Guest guest Posted September 2, 2002 Report Share Posted September 2, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** eCentral - Your Entertainment Guide http://www.star-ecentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/9/1/focus/thai27 & sec=focus ________________________ Sunday, September 01, 2002 PM & #8217;s animal magnetism By NANTIYA TANGWISUTJIT IF Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has his way, a lot of wild animals will have sleepless nights. A night safari is the latest grandiose project initiated by the premier to boost tourism for his hometown. According to the initial blueprint, the project would cover about 10,000 rai of land on the western part of Chiang Mai city and a part of the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, one of the best remaining forests in the northern region. Thaksin is reportedly inspired by the Night Safari in Singapore, where wildlife is viewed at night thanks to lighting technology. The 4ha safari park there is home to more than 1,000 nocturnal animals, such as civets and large rodents. Since the beginning of the year, when Thaksin came up with the night safari idea, the project has been expanded into a mega-tourism complex by various people. Plodprasop Suraswadi, director-general of the Royal Forestry Department (RFD), proposed developing the site into a full recreation park, with a hot spring and spa, an aquarium, restaurants and more. Last month, Chiang Mai Governor Kosin Kethong talked Thaksin into agreeing that there should also be a zoological garden to accommodate more than 7,000 animals that would be removed from the present zoo located near Chiang Mai University. The new zoological garden would also house the two giant pandas to be loaned to Thailand by the Chinese government next year. A committee set up in March by the premier to look at the feasibility of the project, chaired by Plodprasop, estimated that it would cost between Bt1bil and Bt2bil. But the forestry chief was quoted as telling the media in Chiang Mai that a number of businessmen had asked to invest in the project. The committee invited Dr Bernard Harrison, chief executive of the Night Safari Wildlife Park in Singapore, to look at the possibility of the project in Chiang Mai last month. He is scheduled to return soon for an additional field survey. But the project is unlikely to see a rosy road ahead. Not all Chiang Mai residents welcome the idea. In fact, many said they had not been formally informed about the project. All they know about it is what has been reported in the media. Sirichai Naruemitrekakarn, president of the For Chiang Mai Club & #8211; a grouping of academics and environmental activists & #8211; submitted a letter to the governor of Chiang Mai on Friday. The group proposed that the provincial authorities organise a public forum to inform residents and concerned people about the project. As part of the public debate, Chiang Mai residents may want to consider two major questions. Do they want Chiang Mai to slide deeper into the glare of full-blown tourism hype? And is importing wildlife for the night safari good or bad for conservation? Dr Rangsarit Kanchanavanit of the Lanna Bird Conservation Club is strongly against the idea of keeping wild animals in zoos. To him, zoos are an enemy of wildlife conservation efforts because they involve the removal of wild animals from forests. Also, many animals die in the process. The idea of displaying two pandas from China in Thailand is misguided, Rangsarit says, as pandas have never been part of Thailand & #8217;s ecological system. Nor does the young conservationist and Chiang Mai resident think building a night safari like the one in Singapore is a wise idea. “We don & #8217;t want a Disneyland,” he said. “To me, it seems unwise to follow the Singapore model of tourism development. Singapore needs a night safari because the island hardly has anything else. But Chiang Mai is already home to natural and cultural treasures. Why do we need an artificial attraction?” Some environmental groups see the project as a part of an ongoing attempt to open Thailand & #8217;s national parks for the tourism industry. The idea of allowing private investors to build hotels and other tourism facilities in the country & #8217;s forests was put forward a decade ago by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, but was dropped after conservation groups strongly opposed the scheme. The proposed area for the night safari project is one of the best plots of public land currently looked after by the RFD, said Nikom Puttha, deputy secretary-general of the Chiang Mai Bureau of the Wildlife Fund Thailand. It is on a hill overlooking the suburbs and the remaining “green area” of Chiang Mai, a perfect area for tourist resorts. Nikom notes that handing over such a good plot of public land to private developers at no expense makes their life easy. “Moreover, a part of the project will be in the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. I don & #8217;t think it & #8217;s possible to develop big tourist facilities in the park, because any major alternation of natural conditions in the forest would be against the law.” Nikom said the government and the RFD would have to be transparent about the night safari and its related tourism development. Public participation in decision-making will be necessary because of its possible social and environmental impacts. <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. 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