Natural Resources Protection & Restoration

The Company aims to develop green areas within the three AMATA industrial estates to be a livable city with a good environment that promotes a better quality of life for workers in the industrial estates. The Company has set a target to have green areas at least 10 percent of the total developed area. The Company has prepared a master plan and determined green area development within AMATA industrial estates annually to continuously restore green areas in AMATA industrial estates. It defines types of plants based on forest types in Chonburi and Rayong provinces, according to the Royal Forest Department. Most terrestrial forests in Chonburi and Rayong are mixed-deciduous forests and dry evergreen forests.

In collaboration with factory operators in the AMATA Industrial Estates, the Company has initiated projects to revitalize abandoned public areas into community forests by planting local perennial plants in the degraded forest areas of the industrial estates. For instance, in the "Forest for Life" project spanning from 2019 to 2023, the Company partnered with Tokai Rika (Thailand) Co., Ltd. to reforest a 12-rai public area in AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate. In 2023, 5,800 trees were planted on 3 rai of land, and a total of 23,200 trees were planted on 9 rai of land over the project period.

Moreover, the Company has partnered with the AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate Office and the Bang Lamung Forest Conservation and Development Unit to launch the "Green Expansion and Natural Resource Conservation Cooperation Project (Community Forest Planting)" in the Bang Lamung National Reserved Forest, Moo 1, Khao Mai Kaeo Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.

This activity focuses on developing industrial estates in line with the Eco-Industrial Town concept, aiming to create an industrial community that coexists harmoniously with surrounding communities. This initiative aims to extend the development efforts beyond the industrial estate to the neighboring community, guided by the principle of collaborative engagement with all stakeholders. Over 300 volunteer employees and community members have participated in planting 2,000 trees of indigenous species like Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), Thai copper pod (Senna siamea), Siamese neem tree (Azadirachta indica), and Bullet wood (Mimusops elengi), fostering green spaces for the community forest in the years ahead.

This community forest planting activity has been ongoing for three consecutive years at the AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate. During the first and second years, a total of 4,000 trees were planted in the area around Phu Sai Reservoir, located in Moo 5, Khao Mai Kaew Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.

In 2023, the Company, in collaboration with the AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate Office and over 30 companies within the industrial estate, organized a fish release and mangrove planting event for the second consecutive year. This event was held to honor Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, on her 91st birthday. Over 20,000 fish were released, and more than 1,000 mangrove trees were planted at the Mangrove Conservation Learning Center in Khlong Tamru Subdistrict, Chonburi Province. This initiative serves not only to enrich natural resources but also to diversify fish species, providing future food sources and livelihoods for the community.

AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate is in the middle of a watershed, the Phu Sai Stream, which flows from the Khao Mai Kaeo watershed and runs through the industrial estate before reaching the Dok Krai Reservoir, which is a large reservoir with a capacity of over 79 million cubic meters and an area of more than 1,300 rai (2.08 square kilometers) in Rayong province. Although Dok Krai Reservoir is located outside the radius of 5 kilometers from AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate, it is an area that is important in terms of freshwater ecosystems and an important economic source for the community because it is a nursery for aquatic animals and local fishing areas for more than 500 households in Nikhom Phatthana district. This poses a threat to aquatic species, a significant part of the community's traditional means of subsistence, and is prompting surrounding populations to be concerned about potential effects on water quality.

As a result, the Company collaborates with the Rayong Provincial Fisheries and Freshwater Fisheries Resource Management Group at Dok Krai Reservoir, a community committee that oversees and controls reservoir utilization. Additionally, the Company works with various alliance groups, such as local authorities and factory operators in AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate, to develop the "Joint Development toward Sustainable Watershed” project. This project aims to preserve and restore water sources, including local aquatic animal species that provide a reliable source of income and food for the community and can also serve as effective water quality indicators.

              2023 is the 7th consecutive year that AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate collaborated with the Dok Krai Reservoir Fishery Management Group to organize the "Sustainable Water Conservation Project and Home-building for Fish by Youth". The project aimed to educate and promote water conservation among the youth in the area. This year, students from Suankularb Wittayalai Chonburi School worked together to build "Sung" or "Fish Homes" using ropes at the Dok Krai Reservoir in Phana Nikom subdistrict, Nikom Pattana district, Rayong Province. These fish homes serve as shelters and sanctuaries for released aquatic species, improving their chances of survival. Moreover, this initiative contributes to the biodiversity of species and the population of aquatic life in the vicinity of the fish homes. Consequently, the youth become more conscious of the ecosystem stewardship of water sources and take pride in contributing to the sustainable conservation of local natural resources.

Furthermore, AMATA City Rayong Company Limited and AMATA U Company Limited, in collaboration with the Dok Krai Reservoir Fisheries Resource Management Group, Rayong Provincial Fisheries Office, and the Phana Nikhom Subdistrict Administrative Organization, organized the "Sustainable Water Resource Conservation (Fish Stocking) Project" to promote tripartite cooperation in conserving natural resources among the government, private sector, and local communities at the Dok Krai Reservoir, Rayong Province. This project involved over 300 volunteer employees from both inside and outside the industrial estate, as well as members of the community. Together, they released over 230,000 fish, including Chinese carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Indian carp (Labeo calbasu), Silver barb (Barbonymus gonionotus), Giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy), and more than 150,000 Giant freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). These species are native to the Dok Krai Reservoir and have been surveyed and identified by the Rayong Provincial Fisheries Office. Since the project's inception until 2023, the companies have released a total of over 2,530,000 fish and have continuously constructed fish homes, called "Sung,” using ropes, to provide shelters and increase survival opportunities for the released aquatic species, while also enhancing biodiversity in the fish home area in terms of both species and population.

                             In addition to preserving local species and increasing the number of aquatic animals in Dok Krai Reservoir, these activities have increased community confidence in the quality of water flowing through AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate, which the Company has effectively managed, controlled, and monitored. In the future, the Company plans to conduct surveys on the diversity of aquatic animals in the Dok Krai Reservoir area in collaboration with Rayong Province Fisheries and the Dok Krai Reservoir Freshwater Fisheries Resource Management Group. This information will be used as basic information for biodiversity conservation efforts and future water quality assessments.