Sustainable development is vital in order for Thailand to continue to develop as in previous years. However, sustainable development cannot be achieved if the amount of macroplastic littering into the oceans does not decrease. In order to facilitate future decision making regarding this issue, this report aims to identify which human activities that contribute the most to the present macroplastic waste items on Thai shorelines. This identification was performed through a simplified material flow analysis based on observations and simple calculations on the island Koh Chang in Ranong. A comparative study was performed on the dissimilar island Koh Larn in Pattaya in order to eliminate any error factors caused by the specific environment on Koh Chang. It was deduced that Grocery Consumption, Fishing and Dining were the Key Activities on the two islands that contributed to the present macroplastic waste. Tourism was also shown to be a great contributor. The study did not find any signs of a current Rate of Accumulation on Koh Chang. However, there were always macroplastic waste items present in the sampling areas which implies that they might pose a threat to the ecosystems. Further research is needed in order to find a suitable solution for this problem. / En hållbar utveckling är central för att Thailand ska kunna fortsätta utvecklas på samma sätt som skett de senaste åren. Hållbar utveckling kan dock inte uppnås om mängden makroplaster som hamnar i haven inte minskar. För att underlätta framtida beslutsfattande ämnar denna rapport att identifiera de mänskliga aktiviteter som i störst utsträckning bidrar till de makroplastföremål som går att finna på thailändska kuststräckor. Denna identifiering utfördes genom en simplifierad materialflödesanalys som baserades på observationer och simpla beräkningar på ön Koh Chang i Ranong. En jämförande studie utfördes på den annorlunda ön Koh Larn i Pattaya för att eliminera felfaktorer som kan ha uppstått på grund av Koh Changs specifika förutsättningar. Studien visade att Livsmedelskonsumption, Fiske, och Restaurangbesök var de Nyckelaktiviteter som bidrog till det befintliga makroplastavfallet. Turism visade sig också vara en stor bidragare till makroplastavfall. Studien kunde inte visa på någon Ackumuleringsgrad på Koh Chang. Trots detta fanns alltid makroplastföremål närvarande i provtagningsområdena på Koh Chang, vilket antyder att dessa föremål skulle kunna innebära ett hot mot ekosystemen. Vidare efterforskningar krävs för att hitta en passande lösning på problemet.

<p>This essay is the result of a field study in Ko Lanta in Thailand, during October-December 2009. The purpose of the study was to document the traditional religion of Urak Lawoi and to analyze in what way their life and beliefs have changed during the last 20 years.</p><p>Urak Lawoi is the name of one of the sea nomadic ethnic groups who lives along the shores of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. They are spread on many of the islands in the Andaman Sea archipelago and Ko Lanta is the main settlement. Ural Lawoi is regarded as the indigenous people of the island and they live there as a minority with Muslims and Thai-Chinese.</p><p>The traditional religion of Urak Lawoi is built upon the animistic belief of their ancestors. The religious leader and link between the spirit world and the humans is the To Maw. The family bonds are strong in the Urak Lawoi community and the elders play an important role in life and after death, when they can keep on watching out for their offspring. For the living it is important to do the rituals and ceremonies in the right way to obtain good luck and avoid bad luck.</p><p>In the last 20 years Ko Lanta has experienced a tremendous process of change caused by the increasing tourism. The conditions of the Urak Lawoi and their way of life have dramatically changed. The modern society with money economy, new technical solutions and a rationalized large-scale fishing has rapidly changed their way of life. The tsunami catastrophe, and the following attention from help organizations and missionary activities, has escalated the process. The traditional religion and culture of the Urak Lawoi is still present on the island but it is declining and changing under the influence of the constant pressure from other interests.</p>

This essay is the result of a field study in Ko Lanta in Thailand, during October-December 2009. The purpose of the study was to document the traditional religion of Urak Lawoi and to analyze in what way their life and beliefs have changed during the last 20 years. Urak Lawoi is the name of one of the sea nomadic ethnic groups who lives along the shores of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. They are spread on many of the islands in the Andaman Sea archipelago and Ko Lanta is the main settlement. Ural Lawoi is regarded as the indigenous people of the island and they live there as a minority with Muslims and Thai-Chinese. The traditional religion of Urak Lawoi is built upon the animistic belief of their ancestors. The religious leader and link between the spirit world and the humans is the To Maw. The family bonds are strong in the Urak Lawoi community and the elders play an important role in life and after death, when they can keep on watching out for their offspring. For the living it is important to do the rituals and ceremonies in the right way to obtain good luck and avoid bad luck. In the last 20 years Ko Lanta has experienced a tremendous process of change caused by the increasing tourism. The conditions of the Urak Lawoi and their way of life have dramatically changed. The modern society with money economy, new technical solutions and a rationalized large-scale fishing has rapidly changed their way of life. The tsunami catastrophe, and the following attention from help organizations and missionary activities, has escalated the process. The traditional religion and culture of the Urak Lawoi is still present on the island but it is declining and changing under the influence of the constant pressure from other interests.

Urak Lawoi is the name of one of the sea nomadic tribes which lives along the shores of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. They are spread on many of the islands in the Andaman Sea archipelago and Ko Lanta is the main settlement. Urak Lawoi is regarded as the indigenous people of the island and they live there as a minority together with Muslims and Thai-Chinese.  The traditional religion and culture of Urak Lawoi is built upon the animistic belief of their ancestors. In the last 20 years Ko Lanta has experienced a tremendous process of change caused by increasing tourism. The conditions of the Urak Lawoi and their way of life have dramatically changed. The fact that this process brings consequences for the traditional culture and religion is obvious, but in what direction is it developing? To be able to interpret and expound the material from my field studies among Urak Lawoi on Ko Lanta in October-December 2009, I have done a literature search to investigate the animistic traditions and the syncretistic nature of belief in Thailand. I have also tried to find theories about the process of religious change and the forces working behind them. In this essay I am trying to do a theoretical analysis of the field study material using theories and parallel examples I have found in the literature.