Small steps make a big difference

Ahead of World Environment Day, a group of local environmentalists gathered on the shores of Thailand’s coastal city of Pattaya for a beach cleaning event, to address the growing issue of domestic waste polluting the ocean, exacerbated by the return of post-pandemic tourism.

The sight of beverage bottles, plastic bags, food packaging and discarded ropes strewn across the once-pristine shoreline deeply troubled Amara Wichithong, a 60-year-old environmentalist and former windsurfing world champion.