Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [68]
Plants
The days of Thailand as a vast jungled landscape are long gone, with the cultivating hand of the farmer and more recently the industrialist, moulding the canopy into field and city. In the remaining protected areas, there are two types of primary forests: monsoon (with a distinct dry season of three months or more) and rainforest (where rain falls more than nine months per year). The most heavily forested provinces are Chiang Mai and Kanchanaburi.
Monsoon forests in the northern parts of the country are comprised of deciduous trees, which are green and lush during the rainy season but dusty and leafless during the dry season. Teak is one of the most highly valued monsoon forest trees but it now exists only in limited quantities.
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The Elephant Keeper (1987; directed by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol) tells the story of an honest forestry chief who tries to protect the wilderness from illegal logging interests; he is assisted by a courageous mahout and his faithful elephant.
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In southern Thailand, where rainfall is plentiful and distributed evenly through the year, forests are classified as rainforests with a few areas of monsoon forest. One remarkable plant found in some southern forests is Rafflesia kerrii, a squat plant with a huge flower that reaches 80cm across; you can see it at Khao Sok National Park (Click here) near Surat Thani.
Most coastal areas are fringed with wetland mangroves that proved to be a helpful buffer during the unexpected 2004 Asian tsunami. Thailand is home to nearly 75 species of these small salt-tolerant trees that are highly adapted to living at the edge of salt water. Unfortunately, mangrove forests are easily dismissed as wastelands and have been heavily depleted by urban development and commercial farming, despite the forests’ role as a protective incubator for many coastal fish and animal species.
Flourishing in every backyard large enough to claim sunshine is an incredible array of fruit trees (mango, banana, papaya, jackfruit and occasionally durian). Common in the forests are 60 species of bamboo (more than any other country outside China), tropical hardwoods and over 27,000 flowering species, including Thailand’s national floral symbol, the orchid, of which there are 1300 varieties. Commercial plantings in the south include coconut, palm oil, cashew and rubber. In the denuded northeast eucalyptus is planted to prevent erosion and as a cheap and quick timber source, though sadly these plantations have no ecological value.
NATIONAL PARKS & PROTECTED AREAS
With 15% of the kingdom’s land and sea designated as park or sanctuary, Thailand has one of the highest percentages of protected areas of any nation in Asia. There are over 100 national parks, plus over a thousand ‘nonhunting areas’, wildlife sanctuaries, forest reserves, botanical gardens and arboretums. Twenty-six of the national parks are marine parks that protect coastal, insular and open-sea areas. Thailand began its conservation efforts in 1960 with the creation of a national system of wildlife sanctuaries under the Wild Animals Reservation and Protection Act, followed by the National Parks Act of 1961. Khao Yai National Park was the first wild area to receive this new status. In 2005, Khao Yai, along with four other neighbouring parks and sanctuaries were designated a Unesco World Heritage Site, spanning 230km of habitat from Ta Phraya National Park in Cambodia to Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.
Despite promises, official designation as a national park or sanctuary does not always guarantee protection for habitats and wildlife. Local farmers, well-moneyed developers and other business interests easily win out, either legally or illegally, over environmental protection in Thailand’s national parks. Few people adhere to the law and there is little government muscle to enforce regulations. Ko Chang,