Protest against Oil Drilling in Samui Island

Photo shows a dummy oil rig, launched by community folk off the coast of Samui to symbolize the dangers of such a project to marine ecosystems and biodiversity, during a protest-at-sea organized by the Siam Gulf Preservation Network Group and joined by the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior. Samui is one of Thailand’s top tourist destinations, and the islands around it such as Kho Tao and Kho Phangan are valued for their coral reefs. Communities in the province are protesting a planned offshore drilling project just five kilometers from Samui Island. Greenpeace has joined the protest in solidarity with community movements and is calling on the Government of Thailand to abandon its fossil-fuel driven development plans and immediately adopt measures to safeguard marine biodiversity in the Gulf of Thailand and the livelihoods of its coastal communities.