Karen activists will ask Unesco to delay considering the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex as a potential world heritage site.
Wut Boonlert, leader of the Karen Network for Culture and Environment in Ratchaburi province, said locals want Unesco’s World Heritage Committee to postpone the consideration for at least one year so state agencies can consult them on forest management.
Mr Wut said his network fears that listing the forest complex as a heritage site will affect the livelihoods of Karen people, since the rights of hill tribes are routinely ignored.
His warning came yesterday after Kamol Nualyai, chief of the Kaeng Krachan National Park, said Thailand would propose the matter for consideration during the 39th session of the WHC, held in Germany between June 28 and July 8.
“We have been left in the dark as to how our livelihoods will be affected if the park is listed, since no state agencies have come to explain that our traditional way of life will be protected,” Mr Wut said.