Thon offers solutions for parks

A National Reform Council (NRC) member has offered five proposals to improve marine national parks, including the establishment of a Marine National Park Bureau and the setting up of a committee on marine national park strategies. 

Evidence has shown that uncontrolled tourism has ruined the underwater ecology of the Andaman Sea, an academic forum on the maritime tourism crisis at Kasetsart University was told yesterday. The suggestions and other information brought up at the forum would be presented today to the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, an NRC memeber and leading marine biologist, siad mismanagement of marine national parks was the main cause of the coastal ecology’s destruction. He added that urgent reforms were needed. 

He proposed the five suggestions, starting with the establishment of a Marine National Park Bureau under the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department. 

“A transparent and justified process of selecting marine park top officials should also be in place because such positions were fought over by people who might resort to using bribes and connections with powerful supporters,” he said. 

Due to the lack of participation by tourism agencies, experts and locals in conservation and management, he presented the second suggestion – of setting up of a committee on marine national park strategies, comprising representatives from all stakeholders. He said the committee could help take care of nature conservation, tourism management, and examining, tracking and studying urgent matters. To better track work progress in parks, he said there should also be inspections by outside experts twice a year.

Under the committee on marine national park strategies, there would be three working committees. As tourism management of marine national parks was unclear in regard to the entry tariff issue and the inspection on travel agencies, Thon proposed the establishment of a working committee on marine national park tourism management to ensure sustainable tourism.

The lack of experts in marine science, marine ecology and eco-tourism among the national park employees led to the fourth suggestion – the establishment of a working committee on human resource management. 

“The fifth suggestion is to launch a working committee on community participation to take care of the cooperation between local communities, tourism agencies and the national park,” he said. 

Thon also presented evidence including aerial pictures of Pi Le Bay on Krabi’s Phi Phi Le Island that showed corals reef there in 2002 had totally vanished by 2015. “This is total failure of natural conservation and sustainable tourism,” he said.