Management Response to the Tsunami, Surin Marine National Park, Thailand

Surin Marine National Park lies northwest of Phuket. Before the 26 December 2004 tsunami, its reputation as the best shallow-water reef in Thailand attracted more than 30000 visitors per year to the 8km2 of fringing reef. Visitor management included fees, permits, specific activities management, a zoning plan and an information centre. Zoning plan exclusion areas included the area of highest biodiversity and a coral bleached area (for natural recovery). While management faced many long-term challenges, it was generally appropriate for the visitation level and threats to the reef system. The tsunami demolished all park infrastructure and effectively destroyed the capacity to manage. Major tourist operators were reduced, currently, from four to two, although dive-boats were largely unaffected. The biodiverse exclusion area and the area most used for snorkelling (near the park headquarters) were destroyed. While tourist arrivals were decimated, rapid recovery is expected with associated demand to access unaffected sites. The problem for management is to re-establish an effective presence and define a regime that is supportive of tourism-recovery, but meets long-term conservation objectives. This paper documents pre and post tsunami reef condition, visitor and operator expectations of management and possible approaches to short and long term management