SATUN, THAILAND – Behind the postcard beaches of Ko Lipe, the indigenous Urak Lawoi community has faced decades of severe shortages in water, electricity and waste services, with promised infrastructure upgrades not expected to take effect before the 2028–2029 budget years.
Chronic water crisis on a “paradise” island
For 22-year-old Sornnat Hantalay, a representative of the Urak Lawoi, the long-running water shortage remained the most urgent problem, even as Ko Lipe was marketed worldwide as a tropical holiday paradise. He reported that in the rainy season, floodwater entered village wells and made the water undrinkable, while in the dry season the island’s three community wells ran dry and residents had to travel by boat over rough seas to bring water from Ko Adang.
High power costs and mounting waste
Alongside the water crisis, residents said they paid electricity prices several times higher than those on the mainland, with no reliable long-term solution in sight. At the same time, the island of only about 3 square kilometres and 1,387 registered residents produced an average of 10–11 tonnes of waste per day, leaving a rubbish pile that reached more than 3,000 tonnes in 2025.
Ombudsman leads on-site review
After numerous complaints, Songsak Saicheua, president of the Office of the Ombudsman, travelled to Ko Lipe on 23 February with a cross-agency delegation to review long-delayed infrastructure projects. On board were representatives of the National Water Authority, Satun province and Tarutao National Park, as well as specialists from the water and power utilities, who inspected proposed routes for undersea cables and a raw water pipeline from Ko Adang.
Environmental rules slowed key projects
The inspections showed that earlier delays were mainly caused by overlapping land-use restrictions within the national park and strict technical requirements to protect the environment. Songsak underlined that the new planning was clearer than previous drafts and was based on a “three-track approach” covering energy and water supply, the management of tourism traffic and improved waste and health services.
Three pillars for Ko Lipe’s future
The core of the package was a planned memorandum of understanding between the Department of National Parks, the Provincial Electricity Authority and the Provincial Waterworks Authority to enable undersea cables and a raw water pipeline from Ko Adang. The agreement was to be submitted to the cabinet for a decision, with tangible progress expected in the 2028–2029 budget years.
In addition, an area of more than 3 rai in the national park was to be converted into a central one-stop service centre for immigration and tourist services. A permanent public route was to be established for transporting waste to the mainland, and the health promotion hospital on Ko Lipe was to be expanded for residents and the roughly 150,000 to 200,000 visitors who came each year.
Uncertain timeline, high expectations
Songsak stressed that the visit was more than a routine inspection and would be seen as a step toward systematically addressing the long-standing shortages in essential services. For the Urak Lawoi community, the success of the plans ultimately depended on whether political commitments would translate into working taps, stable electricity and cleaner shorelines, keeping the island’s booming tourism industry viable in the long term.