BOONSONG
Lekagul was a doctor of medicine by profession and a nature
photographer,
painter, film maker, author and teacher. But he is best
remembered
as Thailand's first conservationist and, perhaps, boldest
lobbyist.
He talked
about conservation and the wise use of natural resources
while
the rest of the country flowed into the turbulent stream of
post
World War II development for fast cash.
He was
convinced that the only way of saving the country's shrinking
forests
was to take the warning directly to the most powerful
political
figures.
Days before
his meeting with then prime minister Field Marshal Sarit
Thanarat,
the one-man ruler of a dictatorial government, Boonsong had
bid farewell
to his wife and five children.
He thought
he had little chance of returning to them if the concerns
he raised
upset Sarit.
Fortunately,
the prime minister was convinced. Boonsong then arranged
a helicopter
trip for him to observe degradation in parts of Khao Yai
forest.
In 1960 and 1961 two unprecedented conservation laws, the
Wildlife
Conservation and Protection Act and the National Park Act,
were
approved by Parliament.
A year
later Khao Yai, the watershed forest of the Northeast, was
declared
the country's first national park.
Boonsong
wrote in one of his books that the night before the
declaration,
the government asked him to mark out its boundaries on a
map
and he intentionally included a part of his own property within
the park.
Today
is the third anniversary of Boonsong's departure from this
world
at the age of 85. A grand commemoration is being held at the Thailand
Cultural
Centre.
The overwhelming
''yes" response to the invitations sent out by the
Wildlife
Fund Thailand (WFT), founded by Boonsong, is an indication
that
the conservationist-doctor is still dearly remembered and
admired
by those who learnt about conservation from him, either directly or
indirectly.
But today's
event also has a hidden message, according to the WFT's
Prayong
Attachak: that the country is in need of more people like
Boonsong,
who not only studied wildlife for his own pleasure but did
everything
he could to save them and their habitats. In his 70s, the
doctor
was a vocal opponent of the proposed Nam Choan hydro-electric
dam,
which was to be built in the heart of Thung Yai Naresuan
Wildlife
Sanctuary.
He knew
that one of the country's best remaining wildernesses, the
habitat
of many large mammals and other wildlife species and the home
of many
indigenous tribal communities, would be forever submerged.
He wrote
a letter to the government of Gen Prem Tinsulanonda in 1982
warning
that Thai people do not live on electricity but on the
fertility
of natural resources. The doctor explained that his concern
was prompted
by evidence that dam proponents often made exaggerated
promises
to the people regarding the social and economic returns of
their
developments.
People rallied around him and the campaign was successful.
Despite
the constant growth of conservation awareness in the country
today,
it is still hard to find people as hard working and dedicated
to the
survival of forests and wildlife as Boonsong.
Many wildlife
researchers contribute little more than copies of their
reports
which all too often end up collecting dust on library
shelves.
''Few
of them will fight if the forest or species they have studied
are in
danger," Prayong commented.
''When
Khao Yai National Park was threatened by a proposed dam
several
years ago, we did not hear anything from the people who had earned
their
biology degrees studying the species in Khao Yai."
On the
other hand, environmental activists who appear in the front
row opposing
destructive schemes in the forests are often listening only
to their
hearts, Prayong admitted.
Their
arguments are sometimes found inadequate for lack of a
technical
background.
''If the
two groups combined, we would get more people like Boonsong,
who always
supported his arguments with accurate technical
information
from his own research."
The doctor
also proved that people with determination and dedication
can achieve
anything, regardless of their academic background. He was
the author
and co-author of many important books, including the three
English-language
''bibles" on conservation in Thailand ''Mammals of
Thailand",
''Field Guide to the Butterflies of Thailand" and ''A
Guide
to the Birds of Thailand".
Determined
to illustrate his own books, Boonsong spent a year
learning
drawing and painting at the Poh Chang Art College in Bangkok when
working
on the bird guide.
''Boonsong
seemed to spend more time and effort on conservation than
medicines,"
recalled Jaruchin Napeetaphat, a biologist from the
National
Science and Technology Research Institute who worked closely
with
him during the last two decades of his life.
''I remember
he once prescribed medicine that had been off the market
for years because he spent more time in his natural history museum,"
Jaruchin
said with a smile.
The ''natural
history museum" was actually Boonsong's home office, in
which
a large collection of wildlife specimens and antlers were
displayed
for study. Part of the collection was gathered during
Boonsong's
early years, when he still hunted game in the forests.
Jaruchin
said Boonsong was aware of criticism that he turned to
conservation
only after he had hunted all the game he wanted.
However,
Boonsong had once explained that his hunting was all in the early
years,
when there was still plenty of wildlife in the forests.
He was
also strict about the rules of ''fair game". He would hunt
only
on foot and would not harm females or their young.
''Boonsong
stopped hunting when he noticed that much of the wildlife
had disappeared
because more people were hunting with modern weapons
and vehicles
after the end of World War II," Jaruchin said.
''This concern prompted him to turn to conservation."
His earlier
collection of specimens became useful when the doctor
worked
on ''Mammals of Thailand". The book contains important details
about
each species, the various names, size, distribution and habits.
Boonsong
was known internationally. Asiaweek and Readers Digest
referred
to him as ''King of the Beasts" and ''Thailand's Mr Conservation".
When praised,
Boonsong sometimes joked that he was proud his hard
work
had contributed to the reduction of the forest cover in Thailand from
50 per
cent of the total area to 20 per cent.
But today
he must be proud, should his spirit and soul be around,
that
many people now give him whole-hearted credit for saving that
remaining
20 per cent, mostly protected in national parks and
wildlife
sanctuaries.
''Perhaps,
without his fight in those early years, we might have also
lost
this little remaining part of the forest to logging
concessionaires
and infrastructure project owners," Prayong mused.
''However,
our forest will not be completely safe from greed unless
we have
more people like Boonsong."