Marine parks get Asean heritage nod

Marine parks get Asean heritage nod

Tourists enjoy snorkeling at the Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang province. (File photo)
Tourists enjoy snorkeling at the Hat Chao Mai National Park in Trang province. (File photo)

Two marine reserves in the South have been recognised as Asean Heritage Parks at the 15th Asean Ministerial Meeting on the Environment in Cambodia's Siem Reap, according to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa.

Mr Varawut made the announcement on Thursday after leading a Thai delegation which included Thanya Netithammakul, director-general of the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, at the meeting held from Monday to Wednesday.

The minister said Hat Chao Mai National Park and Mu Ko Libong Reserve in Trang and Ang Thong Marine National Park in Surat Thani, both under the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, have been approved as the 45th and the 46th Asean Heritage Parks.

The three other new Asean Heritage Parks named were Lo Go-Xa Mat National Park and Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve, both in Vietnam, and the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary in Myanmar, he said.

Heritage park approval is based on criteria including uniqueness, diversity and outstanding values, and management plans.

Hat Chao Mai National Park and the Mu Ko Libong non-hunting reserve in the Andaman are well known for their biodiversity and as habitats for endangered dugongs.

Ang Thong Marine National Park in the Gulf of Thailand is formed by 42 small islands and is known for its beaches, caves and coral formations.

They are Thailand's fifth and sixth heritage parks after the Khao Yai National Park, Tarutao Marine Park, Ao Phangnga-Mu Koh Surin-Mu Koh Similan Marine National Park, and the Kaeang Krachan forest complex.

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