FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Environment group threatens suit if cable-car project pursued

Environment group threatens suit if cable-car project pursued

THE STOP Global Warming Association is threatening to lodge a complaint with the Central Administrative Court if the government refuses to review the planned cable-car project for Phu Kradueng National Park.

Located in Loei province, the park is a famous attraction.
“We are ready to join hands with locals and environmentalists across the country in petitioning to the Central Administrative Court,” the SGWA said in a statement.
The statement came out after a study by the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration concluded that installing cable-car facilities at the national park was worthwhile, and a deputy prime minister said this week that most people supported the project.
But the SGWA said the national park might not have the capacity to accommodate the much higher number of tourists the cable-car facilities would likely attract. It is estimated that the number of tourists would rise several times to at least 250,000 a year.
At present, tourists have to trek for at least three hours to reach attractions on the vast top of the mountain that makes Phu Kradueng so appealing.
The SGWA suspects the cable-car project is the first of a number of construction projects set for the park.
“Attractions inside the park are far apart … Even if elderly tourists can ride a cable car to the top, they still won’t be able to walk around … Will demand for the construction of more facilities arise?” it said.

More construction feared
SGWA president Srisuwan Janya said it was quite apparent that the cable-car project would lead to other construction projects to serve growing tourist demand.
“In the end, the ecological system will be affected,” he said.
A local leader in Loei described the study that supports the cable-car project as “rather unreliable”.
Sittichai Sittirat, a former chairman of the Loei Provincial Administrative Organisation Council, said public-consultation forums for the study were filled with mostly cable-car supporters.
“Opponents who spoke up against the cable-car idea at the forums faced boos and various kinds of pressure,” he said.
“The study also does not answer clearly what exactly people living around the national park will get from the cable-car project.”
Loei Governor Viroj Jiwarangsan yesterday received letters from people who support the project.
“Local people want this project, not the authorities,” he said.
He said the project would allow tourists to visit the park regardless of their age and physical condition.

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