 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The
introduction of the rubber tree at
the beginning of this century, the oil palm in the
seventies and the rapidly growing population over
the last 50 years were the main reasons for the widespread
destruction of the rain forests in Southern Thailand.
Construction of dams for irrigation purposes started,
roads were cut through the forests and modern infrastructure
laid many areas bare. Hill tribes in the North burnt
the forest-covered hills to cultivate their crops
for a few seasons and small scale, family-based farming
transformed into export oriented agriculture with
large areas of land needed to plant corn, cassava,
oil palm and rubber. Farmland increased five times
during these fifty years and the forest-covered land
shrunk to less than 20% of Thailand's total land area. |
|
| |
|
| The
remarkable exception to
this devastation is the extensive system of national
parks, wildlife sanctuaries and other protected areas,
that has been established over the past forty years.
Different from other nations, where national parks
have been established several decades ago, for Thailand,
they are a recent development: the first, Khao Yai,
was established in 1961. Today, almost all of Thailand's
remaining natural forests, together with most of its
wildlife, are located in protected areas. Included
in this treasure are some of the last great forests
of mainland Southeast Asia and some marine habitats
in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. |
|
| |
|
| The
laws, that regulate
the protected areas of Thailand, state that areas,
declared a national park should be of natural interest
and should be preserved in its natural state, while
wildlife sanctuaries are set aside for the conservation
of wildlife habitat. Non-hunting areas and forest
parks have similar management aims and can be upgraded
if considered appropriate. |
|
| |
|
| Wildlife sanctuaries
are not generally open to
visitors although scientists can conduct research
within their boundaries. Some adjoin national parks
and allow wildlife a greater roaming range and corridors
to facilitate breeding. Together, these protected
areas cover 65,534 square kilometres or 12.8% of Thailand,
one of the highest ratios of protected area to total
country area in the world. |
|
| |
|
| Visitors
who are aware of the definition
of a national park may be astonished, when they visit
places like Phi Phi Island or Khao Yai, where hotels
have been built by private entrepreneurs, villages
by hill-tribes or "strategic" roads by influential
people to allow year round access to the remoter areas. |
|
| |
|
| Every
year fires destroy
valuable park areas and poaching and encroachment
exist in almost every protected area in Thailand.
Illegal loggers cross the inadequately defined and
poorly guarded park boundaries, squatters plant cassava,
jute and other crops and villagers hunt animals and
gather sap from trees by hollowing out their trunks
with fire. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 1996-2011 All Rights Reserved. South Orchid (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
P.O.
Box 267, Phuket Town, Phuket, Thailand 83000
Tel:+66 8 9170 4100 Fax:+66 7652 1735
Email: mail@nature-travel.org
Updated:
2011-10-02
|
|
|
|
|
