James Fahn
KAMPHAENG PHET Tempers flared at Mae Wong National Park this weekend
as a noisy cavalcade of 127 off-road
vehicles descended on the wilderness area intent on travelling deep
into
the park's interior.
Following complaints by local environmental groups, which feared that
the convoy would cause serious damage to the
area's fragile ecosystem, park chief Chamni Saisuthiwong barred the
car
enthusiasts from motoring the 28 kilometres along
a dirt track to the scenic viewpoint.
Several of the leaders of the ''Caravan" motor tour which was
organised by Off Road magazine and sponsored by the oil
company Esso were clearly upset at the environmentalists' objections,
but most of the visitors seemed to accept the
decision gracefully.
Park officials also reprimanded the organisers for setting up a huge
stage near the park's headquarters, complete with
floodlights and banks of speakers which blasted music and entertainment
including a contest to see who could yell ''Off
Road" and ''Esso" the loudest well into the night.
''First they told us there would be 100 people coming, then it was 150.
Then just three days ago they informed us there
would be over 300 people," complained a harried-looking Manee Chamruay
of the park's tourist service centre. No final
estimate for the number of visitors was given, but each of the 127
vehicles contained from two to five people.
''They said they would play some music, but they didn't say there would
be a stage with speakers," Manee added. ''It would
disturb the animals a lot." The park is a sanctuary for several rare
species, including tigers, gaur, civets and barking deer.
Asked about the issue, Off Road publisher Prachin Eamlumnow responded
heatedly. ''The noise won't affect any animals.
There aren't any here," he said, waving his hand around the headquarters
area, which came to resemble a parking lot.
''Maybe animals like the music, the gibbons may come down and learn
how
to sing along," he continued. ''Noise doesn't kill
animals. The animals in Dusit Zoo are still alive, aren't they? At
night, they listen to the noise and then [copulate] to it and
make lots of babies.
''It's guns which kill animals. If I take a gun and shoot you, you'll
die, won't you?"
The clash between car enthusiasts and conservationists is part of a
growing conflict over the recreational vehicle industry in
Thailand.
''There was a previous rally which went to the Mae Lawa Waterfall in
Mae
Wong National Park and left behind bags of
garbage," recalled Adisak Chantavichanuwong of the Lower Northern
Environment Committee.
''The trail they went on used to be just a walking trail, but the
off-road cars widened it, potentially making it easier for
poachers to get into the park."
Prakob Inchupong, of the Phayuha Khiri Environment Club, added that
off-road racers also cause problems for villagers.
''In January this year, some rallyists basically took over a public
track in [Nakhon Sawan's] Phayuha Khiri district and raced
along it," he said. ''I laid a log down over the road in order to slow
them down and talk to them, so they set the police on me."
When word got out that the Off-Road Caravan was planning to wind up
their three-day tour of western provinces with a trip
to Chong Yen, a scenic viewpoint deep within Mae Wong National Park,
northern environmentalists decided to try and put a
halt to it. On Friday, they met the motorists, who arrived at Mae Wong
in the afternoon and intended to go up to Chong Yen
yesterday morning.
But Prachin, who is also the president of Grand Prix International Co
Ltd, which organises the annual Bangkok Motor Show,
contended that the four-wheel drive vehicles would not hurt the
environment. They could go up the steep and narrow 28-km
path in convoys of 20 at a time, he suggested.
''I don't think cars damage nature. We go slowly and come only once
a
year. It would be dangerous if we didn't come,
because loggers would cut down more trees if we weren't here," he said.
''We come here because we love nature. I've been
planting trees for 12 years now, so I have a right to visit the forest."
However, the visit to Chong Yen was finally cancelled by Chamni, the
park chief, who was in Bangkok for meetings and
returned on Friday evening. ''It's a very dangerous track and I'm really
concerned there could be accidents if all those cars
go up," he said.
One of the car enthusiasts told The Nation he understood why the
decision was made. ''There are a lot of cars and it may
damage the forest," he acknowledged. ''We all want to conserve nature."
But Manee had trouble accepting the claim. ''Everyone claims they are
conservationists," he noted, pointing around to the
hundreds of people getting out of their cars and pitching tents near
park headquarters. ''But I don't understand how they're
helping to conserve anything this way."