ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
It is now illegal to sell timber felled in the country, but this law is fre-
quently fl outed by local populations living near forest complexes and by
well-connected interests.
A corollary problem to deforestation is habitat loss. Wildlife experts
agree that the greatest danger faced by Thai fauna and fl ora is neither
hunting nor the illegal wildlife trade but habitat loss. Species that are
notably extinct in Thailand include the kouprey (a type of wild cattle),
Schomburgk’s deer and the Javan rhino, but innumerable smaller spe-
cies have also disappeared with little fanfare.Flooding
Seasonalfl ooding is a common natural occurrence in some parts of
Thailand due to the nature of the monsoon rains. But the frequency
of record-level fl oods has increased in recent years. In 2010, the rainy
season came several months late and transformed reservoirs in Nakhon
Ratchasima Province from parched pits into overfl owing disaster zones,
creating 50-year fl ood conditions. Swollen rivers and prolonged down-
pours then extended fl ooding through the central plains and south all
the way to Hat Yai. There were 177 deaths and a massive disaster relief
response that lasted for several months after waters subsided. Another
record fl ood occurred in 2006 with 46 aff ected provinces, mainly in the
north, and again in 2008 along Mekong.
In 2011, a two-week period of heavy rainfall several months prior to
the start of the rainy season caused fl ooding in southern Thailand, in-
cluding the beach resorts. Tourists were stranded until fl ights and boatILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADEThailand is a signatory to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spe-
cies (Cites), but the country remains an important transport link and marketplace for
the global wildlife trade, which is the third-largest black-market activity after drugs and
arms dealing. Endangered animals and animal parts are poached from local forests or
smuggled from neighbouring countries through Thailand en route to the lucrative mar-
kets of China or the US. Despite police eff orts, Bangkok’s Chatuchak Market contains a
clandestine exotic species section.
Though the country’s eff orts to stop the trade are more impressive than those of its
neighbours, corruption and weak laws hinder law enforcement. In 2011, a United Arab
Emirates national was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport with a suitcase full
of drugged wildlife (leopard and bear cubs and baby gibbons). According to investiga-
tors, the smuggler did not possess the suitcase until after he had passed through immi-
gration, suggesting an airport collaborator. Through political connections, the smuggler
was released from jail and allowed to leave the country, facing no criminal charges or
fi nes. Even if the case was prosecuted the maximum fi nes would have been minimal
compared to the profi t margin on the sale of the animals. Another complicating factor
is that Thai law allows the trade of wild species bred in captivity, designed ostensibly to
take the pressure off wild populations. Most agree that the real solution isn’t harsher
penalties but decline in demand. Without buyers, there will be no trade.
On a small scale, several NGOs work on the attendant problems. WARF (Wild Animal
Rescue Foundation of Thailand; http://www.warthai.org) was started by a Bangkok housewife who
converted her backyard into a makeshift sanctuary for unwanted wild pets some 30
years ago. Today the NGO works with the forestry department on sting operations, job-
skills training and educational workshops in Thai public schools. Some of the students
who attend WARF workshops have parents who are poachers and WARF hopes that the
message of conservation (and maybe even a little environmental peer pressure) will be
brought home to those students. With better education and job training, WARF hopes to
dissuade future poachers and to turn current poachers into conservationists.Bangkok has
been sinking at
a rate of 10cm
annually and
some scientists
estimate that
the city may
face submersion
within 20 years
due to rising sea
levels.