Research & Article

Mae Yom National Park, located in the northern part of Phrae Province, northern Thailand, has the last natural teak (Tectona grandis L.f., Verbeneceae) forest in Thailand. Much of this forest is threatened by the proposed Kaeng Sua Ten Dam which would create a reservoir of c. 66 km2, thereby submerging everything natural from c. 160-258 m. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), and later the Royal Irrigation Department, has been promoting this dam since 1982; however, lack of funding plus conservation issues has, so far, prevented construction. Illegal logging is rampant in the national park since various powerful and otherwise influential vested interests are trying to remove as many logs as possible before the dam is built. Greed, corruption, and environmental ignorance have caused over 85% of Thailand to be deforested—mostly during this century. What little is left, regardless of its potential economic gain, must be preserved and considered a national treasure—inviolable from further desecration. Some basic arguments, which have never been considered by forest exploiters and dam proponents, will be presented here.