There has recently passed a competition between organizations proposing their plans to build a memorial dedicated to tsunami victims. A total of 379 companies from 43 countries initially took part in the competition and submitted their designs, but only five made the shortlist. It is known that the memorial is to be built in Khao Lak-Lumru national park. However, designers will have to change their designs as environmentalists are concerned the memorial to the Dec 26, 2004 tragedy may damage the fragile ecosystem of the park. Designers representing teams from Finland, the United States, Spain, China, and Australia said their initial drawings had been made in a way to ensure the memorial would blend in with the park's environment. But still, they had to reduce the size of the structures to minimise any impacts, after visiting the site a few weeks ago.

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