The House committee on security affairs has backed the construction of the Mae Wong dam.
Seub Nakasathien Foundation secretary-general Sasin Chalermlarp clarifies his doubts over the Mae Wong dam to the House committee on security affairs, which is looking into the controversy. APICHART JINAKUL
It says it is willing to choose the lives of the people who will be saved from flooding over the animals which the dam might put at risk.
Weng Tojirakarn, chairman of the House committee and a Pheu Thai list-MP, said the massive flooding two years ago did severe damage to the country and racked up a staggering death toll.
Of the total 30 billion cubic metres of water which engulfed property and farms, 800 million cu m came from the Sakae Krang River basin, Mr Weng said.
The Mae Wong dam will help hold back the water from the Sakae Krang River, he said. "The flood in 2011 was a nightmare. Everyone in the country should support flood prevention measures," Mr Weng said.
"We have lost 12,000 rai of forest [for the dam] but more than 30,000 rai of forest will be planted instead under this proposal. This is a worthy trade," he told a forum organised by the committee.
Veerakorn Kamprakob, a former Nakhon Sawan MP and a key supporter of the dam, said the Mae Wong dam shares the same function as the Khun Dan Prakarnchon dam in Nakhon Nayok which has stopped flash floods coming down from the mountains.
He said Lat Yao district of Nakhon Sawan province suffers severe flooding every year because the district is located 30 metres above sea level, while the area where the dam is planned is 130m above sea level.
"The country has 11.7 million rai for the Western Forest Complex and we have around 200 tigers living there.
"We need only 9,000 rai of forest for the dam. There will still be at least 100,000 rai of forest for each tiger," he said.
Environmentalists believe the dam will damage areas where the tigers hunt.
Sasin Chalermlarp, secretary-general of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation who opposes the dam, said his foundation's mission is to protect and preserve the Western Forest Complex, in keeping with the intentions of the late Sueb Nakhasathien.
Sueb was a former forestry officer and environmentalist who shot himself dead in 1990 in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary after desperate attempts to protect the forest.
Sueb had said nearby western forests, including the Mae Wong forest, must be protected as well.
"All academics know that plain areas along creeks are perfect places for wildlife to feed. There are only two such areas in Thailand _ Mae Wong and Huai Kha Khaeng," he said.
"Tigers will not die from drowning, but they may die from being hunted during the eight years in which the dam is being built," he said.