birding-aus

[OB] Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

To: Carl Clifford <>
Subject: [OB] Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
From: Denise Goodfellow <>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2015 00:47:39 +0930
Thanks Carl, I sure will.

Denise
Denise Lawungkurr  Goodfellow
PO Box 71
Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841
043 8650 835

PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.

Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia
Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International  Ecotourism Award, 2004.

With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent 
becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian.
















On 18 Apr 2015, at 8:15 pm, Carl Clifford <> wrote:

> Something to consider if you are thinking of birding in Thailand's National 
> Parks.
> 
> Carl Clifford
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: " [orientalbirding]" 
>> <>
>> Date: 18 April 2015 6:40:08 pm AEST
>> To: <>
>> Subject: [OB] Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
>> Reply-To: 
>> 
>> 
>> I wonder how many birding visitors to Kaeng Krachan National Park, 
>> Phetchaburi Province, Thailand, are aware of the unsavoury nature of the 
>> human rights issues looming over the park? There are a number of long 
>> established Karen villages inside the park. One year ago, as Kong Rithdee’s 
>> column in Bangkok Post newspaper of 18 April 2015 reminds us, a Karen rights 
>> activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, known as “Billy”, who lived in one of 
>> these villages, was arrested inside Kaeng Krachan National Park allegedly 
>> for the heinous crime of possessing a wild honeycomb and six bottles of wild 
>> honey. Park chief Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn said that Billy was released after 
>> receiving a warning. But nobody can confirm that Billy was ever again seen 
>> as a free man after having been taken into custody by national park 
>> authorities. Investigators who examined camera footage confirmed that there 
>> were no photographs of Billy being released. Billy has been “disappeared”! 
>> Police, family, friends and villagers all searched for Billy in vain. Not a 
>> trace was ever found—he was never seen again.
>> 
>> It is no secret that Billy was regarded by national park authorities as a 
>> troublemaker, having led protests against forced evictions from the forest. 
>> In one such eviction, uniformed men in helicopters descended on a Karen 
>> village inside Kaeng Krachan National Park and burnt that village to the 
>> ground.
>> 
>> In an unrelated case, the same park superintendent was also tried, along 
>> with four other officials, for the alleged murder of another Karen rights 
>> defender, Mr Tabkamol Ob-om in 2011. Mr Tabkamol was shot dead while driving 
>> in Phetchaburi (town). Last October the court acquitted Mr Chaiwat and his 
>> co-defendants due to “unsubstantial [sic] evidence”. Karen people inside 
>> Kaeng Krachan are said now to live in fear of government officials. (Source: 
>> Bangkok Post Commentary, 18 April 2015)
>> 
>> This has major implications for the Thai authorities, ever chasing the 
>> tourist dollar, especially as Kaeng Krachan National Park is being assessed 
>> for World Heritage status under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The 
>> authoritarian Thai government will likely do its best to pretend that all is 
>> well in the forest, and that nothing amiss ever happened. Will UNESCO 
>> collude in this, and sweep both social and environmental management concerns 
>> under the carpet as it has done before in Thailand, at Khao Yai National 
>> Park, for example? Or will it this time concede that there are serious 
>> concerns over protected area management in Thailand?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> __._,_.___
>> Posted by: 
>> Reply via web post                           •       Reply to sender         
>>                 •       Reply to group                          •       
>> Start a New Topic               •       Messages in this topic (1)           
>>             
>> This group is run in association with the Oriental Bird Club. To find out 
>> more about the Club and its conservation work, and to become a member, 
>> please visit www.orientalbirdclub.org
>> VISIT YOUR GROUP New Members 1
>> • Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use 
>> .
>> 
>> 
>> __,_._,___
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR> 
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU