When Development Flows in by the Ton
I recently returned from a short trip to Phuket, Thailand, where I spent some time in a “sea gypsy” village off the beaten path. Otherwise known as chao leh, the term “sea gypsies” refers to several small nomadic Southeast Asian indigenous groups who depend on the sea for their survival through fishing and the gathering of mollusks. Sea gypsies first made headlines following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which devastated coastal towns in Indonesia and Thailand, yet left those who were able to read the rhythms of waves and cicada chirps relatively unscathed (for more on how the sea gypsies survived, check out this video from 60 Minutes).
I found the village quite accidentally while walking beyond a tidy strip of straw-hued hotel beach and across an island of volcanic rock, which eventually descended into wide ribbons of garbage and sludge. It was a shoreline comprised almost entirely of trash- strips of fabric, broken bottles, dead fish, batteries, scrap metal and rubber, kitchen utensils, plastic jugs, discarded toys, and the bones of animals- the type of beach that no one wishes to see but that is becoming all too common in Asia. Continuing across the waste, I came to the village center, which was mainly comprised of a few dozen huts sans most of the possessions- like furniture, sink or stove- that make a modern home. Four young women lounged together on a wooden plank, busily removing lice from each other’s hair. Even so, they gave a wave and a smile to me.
When we speak of poverty, we’re likely to mention the prevention of communicable diseases or providing safe drinking water or eradicating hunger. Looking back on it now, I’ve never once heard the topic of “lice” broached in development circles- as prevalent as it is- nor talk about the mountains of rubbish that seem to surround the homes of people who don’t actually possess much of anything to throw away. Basic services and commodities that so many of us take for granted, like “toilets” and “trash removal services”- both of which are sorely lacking in this and thousands of other communities- are still largely ignored. What does our reluctance to speak about such unglamorous issues mean for the 2.6 billion people who don’t have sanitation yet? What does international development mean these days, anyway? Does it mean creating more waste? Or, does it mean finding better ways to deal with more waste? I’m not sure anymore.
About a kilometer away from this village is the hotel I was fortunate enough to stay at, possessing all the typical amenities including a very efficient sanitation service. Concerning the heaps of trash- both on the beach and strewn throughout the village- a relatively simple solution came to me and I set about contacting the hotel manager and appropriate department with a proposal, which involved combining resort sanitation services to include a cleanup effort and regular pickup at the sea gypsy village, thereby benefiting (as I saw it at the time) both the village residents and the guests. Whether I did the right thing or not by attempting to assist those who did not ask for my help is something I’m wrestling with- it’s a judgment call that I feel less confident in as the days pass. Whether I did the right thing by leaving it all behind without taking any direct action myself- like using my own two hands or finding a way to actually communicate with the locals- is another issue altogether.
What will remain with me from Phuket? Not the turquoise waters, nor Monkey Island, nor the caves where bird’s nests are harvested for soup- none of those touristy activities that are the island’s main draw. Not zipping around on a scooter in search of temples, nor the hotel- lovely as it was- or kayaking around the bay. It is the garbage, the same garbage that piles up in Indonesia and China and the Philippines, the type of garbage that always seems to find a home beside the people least likely to throw things away… And the chao leh, who collect from the sea, who collect from the waste, who rely on the ocean to live…
- An estimated 14 billion pounds of garbage is dumped into the sea globally each year. 90 percent of this garbage is plastic waste.” Source: Discovery.com
- “The majority of people without sanitation live in Asia (70 percent) and Sub-Saharan Africa (22 percent).” Source: UN Water
- “In four of the eleven countries in Southeast Asia, sanitation coverage is less than 60 percent.” Source: WHO/UNICEF
- “In terms of waste management trends, no region of the world faces a greater need to break the inextricable link between waste generation rates and affluence than Asia. For example, if Asia follows lifestyle trends of the US and Canada versus the more typical European resident, the world will need to supply about 500 million tons more resources in 2025.” Source: The World Bank
- “The damage caused by marine rubbish and debris is costing the Asia-Pacific region more than 1 billion dollars a year. 80 percent of marine garbage is said to come from land based sources.” Source: APEC
In regard to waste management in Asia, what are you seeing out there? What are some potential solutions and practices for responsible tourism? How much responsibility should corporations assume in cleaning up the mess around them, if any? Is it just me, or has pollution and lack of sanitation become much worse in East Asia over the past decade?
Hey Aimee,
I’m in sympathy with your concern about the current state of waste management in Asia and, indeed, the issue of pollution and destruction of the environment more broadly is a serious and growing problem across the region. But much as I wish otherwise, I see the current situation as pretty much an inevitable consequence of economic development, Asia’s growing pains, as it were. The reality is that environmental awareness is a luxury for wealthy countries; developing countries have more pressing concerns than environmental protection.
To be sure, there are measures that can minimise the environmental impact of economic development and developing countries need not take the same destructive path to prosperity that the West has taken. For example, China now has an emissions trading scheme in the pipeline (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7075879.html) and India has proposed a tax on coal as a way to fund renewable energy initiatives (http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2258824/india-proposes-coal-tax-pay). Meanwhile, rich developed countries such as the US and Australia are still quibbling over whether a price on carbon should be imposed, with many people in these countries persistent in challenging the validity of anthropogenic global warming. Ultimately, however, efforts by developing countries to combat the destructive effect of their development will prove to be largely futile.
Your description of the garbage on the beaches of Phuket reminds me of a BBC documentary called Welcome to Lagos, though. The documentary shows how a community of slum dwellers in Lagos, Nigeria has found an ingenious way of reclaiming land using garbage, thus creating a source of cheap housing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9BQitPzRiM&feature=player_embedded). An interesting point to note here is that these people don’t simply make use of garbage that has been dumped carelessly but they actually pay to have garbage diverted to them from their local garbage treatment facility. Maybe this could be an idea for consideration for the sea gypsies in Phuket?
The visible garbage bothered me while in China–mostly when I traveled to places like Jiuzhaigou and the Fujian countryside. And it still bothers me on my walks through Jersey City. I try not to create too much waste, but it’s not easy.
Just throwing out a couple of anecdotes, and I agree with Riqq re. these developmental growing pains, before infrastructure catches up to 21st century indestructible consumer goods:
During university I sold 100% cotton writing/printing paper made from scraps picked from the rubbish dumps of Delhi and Mumbai. It was beautiful and eco-friendly if you don’t worry about the carbon footprint of a market halfway across the world.
While writing for Travelfish.org I visited many islands around Phuket and further south, and noticed it was only the midrange and higher-priced resorts who could afford to properly dispose of their waste; the backpacker establishments simply smashed the bottles and buried them in massive piles behind the restaurants. Who knows what they did with the rest of their waste, but I expect most of it ended up in the sea.
More relevant to your latest post [re. human waste], earlier this year I went swimming in eastern Thailand and while dodging the biggest sea urchins I’ve ever seen, noticed some solid waste that had made its way from nearby ships or bungalows which emptied directly into the sea, as it did on the “green” island where we lived in Hong Kong.
So many sources of pollution, it is hard to wrap one’s head around it all.