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Kultida Samabuddhi
The impact of a planned border golf
course on forest land can be kept to a minimum, the government says, but
conservationists say pristine land will be lost forever.
The protected status of land in Doi Phu Jong-Na Yoi national park in
Ubon Ratchathani's Nam Yuen district will be revoked to enable
construction of the course, which will have fairways in Thailand, Laos
and Cambodia.
How much land will be lost is not known, but deputy Agriculture and
Co-operatives Minister Prapat Panyachatrak said tourism should come
first.
``It is necessary to revoke the national park status to serve tourism
because the activity will bring in a large amount of revenue,'' said Mr
Prapat, who supervises the Forestry Department.
Cabinet secretary-general Visanu Krue-ngam on Monday said Cambodia and
Laos had agreed with a Thai cabinet decision to turn the Emerald
Triangle area into a tourist spot with a golf course, resorts, war
museum and a centre for mountain climbing and trekking. Mr Prapat said
the national park was already a degraded forest, so the impact need not
be severe.
But Watana Kaeokamnerd, a former forestry deputy director-general, said
the forest was still pristine, especially in the border area were
landmines deterred people from encroaching on the land. The national
park was part of the Pha Taem Protected Forest Complex Area, widely
known as a biodiversity-rich zone, he said.
Mr Watana said the park also came under the department's project on
Management of Pha Taem Protected Forest Complex to Promote Co-operation
for Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation between Thailand, Cambodia
and Laos.
``The government must reveal the details so ecologists can assess
possible adverse effects on the biodiversity programme,'' said Mr
Watana. Sayamon Kraiyurawong, of the Project for Ecological Recovery,
said the government's plans reflected a ``double standard'' in forest
conservation.
``While local villagers are prohibited from using forest land or
settling on it, state agencies can occupy it easily for commercial
purposes,'' she said.
Ms Sayamon said the government always gave priority to tourism.
``Many natural places in Thailand have been exploited because the
government opens places for tourism without imposing conservation
regulations,'' Ms Sayamon said. Charnvit Kasetsiri, a senior specialist
in Southeast Asian studies, said the plan was scary. ``The government
doesn't understand the true concept of ecotourism and cultural tourism.
The government should scrap the project and leave this area alone,``
said Mr Charnvit.
Places where the government had promoted tourism had been destroyed,
including Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Ko Chang, and this development looked
no better. |
