Parks bravery, and despair

EDITORIAL

Published: 23 Aug 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

There is both good news and bad news from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

The good news first _ which is despite all the talk about corrupt and inefficient officials, there are still some rare-breed officials whom we still can trust and feel proud of.

Among the handful of these officials is Damrong Pidech, chief of the department, who was recently hailed as a sort of a local hero who has the courage to stand up against the rich and powerful to protect the country's dwindling forests.

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kasper
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Discussion 7 : 23 Aug 2012 at 20.427
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As Mr. Damrung is the only one I know of out of thousands of officials who seem to actually care about Thailand, odds are unfortunately that the guy who gets his job will be one of those who are more interested in bribes than Thailand. I hope I am wrong!

It is a shame and a disgrace that Yingluck and the government is not more supportive of the one senior staff they have who is actually doing his job and doing what he can to fulfill the governments promise to get rid of corruption. I hope and trust the lack of government support does not discourage Mr. Damrong from continuing his valiant effort.
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pquinlan
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Discussion 6 : 23 Aug 2012 at 10.106
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Australian National Parks are largely free entry, the exceptions being a small handful of very popular or sensitive parks like Koziosko and Ularu. Some other parks charge a small entry on weekends, to reduce numbers because they are so good and well run that that are also very popular, eg Ku ring Gai Chase. But mostly they are free.

Certainly, when there is an admission fee it is applied to all comers regardless of race, colour, creed etc.

What gives, Thailand?
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amazed
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Discussion 5 : 23 Aug 2012 at 09.205
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Disc. 4 - I understand completely your comment and agree with everything accept leaving the illegal structures up, even if some money could be generated. In the environment we know as, Thailand, I'm sure you can appreciate that a crack in the law does not remain a crack for long. A message has been sent with no chance of misinterpretation and it's way past time.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 4 : 23 Aug 2012 at 08.494
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Here we go again. A few years ago they decided they weren't earning enough so they bumped foreigner fees up to 400 baht which was $12 and a newspaper did a survey, hanging outside a popular park and discovered that 70% of visitors turned away upon discovering the price. Awhile later I had the opportunity to meet the minister of tourism in 2007 at a tourist business forum and presented him with a list ( in both languages) of entrance fees of many world famous sites that were less than $12. When I brought it up he rolled his eyes as if he was tired of this complaint and was grateful for the list. Shortly after that a decision was made to lower the fees back down to 200 baht.

Some of these parks make a fortune by renting space to commercial businesses, such as resorts on Koh Samet, vendors on Doi Suithep at the temple, phi phi and so on, which no doubt is lucrative. Evidently non of the money is put back into those specific parks so my question is, where does all the money go. Why not be more transparent and allow these resorts to remain instead of wastefully destroying them, and use the money to maintain the rest so we can enjoy them at a reasonable entrance fee?
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tomb
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Discussion 3 : 23 Aug 2012 at 07.443
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Although I admire this guy for standing up against encroaches, increasing fees for foreigners to 500 baht is plain highway robbery.

It's a ripoff as there is usually not that much to see in these natural parks anyway.

Also, do away with the discriminatory dual pricing. It's simply disgusting.
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tcr
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Discussion 2 : 23 Aug 2012 at 07.182
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Ridiculous they charge money to visit Koh Samet. It isn't a national park at all. Just a way for some corrupt officials to make money.

But congrats on Damrong for trying to deal with this rampant, illegal encroachment on public property. Best of luck!
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amazed
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Discussion 1 : 23 Aug 2012 at 04.071
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An environmental group should support Mr. Damrong by insisting on a probe into the illegal occupation of the group or individual who requested the same of Mr. Damrong. I hope there are more in the Dept. that share the courage of Mr. Damrong. This small ember of anti-corruption should be nurtured to grow and spread.
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Parks bravery, and despair | Bangkok Post: opinion