The world-heritage Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary is not a typical nature reserve. Located in Uthai Thani and Tak provinces, it has been enshrined as a symbol of wildlife conservation by the legacy of its former chief and renowned conservationist, Seub Nakhasathien.
So it is no surprise that the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP)'s recent plan to develop safari tourism on the edge of the sanctuary has drawn resistance from many.
The project stems from a feasibility study conducted by Kasetsart University's Faculty of Forestry and funded by the UN Development Programme. The safari tourism venture will offer driving tours and feature a canopy walkway. Plans require the construction of a 3-kilometre trail above the treeline and a hotel with restaurants and craft shops managed by local people. The trail will cost an estimated 100 million baht.
The safari zone will not be located within the sanctuary. Instead, it will be developed on 15,000 rai in the reserve's buffer zone. The zone has been designated as community forestry and is also home to locals. Unfortunately, there have been confrontations between these villagers and wild animals.
Despite strong evidence that human activities threaten the local wildlife, I welcome the project. That's not because I love jungles and safaris. Rather, I believe that wildlife tourism on the sanctuary's edge will help reduce the conflicts.
The plan has been slammed because many fear the safaris will affect the local environment and open the door for high-end resort development. Particularly fierce opposition has come from officials at the Royal Forestry Department and former DNP chief Damrong Phidet, who is now an MP.
The reality on the ground is, however, challenging and complex and very different from what concerned urban citizens might imagine.
The past few years has seen a growing number of confrontations between wild animals and local people living in buffer zones of this and other national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The trend is worrying. Communities have converted many buffer areas into farmland, whose crops lure wild animals out of the forest in search of food. Encounters with the hungry animals have led to several deaths in local communities.
It's the same story in the buffer zone of the Huai Kha Khaeng Sanctuary. The low-lying grassland located to the east is prime habitat for elephants, tigers, banteng and other wild animals. But locals also use it, to raise livestock and farm crops with the help of herbicides and pesticides. Currently, about 2,000 cows graze its pastures, risking the spread of fatal diseases to the sanctuary's wildlife.
The DNP believes wildlife tourism is the key to improving the relationship between humans and wild animals in the buffer zone. And that belief is backed by the success of the department's Kui Buri safari project.
More than two decades ago, locals growing pineapples on land next to a forest in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Kui Buri district waged war with a hungry herd of wild elephants.
A number of the jumbos were killed, mostly by electrocution. The DNP then decided to designate the forest as part of Kui Buri National Park and launched safari tourism there. It hired local people, including a few former wildlife hunters, to plan and run the tours, helping them to earn extra income.
I visited Kui Buri National Park for a wildlife tour many years ago. The tour was well managed by local people who complied with the DNP's rules set to prevent environmental damage.
The small-scale safari in Kui Buri has become popular after gaining the cooperation of the DNP, private sector, conservationists and, most important of all, local communities who play the leading role in protecting the wildlife.
Kui Buri villagers admitted to me that previously they had no reason to care for the wild animals. But with the growing popularity of local wildlife tourism, wild animals are now their precious assets.
The safari plans for Huai Khan Khaeng do not have to imitate the Kui Buri project in every detail, because each sanctuary has its own uniqueness and limitations. But one thing that the DNP can borrow from its own model is local participation and conservation principles.
The Thai-style safari at Kui Buri might not be grand-scale or generate huge income like wildlife tourism in Kenya, Botswana or Tanzania. But it serves the key purposes of promoting wildlife conservation and reducing confrontations between humans and wild animals.
The safari tourism planned for Huai Kha Khaeng must stick to the same goals. Otherwise, it's better to leave wild animals alone.
Anchalee Kongrut is an assistant news editor of the Bangkok Post.