Against the tide: 'Floating temple' defies coastal erosion

SAMUT CHIN, Thailand - As sea waters slowly rose around his temple and his neighbors fled inland, Thai abbot Somnuek Atipanyo refused to budge and is today a symbol of the fight to restore the country's fast-eroding coastlines.

A dangerous combination of climate change, industrial farming and rapid urbanization are endangering the Gulf of Thailand's coasts, stripping away precious mangrove trees and leaving some buildings like Somnuek's surrounded by seawater.

In the 30 years since the waters started encroaching, most of his neighbors in the village of Samut Chin moved several hundred meters inland to rebuild their wooden homes.