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No one is more aware for the
need of wildlife and forest conservation than Her Majesty Queen
Sirikit. For nearly half a century, His Majesty King Bhumibol
Adulyadej and Her Majesty the Queen have travelled the length
and breadth of Thailand, from northern hilltribe villages to southern
fishing communities, and during that time their Majesties have
sadly witnessed the decline of primary forest cover and the dwindling
numbers of once abundant species of flora and fauna.
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When Her Majesty became Queen
in 1946,forest over extended over some 60 percent of the Kingdom’s
landmass; today the figure stands at less than 20 percent Such
wide-scale deforestation and the subsequent loss of natural habitats,
along with the parallel problems of poaching and land encroachment,
has decimated wildlife populations, as we as lead to further ills
such as the loss of watersheds, soil erosion, floods and droughts.
Seeing these problems at first hand inspired Her Majesty to
a dedicated commitment to environmental conservation and the preservation
of natural resources. In a noted speech some years ago at a dinner
in honour of Britain’s Price Philip, chairman of the World Wide
Fund for Nature, Queen Sitikit memorably remarked: “It must not
be recorded in history that our generation was responsible for
the destruction of all our forests and wild animals. They are
part of our heritage. They belong here and have as much right
to exist as we do. I hope you will share my concern and desire
to protect the beautiful land we have inherited from past generations.
Protect it not only for ourselves but also for our children—and
their children. ”
Her Majesty has subsequently taken under her patronage various
conservation organizations, most notably the Wildlife Fund of
Thailand(WFT) and the Association for the Conservation issues
and encouraged her people to take greater care of the environment.
In addition, she has also assumed a very active role in initiating
and personally overseeing numerous conservation projects in a
variety of areas aimed at the protection of both the Kingdom’s
remaining forests and its endangered wildlife species.
One of the earliest projects initiated by Queen Sikirit was,
in 1982,a forest rehabilitation programme in the northeastern
province of Sakon Nakhon. Known as Pah Rak Nam, “Forest Loves
Water”, the aim was to give responsibility for the protection
of the forest to the villagers who depended on it for food, herbs,
medicinal plants and other natural products. With support, it
was argued, the villagers would conserve forest areas rather than
exploit them or attempt to clear the land. Poor landless farmers
were thus given houses, seeds for growing vegetables, fruit trees,
and chickens, and were further paid to watch over and ptotect
the trees and watershed areas.
Such has been the success
of the Pah Rak Nam concept that it has now been extended to other
regions, particularly in Chiang Mai province where a notable success
has been the rehabilitation of Mae Takrai Forest for use as a
meditation center and retreat for monks and lay people.
Allied to the Pah Rak Nam projects has been the establishment
of royally-initiated villages, Bann Lek Nai Pah Yai, which translates
as “little house in the big forest”. Conducted with the assistance
of various government agencies, the project follows the concept
pf co-existence, with man caring for the forest and the forest
supplying some of man’s basic needs such as food, shelter and
medicine.
Another striking success, again aimed at improving villagers’
living standards while at the same time protecting the forest,
is the Omkoi Forest Wildlife Conservation Centre, located in the
Omkoi district of Chiang Mai province, Flying over this mountainous
district, Her Majesty saw that although the forest was destroyed
in some areas, it was still rich with trees. Knowing the forest
was habitat of endangered species of wildlife as well as and home
to poor villagers, Queen Sirikit decided to introduce proper agricultural
management for the lasting benefit of both man and forest.
Nor have other regions of the country been neglected. Away
from the hills of the North, the Queen Sirikit Forest Park has
been established in areas of the southern provinces of Satun and
Songkhla, while attention has also been focused on lowland forests
in parts of five eastern provinces. Water sources have been provided,
denuded areas have been replanted and facilities to aid the study
of nature and wildlife have been constructed.
Numerous other similar projects continue to be initiated throughout
the Kingdom in what is an ongoing and concerted effort to conserve
forests under the untiring and well-informed patronage of Her
Majesty. The hallmark of all projects is the provision and promotion
of well being for the people, along with the stimulation of an
understanding of what nature does for man and what it needs in
exchange.
The single largest and
most wide reaching of conservation needs, forest protection and
rehabilitation is but one of Queen Sirikit’s environmental concerns,
and efforts for the protection of wildlife are equally
diverse.
In several areas of Thailand, for example, Her Majesty has been
instrumental in setting up open zoos and aviaries. The first of
these, Phu Khieo, a 975,000-rai tract of virgin forest and jungle
land in Chaiyaphum and Phetchabun provinces, was opened in the
early 1980s as a sanctuary where animals might coexist peacefully
and breed naturally.
In the poignant words of a United Nations Environmental Programme(UNEP)
study, Phu Khieo is “aimed at maintaining a national heritage
for the people, future generations of whom may otherwise come
to think that the habitats of tigers and elephants are cages and
pens in department stores or in tourist attractions on the fringes
of metropolitan Bangkok.
Thankfully, helping to
further prevent such a bleak scenario, the success of Phu Khieo
has been followed by the establishment of several similar projects,
including the Pang Tong Centre Open Zoo in Mae Hong Son, and the
Upper Chong Klam Wildlife Breeding and Propagating Centre in Sa
Kaeo province.
Another success story dates
back nearly 25 years, when Queen Sirikit first drew attention
to the plight of the sea turtle. Once numerous in Thai waters,
the creature was in danger of vanishing completely, perishing
in the nets of fishermen or falling prey to hunters seeking its
valuable eggs. To redress the situation Her Majesty established
a sea turtle conservation center on an island off Thailand’s southeast
coast with a hatchery and artificial ponds where young turtles
could survive before venturing out to sea.
As rich and varied as Thailand’s
terrestrial and aquatic wildlife is its amazing bird life, with
well over 900 species identified. To foster appreciation for this
natural asset, Queen Sirikit set up in 1984 the Bang Sai Bird
Park in the grounds of the Bang Sai Handicraft Centre, part of
Her Majesty’s SUPPORT Foundation. Here a huge aviary was constructed,
the first of its kind in Thailand, which encloses a lush man-made
tropical jungle, complete with a flowing stream and waterfall,
that is now home to nearly 100 species of native birds.
In the same year as the establishment of the Bang Sai Bird
Park, Her Majesty lent her invaluable support to a scheme to reintroduce
the Eastern Saurus Crane, a large wading bird that was once common
in Thailand but not seen in the country since the 1960s. From
a population in northern Australia, six young cranes were officially
presented to Queen Sirikit and settled in a reserve in Chonburi
province.
More recently, royal attention has been focused on the plight
of elephant. Playing varied and vital roles in the historical
development of the country, the elephant was once numerous in
Thailand but today its numbers are sadly in decline. In order
to protect the herds that do survive, Her Majesty launched a programme
for returning elephants to the wild, which seeks to ensure that
the animals have the large expansive forest habit they need in
order to thrive.
Supported by the World Wildlife Fund, the Return the Elephant
to the Wild project received an international boost when, in March
1999,Prince Hendrik, the Royal Consort of Queen Margarethe II
of Denmark, made a private visit to Thailand to donate anaesthetics,
medicine and equipment for facilitating the transport of elephants
and for tracking their movements once released into the wild.
In the few years since then, the animals that have been relocated
have adapted well to their new habitats.
Perhaps the most emphatic, certainly visually the most stunning,
example of Her Majesty’s commitment to environmental conservation
is the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden. Located near the northern
city of Chiang Mai, this beautiful garden covers an area of some
1,000 hectares and includes research and education facilities
in addition to it sumptuous variety of flora. It is a place for
people to enjoy and to learn, and it is this involvement of people
and the raising of their awareness of conservation issues that
underscores all Her Majesty’s environmental projects and gives
them such lasting value.
