It is just small news, just another report of deaths. Two forest rangers were killed earlier this month by illegal poachers in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, in the country's rich Western Forest Complex.
Some 97% of the tiger population has disappeared from the planet during the last century. Currently, there are only 3,200 tigers left in the world—300 of them in Thailand. — Photo by Staffan Widstrand/WWF
Death is an occupational hazard for these forest rangers who receive about 9,000 baht as a monthly salary for protecting our natural resources. The lush forest covering 19,000km2, and comprising of 17 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, has been a quasi-war zone between powerful poachers and underfunded and understaffed forest rangers.
Poachers come to hunt wild animals armed with AK-47s and other high-calibre rifles. They can afford the weapons, since the income from illicit wildlife trading is only second to drug smuggling.
The news of those deaths was replaced by the more widespread report of Mae Wong dam (to build or not to build), but actually these two reports are deeply related. They also represent the state of current environmental protection in Thailand.
The rangers may be equipped with more sophisticated guns to fend off poachers, but that's not the end of the problem, says Petch Manopawitr, conservation programme manager at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Thailand.
Petch and most conservationists now have something else to worry about besides poachers with weapons. For them, the state's development projects, such as the controversial Mae Wong dam and the 1117 highway construction from Khlong Lan district to Umphang district in Tak province, could be more devastating to the Western Forest Complex than the armed-and-dangerous hunters. Besides the damage from the construction, man-made facilities such as roads and access to dams will also give easy access to wild animals. But what conservationists fear most is the change in the forest's ecology. If the forest becomes submerged by water from dam reservoirs, large tracts will become fragmented and greatly affect its role as a wildlife habitat.
Petch Manopawitr, Conservation Program Manager at WWF Thailand.
"Many forest rangers have been killed to protect the forest and wild animals in the Western Forest Complex of Thailand. If the Mae Wong dam is built, all efforts that have been used in protecting the forest and wildlife in this area in the past 20 years will be thrown away," he says. Petch is a young-blooded conservationist under the anti-Mae Wong dam movement spearheaded by the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation and 24 other conservation groups. As Sasin Chalerm-larp, secretary-general of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation, underwent a 388km anti-dam walk last month, Petch took responsibility for giving media interviews and joining debates. His presence proves the anti-Mae Wong dam movement has received a lot of backing. Last month, the WWF, a respected international non-profit organisation, launched an official campaign opposing the government's initiative to build the dam. The WWF and the Department of National Parks released footage of tigers and other wild animals near the proposed construction site. Such images counter the government's and local politician's claims that the forest has already been degraded. The notorious dam project revives the debate on the importance of the area. Connecting with jungles in Myanmar, it is known as one of richest forests remaining in Southeast Asia. The Mae Wong dam project is one of 21 under the government's 350 billion baht water-construction project and will cost 13 billion baht. Protesting conservationists have suggested alternatives such as relocation or smaller water management structures, and furthermore, these conservationists accuse the state of covering up fact that the dam would play a very small role in managing floodwater.
For conservationists such as Petch, Mae Wong is not just a construction project.
"If the authorities succeed in building [the] dam in the national park, the case will pave the way for other projects to be built in protected areas," he said.
Past governments have tried and failed to build development projects in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, but public sentiment drummed up by conservationists has usually derailed the plans. This government, too, plans to push ahead with projects in protected areas, including electric cable cars, roads, dams, reservoirs and mines. Ideas for building high-end resorts have even been touted.
Building dams in large forests or rivers was popular several decades ago, but these projects declined during the last decade after reports of ecological damage and violation of communities' rights. The public has started questioning the benefits of large construction projects, and plans for these during the last decade _ dams to be built in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries _ were put on hold until the current government revived a series of dam projects with the purpose of minimising floods.
The Mae Wong debate might appear a fight between Luddites and technocrats, but in terms of scientific research, the construction of man-made structures in rich forests is a recipe for ecological meltdown _ a factor that speeds up the extinction of biodiversity and wildlife.
Latest research, published on Sept 26 in the US-based Science magazine by Luke Gibson, a researcher at National Singapore University (NSU), again put the spotlight on the construction of dams in Thailand and its effect on wildlife and forest ecology. From 2012 to this year, Gibson revisited Chiew Larn dam several times to check wildlife survival rates after the reservoir was built in the rich forest in the southern part of Thailand more than three decades ago. The negative press coverage of Chiew Larn dam was also given to similar projects. The reservoir was built and filled during 1986/87, leading to a major wild animal evacuation.
An official from the Royal Forestry Department who helped evacuate the animals was the late Seub Nakhasathien. Experiencing the death of some of these animals influenced Seub and other conservationists' anti-dam sentiments. Seub then joined the protest against Nam Chon dam _ another to be built in a national park. This protest succeeded and gave a boost for the conservation movement in Thailand.
Gibson's team confirmed the devastating effects of dam building, but there were also ecologists who came to study Chiew Larn. After the reservoir was filled up with water, the forest was divided into fragmented islands, cutting down wildlife habitat areas. Research conducted in early 1990 by David Woodruff of the University of California, San Diego, showed that wildlife survives better in larger forest habitats.
The study by Gibson's team found six of 12 species that were witnessed in the early 1990s, including the pencil-tailed tree mouse and the red spiny rat, have disappeared. Five other species have declined dramatically. For example, the 1993 survey turned up 47 common tree shrews, but only one has been found this year. "We documented the near-complete extinction of an entire group of animals," said Gibson's study.
The research confirmed the fears of local conservationists who firmly believe national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Thailand should be off-limits.
"Forest resources and wild animals are left in such small amounts that it makes no sense to discuss how to use [forest resources] or how to minimise impact. We should discuss how to preserve it. After all, human life depends on forest ecology," Petch said.
For Petch, the Mae Wong dam project is the first domino. Its construction will trigger a chain reaction for the direction of conservation in Thailand.
"If the authorities succeed in building Mae Wong dam in the national park, the case will pave the way for other projects to be built. All the conservation efforts during the last 20 years will be squandered. How can conservationists and forest rangers protect nature when they realise that the government and the authorities impose policies that destroy their work? Many people in conservation will be disheartened and some might give up," he said.
Petch added that the case of Mae Wong is not just about the protecting wild animals and the forest, or the passion of environmental activists.
"The dam will test the knowledge of Thai society on conservation as well. It will show whether we are mature enough to deal with the issue with rationality and knowledge," he said.
Burning ever-dimmer
The Mae Wong dam debate and the 388km walk put the spotlight on tigers and forests. Not many Thais know that this country is among only a handful in the world with a significant number of tigers, an endangered species. Ninety-seven percent of the tiger population disappeared from Earth during the last century. Currently, there are only 3,200 tigers left in the world _ 1,400 of them in India and 300 in Thailand.
Not many of us know that at a summit in St Petersburg in Russia in 2010, our Pheu Thai government and another 12 countries with wild tigers made a promise to double the population by 2022. Thailand is also part of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme.
We talk to Rungnapa Phoonjampa, manager of Mae Wong-Klong Lan National Parks Tiger Recovery Programme, WWF Thailand, on why we should care about tigers.
Why are tigers important to conservation efforts?
The tiger is an icon of forest conservation because it is the best index to show the health of forest ecology. Tigers stand on top of the food chain. If there are tigers, it means there are other animals. There is always hope for conservation if the forest still has a tiger population. When tigers perish, it means the end of forest ecology.
Then why should we care so much about forests?
We cannot survive without forests. The air we breathe and water we consume comes from the forest.
Why has the WWF and other conservation groups put so much effort into tiger conservation in the Western Forest Complex?
Thailand is a beacon of hope for tiger conservation in Southeast Asia. Tiger populations in other neighbouring countries such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have gradually disappeared. Tigers need sufficient gaming land and habitat with a sufficient food stock. The Western Forest Complex has 17 forest tracts _ enough for wildlife habitats. It also has systematic poaching prevention and patrolling in place.
Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said a tiny fraction of Mae Wong National Park will be used and there is plenty space for wildlife. What are your thoughts on this?
A forest is like a human body _ it has various organs and each organ is not created equal. The Mae Wong forest construction area may be small, but comparing it to the human body, the area is still a very crucial organ.
Can tigers move elsewhere, like we move to a new home or new apartment?
Forest ecology has various conditions. The area that is being chosen for the dam site is a riparian area _ a flat and vast section along a river. Animals love forest riparians. Even if you have a few hundred million baht, you cannot recreate the forest riparian ecology. Natural ecology is too complicated.
Can we just plant more forest and reproduce wildlife, like the government suggests?
It will be easier to preserve what we already have instead of destroying what we have and attempting to creating anew.
A camera-trap photo of a clouded leopard taken in Mae Wong National Park in May. — Photo courtesy of WWF Thailand
