Destinations known | Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands face drinking water crisis, and too many tourists are to blame
Plus, following Boracay’s six-month closure for rehabilitation, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte turns his gaze on El Nido, in Palawan
On December 3, Thai daily newspaper The Nation reported that Koh Phi Phi Don – the largest of the Phi Phi Islands, which are also home to ill-fated Maya Bay – is in the grip of a drinking water crisis. Of course, too many thirsty tourists are to blame.
According to the article, researchers from Kasetsart University found that freshwater sources on the 9.7 sq km island cannot meet demand from the rising number of visitors, particularly during peak season. Sitang Pilailar, Kasetsart’s lead researcher, told The Nation, “During the driest period of the year – from November to April – the island is packed with tourists, causing water demand to rise sharply, and meanwhile there’s no rain to refill the two freshwater ponds that are the only sources for piped water on the island.”
Consider that these two limited sources are expected to cater to the thousands of tourists occupying the 205 water-guzzling hotels on Koh Phi Phi Don listed on TripAdvisor and it quickly becomes apparent why the island is struggling to cope.
Speaking to The Nation, local government official Phankam Kittithonkul said that although the issue was not new, it had become “too big” for local residents to resolve on their own, adding that the 170 million baht (US$5.1 million) administration budget for the island, which is allocated by the central government according to population, did not take visitor numbers into account. There are thought to be between 2,000 and 3,000 permanent residents on Koh Phi Phi Don; presumably, the island’s freshwater sources are sufficient to provide for their much more modest needs.
During the driest period of the year – from November to April – the island is packed with tourists, causing water demand to rise sharply
So, what can be done by you, the travelling sponge? Well, the easy answer is: stay away. Or, if you are concerned about water scarcity (and you should be, at our current rate of consumption, two-thirds of the world population could face shortages by 2025, according to the global conservation body WWF), opt to stay in properties that recycle greywater and harvest rainwater – they might not sound sexy, but such undertakings help reduce your impact on the environment.