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Planned LNG projects and land reclamation operations in the southern Thai province are taking a toll on its fishing communities.
Rayong fisherfolk identify the area of an LNG terminal during a recent discussion hosted by EarthRights International, the Foundation of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Rayong Clean Energy Network in Rayong province, Thailand, Mar. 1, 2025.
Fisherfolk in Thailand’s Rayong province are currently facing multiple impacts from industrial expansion in the region – in particular, the construction of a MapTaPhut Phase 3 port and the development of large-scale investment projects including liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including LNG terminal and regasification facilities. The expansion of LNG projects in the eastern provinces, part of Thailand’s plan to position itself as a regional LNG hub, has disturbed and now threatens to destroy the coastal fisheries resources that communities have long relied on.
“We used to fish regularly, and we are at ease earning money from fishing,” one fisherman in the Klonglawon community of Rayong province told researchers in 2025.
