Thailand’s biological treasures and diverse landforms derive from its geographical position at the crossroads of Southeast Asia. Just as the nation has accommodated many peoples and cultures, so has it served as a conduit dispersing varied plant and animal life.
Cheow Lan Lake at Khao Sok National Park.
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Covering some 513,115 sq km (198,115 sq miles), Thailand’s overall shape resembles the head of an elephant, with the southern peninsula forming the trunk. The vast valley called the Central Plain stretches about 450km (280 miles) to the Gulf of Thailand. Over the years, rich silt that the overflowing tributaries habitually deposited have created an agricultural rice bowl, watered nowadays by intensive irrigation drawn from a network of large dams.
Endowed with heavy rainfall and humidity, Thailand’s south encompasses the Isthmus of Kra right down to the Malay Peninsula. The coastal forests of the south were cleared to make way for rubber and palm plantations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The provinces of Petchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan form the narrow neck of land connecting the Central Plain with the peninsular south, where some of Thailand’s most stunning white-sand beaches are found. At its narrowest point, the slender strip of Thai territory from the Gulf of Thailand to Dan Singkhon, on the Burmese border, is a mere 12km (7 miles) wide.
Tropical bloom
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Flora
Up to the mid-20th century, forests covered about 70 percent of Thailand’s land area. By 1960, the figure had dropped to 50 percent. Today, probably only about 30 percent of undisturbed forest remains. Perhaps another 17 percent has been replanted, often with non-indigenous species, or else turned into plantations of trees for palm oil, and, especially in the south, rubber and pineapples. In all of Southeast Asia, the scale and rate of deforestation in Thailand was once second only to that of Singapore. Following several fatal landslides, logging was outlawed in Thailand in 1989, and the situation is now more stable.
Tropical rainforests are most abundant in the uplands of both the south and southeast, where rainfall is plentiful even in the dry season. These harbour the densest concentration of species, with herbs, shrubs, ferns and fungi forming the lowest layer of vegetation. Above ground level is a relatively open layer of palms, bamboos and shrubs. Mid-level trees, festooned with vines, mosses and orchids, create a 25-metre (82ft)-high canopy, with the more well-spaced trees of the uppermost canopy soaring as high as 60 metres (200ft). Thriving rainforests can still be found in the Khao Luang, Ko Surin, Ko Tarutao and Thale Ban national parks, all of which are in the south. Of special note, too, is Khao Sok National Park (for more information, click here), the largest nature preserve in peninsular Thailand and dominated by thick forest-covered limestone peaks, some rising as high as 1,000 metres (3,280ft).
A gibbon.
John W. Ishii/Apa Publications
Krabi’s mangrove forests
Mangroves are considered to be the rainforests of the coast, and though many have been decimated by human activities, the mangrove forests of Krabi remain remarkably intact. They are home to many types of fish, shrimp and mollusc, provide shelter for dugongs, monkeys, lizards and sea turtles, and are also nesting grounds for hundreds of bird species, including the white-bellied sea eagle, ruddy kingfisher, mangrove pitta and the great knot. In mud and shallow waters, fiddler crabs and mudskippers abound. Fortunately, plans to develop Krabi’s Deep Water Port were shelved to protect this unique environment.
Fauna
Of the world’s approximate 4,000 species of mammal, 317 are found in Thailand, including 16 hoofed species, 17 species of primates, 10 types of wild cat (including tigers and clouded leopards), two species of bear, three of wild dog and nine varieties of dolphin. Bats are abundant, with 135 species identified so far. But tigers and the larger deer could soon join the list of mammals that have vanished since 1900: this includes rhinoceros, several species of deer, two otter species and the kouprey, a wild ox discovered in Thailand in the 1930s.
Shell Fossil Beach.
Dreamstime
The Asian elephant – Thailand’s national symbol – which was declared the kingdom’s first protected species in 1921, is perilously close to extinction; from more than 20,000 in Thailand a century ago, only approximately 1,000 survive in the wild today. Khao Yai National Park, north of Bangkok, offers the best chance of observing some of Thailand’s remaining wild elephants.
Thailand also harbours four types of reptile and three types of amphibian. Among the roughly 200 species of snake are deadly cobras, kraits and vipers. No doubt most of the insect species have yet to be identified, but there are 1,200 variegated butterflies. Beetle species may number in the tens of thousands, but have been so little studied that entomologists occasionally discover new ones.
Visitors to national parks may not see any large animals, but they will be rewarded with bird sightings. There are around 900 species permanently resident in the region, while about 240 non-breeding and wintering migratory species routinely pass through annually.
Coastal geography
With some 3,000km (2,000 miles) of coastline and more than 1,000 islands washed by two seas, littoral geography is a significant draw of southern Thailand’s environment. Tourists are continually drawn to the region’s powdery-sand beaches and clear waters rich in tropical marine life (for more information, click here). Geologically, the region is noted for its dramatic karst formations jutting out of the sea. Soft and easily eroded, the limestone once formed the seabed. Spectacular caves carved out by underground streams and lagoons hidden within the karsts make for fun-filled exploration on inflatable kayaks.
Ao Phang Nga National Park (for more information, click here) comprises an eye-popping series of crumbly cliffs, jutting islets and karst rocks. Though the sea has abundant marine and coastal creatures, most people visit to marvel at and sail around the many looming karst towers.
About 17km (10 miles) west of Krabi is the unique and unusual Shell Fossil Beach. Here, fossilised shells dating back an estimated 75 million years have formed great stone slabs that project into the sea.
Environment at risk
Thailand’s environment is in danger of irreversible damage. With the destruction of habitats, many species of wildlife could disappear, not just from Thailand, but from the world.
The Forestry Department is underfunded and understaffed. In the past few decades, at least 40 rangers have been murdered in the line of duty. Earning less than a factory worker, many rangers also collude with loggers and poachers. The country’s poorest people also inadvertently contribute to the environmental degradation by farming on protected lands. The endangered populations of tiger, bear and deer are further threatened by the demand for medicinal products among the Chinese, and for gourmet ‘jungle’ dining.
The coastal environment, too, has not been spared. Illegal construction, surreptitious land-grabs, oil spills and poor sewage disposal remain a problem at some of the Eastern Seaboard resorts, notably Pattaya and Si Racha. Even national parkland is not sacrosanct. Ko Samet, for instance, is part of a marine national park, but unbridled development along its coast has progressed despite the law.
Elsewhere, new legislation, or existing legislation more rigorously applied, is slowly making a difference. But it is less-developed islands such as Ko Lanta that stand to benefit most from the environmental lessons learnt.
The situation is somewhat better on the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand and also along the Andaman Coast, although Phuket’s Patong beach in particular suffers from overbuilding and has taken on some of the problems associated with Pattaya.
Asian elephands at Khao Yai National Park.
Dreamstime
The disastrous tsunami of December 2004 had some positive environmental spin-offs, as illegal buildings and ramshackle resorts were literally swept away by the gigantic waves, most notably at Ko Phi Phi. But despite the Thai authorities’ stated aim to prevent illegal rebuilding, forceful opposition and corruption allowed land-grabs and construction to begin again almost immediately, even on a national park such as Ko Phi Phi. Influential people and big business displaced many poorer families.
The coral reefs of southern Thailand’s coastal waters are home to a diverse and spectacular range of marine life. Unfortunately, they are menaced by various human activities, including dynamite and poison fishing, both now strictly outlawed, anchor drag and overfishing.
Also damaging is global warming, which is especially severe in the Indian Ocean. It causes coral bleaching, which in 1998 killed an estimated 90 percent of the inner reefs in the Seychelles. In a bid to counter this threat, ‘reef balls’ of hollow, reinforced concrete were sunk to rehabilitate reefs, notably in the Andaman Sea off Phuket and at Khao Lak, but also in the shallower Gulf of Thailand.
Tourism undoubtedly plays a part in the mistreatment of coral, and the situation is now deemed severe enough for the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to close many dive sites for part of the year, including some of the most popular in Ko Surin, the Similan Islands and Ko Tarutao. Yet there are also encouraging signs that tourism may become a positive force in the preservation of what remains of Thailand’s ecology. Some Thais – among them trekking guides, local green groups and even a few progressive politicians – are becoming aware that environmental caretaking will sustain tourism longer than continued destruction.