MARINE DEBRIS ACCUMULATION ON THE BEACH IN LIBONG, A SMALL ISLAND IN ANDAMAN SEA, THAILAND

Marine debris is a global issue and a hot topic in Thailand. This study involved collecting and quantifying various types of debris at Libong Island. The study area is Libong Island, a small Island in Andaman Sea, with high biodiversity and an important source of sea grass providing a significant and vital habitat for endangered dugongs. Debris was collected on sandy beach and mud beach areas between May and August 2019. The results indicated that the ceramic and glass debris was found in the greatest number followed by plastic and other debris, thin plastic and hard plastic. The major contributing factor for the debris abundance in Libong beach was the shoreline and recreational activities which showed that the land-based sources provided major inputs of plastic pollution at the beaches. The calculation of the Clean Coastal Index (CCI) of Libong Island yielded a result of 5.8 at the sandy beach whereas at the mud beach was 0.65. Thus, the sandy beach was classified as moderately clean and the mud beach was classified as very clean.