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Thailand bans coral-damaging sunscreens in marine parks


Mekong
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Thailand has banned sunscreens containing chemicals that damage coral from all of its marine national parks. 

Concerns are growing that lotions tourists use for sun protection are harming slow-growing corals.

The Thai Department of Conservation said four ingredients commonly found in sun creams were shown to destroy coral larvae, obstruct coral reproduction and cause reef bleaching. 

Anyone flouting the ban can be fined up to 100,000 baht (£2,100).

However, officials have not said how they plan to enforce the new rule.

The banned lotions are those containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben.

Similar bans have been introduced by the Pacific island of Palau and the US state of Hawaii.

This is the latest attempt by the Thai government to protect its coral from the tourism industry. 

Maya Bay, on the island of Phi Phi Leh - made famous by its appearance in the film The Beach - has been closed since 2018 after most of its coral was destroyed.
 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58092472 
 

Typical, introduce a law without thinking about it, just when you think this Tin Pot Dictatorship couldn’t get more comical, if you don’t know how to enforce a new rule, don’t go running to the BBC and tell them such.

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HI,

Agree. The law itself sounds like a good idea, but perhaps mention which brands use these chemicals?
As for enforcing it, likely it the law on the beach will be whatever the local cop says it is. Gotta make sure to keep laws 'flexible' and 'open to interpretation'.

Sanuk!
 

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Without having any real knowledge of the subject, other than -

realising that the Tourist authorities, wish to have, more than anything, about 10 million Chinese folk tramping and stomping on, and taking little bits of, the broken coral home, - 

I reckon their "Sun Screen" is more like skin whitener-er and wrinkle remover-er, with the added benefit of reducing the toxic waste from chemicals problem, in the PRC, by exporting it on the epidermis of tourists.

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