tao Noi Channel have been assisted by the project to develop and submit the proposal to UNDP Thailand as low value grant to receive additional funds from Krungthai Bank.

Contribuido por

Imagen de gamzeakarsu.en_37360

Gamze Akarsu United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), BIOFIN

Other contributors

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)