Some 60 million years ago, the tectonic plate on which the Indian subcontinent rests precipitated a collision that creating a ripple effect across Southeast Asia, the uplifting of land causing the formation over time of many mountain ranges. Most of these run from north to south creating a blanket upshot across northern Thailand as well as areas in Myanmar and Laos. This terrain is divided into many mountains and valleys with rivers that bring life to the region and its people.
The North is essentially a series of mountain ridges folded between two mighty offshoots of the Himalayan range: the Dawa-Tenasserim in the West and the Annamite range in the East. From 80,000 to 140,000 years ago, the giant panda lived in these mountains. Fossil remains have been found in a cave in Mae Hong Son by palaeontologists from the Department of Resources and French colleagues. Rhino were common and many remains have come forth.
Going back even further to 10 million years ago, ancestors of the orangutan thrived here and fossilised teeth of these great apes have been uncovered in lignite mines in Phayao province. The rainforest ecosystems had a vast array of flora and fauna.
Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, a small group of Hoabinhians (the term used by archaeologists) or Stone Age men lived as hunter-gatherers in a narrow gorge named Ob Luang southwest of Chiang Mai. These people camped under a rocky ledge near Mae Chaem River and left red-and-white cliff drawings depicting the wildlife at the time. The fragmented remains of these prehistoric paintings can still be seen today. These people used stone tools and depended heavily on wild animals for subsistence.
During the Bronze Age, people established permanent settlements nearby, leaving behind signs of civilisation including bronze tools, jewellery and pottery. With more advanced weapons, they began to decimate the wildlife and clear the forests for agriculture and a more settled existence. With the advent of the Iron Age and increased populations and better weapons, hunters began to have a significant impact on the surrounding forests and animals.
Forest-clearing increased as populations became bigger. Settlements along the rivers were the first to be established.
In the old days, large carnivores like the tiger, leopard and bear were found in all these thick forests. Huge herds of gaur, banteng and elephant lived off the profuse vegetation and proliferated. These megafauna lived in the precipitous mountains and thrived on an abundant supply of food, using mineral deposits for supplements.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the mountains and valleys of northern Thailand were still covered with extensive natural teak and deciduous forests. Unfortunately, much of the area has since been heavily logged, cultivated and/or encroached upon.
Humans laid siege to the land, so to speak. When logging concessions were in full swing, with loggers living off the land as they penetrated deeper and deeper into virgin forest tracts, these companies practically wiped out many places before a ban on logging was imposed in 1989 and conservation and protection measures came into play. The logging firms reaped huge profits from natural resources that had evolved over millions of years. This sad chain of events caused such great destruction that the few watersheds that remained had only moderate water-retention capability, hence the large-scale flooding we witnessed in downstream areas last year.
November in northern parts of the Kingdom is a time of beauty. The skies are normally a cloudless blue and the weather is crisp and cool. Early-morning fog blankets the lower valleys. Rivers and streams run crystal clear. It is the end of the rainy season so waterfalls are at their most spectacular.
In some areas, animals like goral and serow (rare goat-antelopes) still live on rocky crags while deer, wild pigs and wild dogs roam through upland forests. Birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians plus a huge array of plant life continue to flourish. Nature reigns supreme. But these biospheres are coming under ever greater pressure as time passes.
All the provinces of the North, from Tak and Uttaradit up to Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Phrae and Nan were once blessed with ecosystems like this. But the North's original pristine beauty now remains primarily in only a few protected areas, the most important of which are described below.
Doi Inthanon National Park
Doi Inthanon is Thailand's highest mountain, rising to 2,595 metres above sea level, and is part of the Thanon Thongchai Range that extends south from the Shan hills of Myanmar to the province of Tak. Situated southwest of Chiang Mai, this 482km2 national park was gazetted in 1972 and is now one of the most visited in the country. The Royal Thai Air Force maintains a radar station on the peak and the Department of National Parks (DNP) is responsible for the park. The site is heavily visited by both Thai and foreign tourists due to its significance as the highest place in the country.
The park's geology of granitic batholith enables it to support several different types of forest. The most notable of these is at the peak where montane evergreen forest abounds. Native pines grow at the moderate to higher elevations and a sphagnum bog exists at the summit, the only one in Thailand. Important species are the green-tailed sunbird, which is endemic here, and the Himalayan newt (crocodile salamander) found in the bog.
The national park was once under full forest cover and wildlife commonly found here some 50 years ago included elephant, gaur, banteng and tiger. However, most of the larger fauna have now disappeared due to poaching and encroachment by the hill-tribe and lowland people. A few sambar (Thailand's largest deer) and smaller mammals like barking deer, wild pig, black bear and a few primates can still be found, but all in very small numbers. Goral and serow still survive on Kew Mae Pan cliff. Birds predominate in this landscape and some 383 different species have been recorded here. Doi Inthanon is one of the top bird-watching sites in the country.
The influx of hill tribes, first Hmong and later Karen with their practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, has decimated forests from the 1,500-metre level down to the lowlands. Opium was once the Hmong's main cash crop, but has now been replaced by rice, vegetables, flowers, fruit and coffee. In the old days, the Karen were mainly hunters and filled the pot with anything edible. With an ever-increasing human population which now uses modern agricultural techniques and mechanised transport, this park is under serious threat; there is nowhere to expand except outwards.
Like most protected areas in the country that have people living in them, it seems that parts of Doi Inthanon have degenerated to the point of no return. The park has been overcome by modernisation and it will continue to decline. Probably the most destructive element is the amount of pollution generated by the thousands of vehicles (cars, vans, pick-up trucks and buses) which ply the road daily. And the traffic continues to increase. Recent surveys of birds show a drop in numbers of some 50% over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, it is a downhill run to extinction for many species of flora and fauna at this location.
Doi Suthep-Pui National Park
The twin peaks of Doi Suthep and Doi Pui, west of the city of Chiang Mai, rise from the valley floor to heights of 1,601 and 1,685 metres, respectively. The 261km2 area was finally gazetted as a national park in 1981. Unfortunately, due to its proximity to the city, it has been extensively logged and poached for everything it contains. Wild orchids, other flowers and plants, plus mammals and birds have been the prime targets. Once upon a time, elephants, gaur and tiger were common, but they were quickly wiped out by people living in the vicinity.
The park contains two waterfalls, Huai Kaeo and Monthathan, that the locals use for recreation. Several Buddhist temples are dotted around the park, the most famous being Wat Phra Borommathat Doi Suthep which is visited by tens of thousands of local and foreign tourists each year. The road at the top, to Phu Ping Palace, has been widened and other road surfaces have been improved. Continued pressure on the park from more and more traffic and visitors can only have an adverse effect in the long term.
Mae Tuen and Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuaries
Situated in Tak and Chiang Mai provinces, respectively, these important contiguous sanctuaries together cover an area of some 2,397km2. They thus constitute the largest conservation area in northern Thailand. They are bordered to the east by Mae Ping National Park, that is bisected by the Ping River flowing into the reservoir for Bhumibol Dam in Tak province. Unfortunately, this lake acts as a gateway to the sanctuaries and park by allowing easy access by boat. The locals are allowed to fish in the reservoir, but poaching and gathering continues to be a problem for the DNP.
Goral is found here, too, with a dozen or so animals on Doi Montjong in Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuary. Unlike the serow, which is found more widely in Thailand, the goral is highly endangered. Its future is grim indeed as many Hmong and Karen people still live within the sanctuaries, engaging in poaching, encroachment and slash-and-burn agriculture. This is also one of the last sites in the North for wild elephant. Only a few herds remain. Gaur and banteng have been reported, but their numbers are few. As time marches on, they could eventually disappear from this pair of sanctuaries that together constitute the largest northern refuge for Thailand's large mammals. Very few surveys have been conducted here.
Smaller parks and sanctuaries
There are many other areas in the North that have been designated as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and non-hunting areas. Of these, the most notable are Mae Lao-Mae Sae and Doi Luang Chiang Dao wildlife sanctuaries in Chiang Mai province, another haven for goral; Namtok Mae Surin National Park, and the Salawin and Lum Nam Pai wildlife sanctuaries in Mae Hong Son province; Doi Khun Tan and Namtok Chae Son national parks in Lampang province; Mae Yom National Park in Lampang and Phrae provinces; and Chiang Saen Lake Non-Hunting Area in Chiang Rai.
All these and many other sites not mentioned here are threatened by the small minority of people who seem intent on continuing to abuse Thailand's natural resources for their own benefit. As human populations in the North continue to increase, encroachment into protected areas becomes more difficult to control. The future seems bleak.
Looking back, trying to apportion blame for the enormous damage that has been wrought would be rather like the pot calling the kettle black. Yet if we could turn the clock back 100 years, and if all those responsible had used careful, selective cutting and true conservation techniques, most of these forests could have been saved. Dwelling on the past is thought by many to be a waste of time. Yet hindsight can provide us with valuable knowledge, if only we are willing to take a little time and trouble to learn from the mistakes made by those who came before us. Acting on the insights thus gained would enable us to save Thailand's remaining natural treasures for the benefit of our children and future generations.
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