Myanmar possesses a continuous coastline of about 2832 km and many beautiful beaches are attracting travellers from all over the world. Among these beaches in Myanmar, Ngapali beach is the major tourist attraction and is regarded as one of the most beautiful beaches in Asia due to its crystal clear blue water and white soft sand. In recent years, number of visitors in Ngapali has been increased significantly and hotel and resort capacities have been growing increasingly. This growth affects the negative impacts on the environment such as lack of public land and arrangement of hotels, blocking free access to beach and poor waste management system and so on. We have the responsibility to maintain and promote the sustainability of our environment where we live in. Therefore, the research aims to solve the problems related to the environmental impact affected by the development of hotel zones in Ngapali beach by promoting Green practices in hotels and resorts.
Firstly, the background history, tradition and culture of the selected region will be briefly studied. Then the importance of Green hotels and resorts for the sustainable coastal areas, evolution of Green buildings and rating system in Myanmar will also be studied. Secondly, the study will focus the literature review on ASEAN Green hotel standards, MNBC Green guidelines and Orders for sustainable coastal areas published by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar. Furthermore, Green awarded hotels and resorts in Ngapali are selected and study on the eco-features and use of green products of these resorts in comparison with the criteria of ASEAN Green hotel standards by making case studies. Finally, this research will provide the understanding of basic architectural design requirements useful for the Green practices of resorts which can minimize the negative impacts on the environment of Ngapali beach.
Keywords – sustainable, eco-resort, Ngapali beach, green practices, eco-features, green
Ei Khine Kyaw - Master’s student, Department of Architecture, Technological University (Hmawbi), Yangon, Myanmar
Myint Win - Professor and Head, Department of Architecture, West Yangon Technological University, Myanmar