NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The "Thai-US Friendship Trail" at Khao Yai National Park will serve as a model learning centre for pollution control management and enhanced ecological awareness, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP).
Digital technology will also be introduced for educational purposes to aid visitors, with the new trail serving as a pilot project, National Park Office director Songtham Suksawang said.
Visitors will soon be able to download the department's smartphone app, providing them with useful information at signal points along the trail via Bluetooth, officials said.
The DNP said it hopes the nation's other 153 national parks take a cue from these forward-looking developments.
The new trail, which commemorates 200 years of US-Thai diplomatic ties, spans 2.3 kilometres and takes roughly an hour to traverse.
Bilateral ties were first forged in 1818 during the reign of King Rama III and former US president James Monroe.
Khao Yai, which comprises mixed forest, rainforest and meadows, already had six nature trails but this one differs by showcasing how the trees there have evolved over the last half a century. officials said.
"This trail will serve as an important learning centre for people who are interested in knowing more about the age of the trees inside the park," park chief Kanchit Srinoppawan said at the opening ceremony for the trail on Feb 8.
"All the trees on the trail are relatively young, about 50 years of age. They show how the forest can regenerate itself, unless it is hit by fires or land over-usage," he added.
The new nature trail is in a part of the forest that served as a US Army base during the Laos crisis. Flora and fauna have regenerated over the past 58 years.
US troops were stationed in the forested area inside the park from 1959-61 during the Laos crisis. Previously, it was inhabited by forest dwellers.
After the US troops left, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat designated the area as the nation's first national park in 1962. He ordered the villagers to relocate elsewhere.
The ceremony marking the trail's launch was attended by Gen Surasak Karnjanarat, the minister of natural resources and environment, officials from the parks department, and representatives from the US government, provincial authorities, local communities and the private sector.
Remnants from the former US base can still be found in the park, including some of the footprints of the troops, a helipad that is now used by Thai air force personnel manning the Kao Kiew radar station, and bottle brush trees -- which US troops brought over from Australia.
Representatives from Washington returned to the area recently to foster greater collaboration between DNP and America's National Park Service.
In September 2013, the two agencies signed a compact dubbed the SPARK Project (Sister Parks Arrangement for Resources and Knowledge Sharing).
US experts on park management have since given advice on how to improve the way national parks in Thailand are run, as well as offering important tips on land zoning and pollution control.
Under the scheme, Khao Yai has become a sister park to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Although not exactly twins, the two parks share a number of similarities.
Both offer spectacular wildlife viewing, streams and waterfalls, lush mountain forests and valuable biological resources.
They are also the most visited national parks in their respective countries.
This means they face similar challenges associated with high visitor usage along with the potential impact of the way adjacent land is used and developed, according to Peter Haymond, who since October last year has served as the caretaker ambassador at the US embassy in the role of charge d'affaires.
Khao Yai ranks as the nation's No.1 national park, affording lucky visitors glimpses of Asian elephants, gaurs, Indian muntjacs, Indochinese serows, wild boars and more.
Dale Ditmanson, a national park adviser with the Global Park Programme and a former chief of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, said the main concern for Khao Yai is how to safeguard the local environment from the perils of heavy tourism, notably the abundance of waste they leave behind.
He said he has suggested a technical system for the improved treatment of waste water there, adding that educating visitors about nature is key to protecting the environment.
He also proposed that an official hiking route be established at the national park.
The other six nature trails are: the Visitor Centre-Kong Kaeo Waterfall (1.2km), the Pha Kluaimai Waterfall-Heo Suwat Waterfall (3km), the Nong Pak Chi Wildlife Watching Tower (3.3km), the Dong Tiew-Sai Sorn Reservoir (2.7km), the Dong Tiew-Nong Pak Chi Wildlife Watching Tower (5km) and the Visitor Centre-Heow Suwat Waterfall (8km).
Some 10 million people visited Khao Yai last year.