As the city of Bangkok, Thailand, has grown, the need to provide food and an additional economic base for its burgeoning population has been a primary concern. Parts of the Thai coastline, including those near Bangkok, offer conditions favorable to aquaculture, especially shrimp aquaculture. Over time, as these satellite images from 1978 and 2002 reveal, the mangroves that once lined the coast near Bangkok, as well as the rice paddies that lay further inland, have been replaced by aquaculture ponds (blue patches inland) and urban structures (light purple). The promotion and development of aquaculture has led to the current situation, where farmed shrimp and fish production now exceeds that of shrimp and fish capture by traditional methods. The development of this coastal industry has raised environmental concerns, as extensive areas of mangroves have been destroyed to make way for aquaculture ponds. The challenge of balancing the needs of people living in coastal areas versus the welfare of the coastal areas themselves is ongoing, and repeated along many coastlines worldwide. View detailed information
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