ABSTRACT
Coastal areas in Thailand have been undergoing rapid land-use, socioeconomic and environmental change. Inadequate planning and coordination of infrastructure projects and lack of effective enforcement are all factors that tend to increase vulnerability among local communities and the degradation of coastal and marine resources. These challenges are exacerbated by the intensity and diversity of development pressures and by the lack of understanding of the contribution that coastal and marine resources make to national development. When framed in the context of climate change, which will be experienced, in particular, through sea-level rise and coastal storm surges, understanding other existing pressures and the responses to those pressures is of vital importance. It is consequently necessary to understand and address the multiple factors affecting coastal areas in which major challenges are linked to the management of catchments and river basins that feed freshwater and materials to the coast.
