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| AsiaViews, Edition: 45/VI/February2010 |
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| Feared and endangered |
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| 2010: The Year of the Tiger |
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Newspapers have widely reported the public concern with "Sador Kroh", a ritual to exorcise misfortune. According to the Chinese zodiac traditions, people born in certain years, such as the Year of the Monkey, are jinxed as the Monkey, as well as the Tiger, can be problematic. Soothsayers again have dubbed 2010 as a "Fire Tiger". The Year of the Tiger will be held responsible for whatever happens in 2010, whether it be something similar to the Haiti earthquake or the disgrace of renowned golfer Tiger Woods.
In reality, we should also fear for the real animal, but for different reasons.
According to the WWF, the world is at risk of losing this iconic animal forever. There are only 3,200 tigers left in the world, a number which has been predicted to drop beyond the point of no return by the next Tiger year in 2022. Back in 1982 there were around 5,000 to 7,000 tigers, compared to 40,000 in the 1930s.
Indeed, tigers should be as afraid of us as we are of them.
Tigers are the target of animal trafficking. Their pelts are sought after as exotic decorative items, their internal organs are sold for high sums as ingredients for Chinese traditional medicines or as an aphrodisiac. Live tigers are a sure money-maker for private zoos or temples.
According to the WWF, there are 350 Indochinese tigers prowling the forests of Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. There are probably no more than 30 tigers each in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. There has been no report made about tiger population numbers in Burma.
The good news is that around 200 to 300 tigers still inhabit the wild forests of Thailand, thanks to active conservation efforts that have been made for almost four decades.
The best tiger habitat in Thailand is the Western Forest Complex, where the Thung Yai Naresuan-Huay Kha Khaeng World Heritage area is located. Other major habitats are the Eastern Forest Complex - the location of another World Heritage site, Khao Yai-Dong Payayen, and adjacent national parks and a wildlife sanctuary - not to mention wildlife sanctuaries in north and southern regions.
The Western Forest Complex is well established and has the potential to be a major tiger habitat given the government's support of providing manpower and affecting policy change. Development projects such as dams and recently mine concessions have been stamped out. Furthermore, there is a "buffer forest" along the Western Forest Complex.
In the buffer forest, communities are allowed to take part in conserving the forest and its natural resources. The Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation which has been working for almost 20 years with the community, makes sure they help protect the forest and the wild animals that inhabit it. Illegal poaching has been reduced by half during the past two decades.
Unfortunately, the situation in the Eastern Forest Complex - where the Khao Yai Dong Payayen World Heritage site and other national parks are located - is worrying.
Tim Redford - a staff member of Freeland, a non-profit organisation on conservation operating in the Eastern Forest Complex area - said the government needs to pay more attention to this area.
Currently, forest rangers of the Eastern Forest Complex work in dire conditions. Apart from lacking equipment, they receive a mere 3,000 baht as their monthly salary. They do not even have enough money to buy food for their forest patrols.
But budget shortcomings are not the only problem, said Mr Redford.
At the moment, the forest reserve which served as a buffer forest has been illegally encroached upon after traditional villagers illegally sold their land - some of which was reserve forest - to developers.
"Farmers have no land for farming and when not all of them get jobs in resorts or golf courses, they turn to poaching or are coerced into illegal logging practices."
Mr Redford believes the Eastern Forest Complex should have a "buffer forest" to cushion the ecology from human activity and development.
He also stressed that the government must reconsider development projects such as dams and road construction as such infrastructure breaks the forest into small fragmented areas, disrupting the migration and breeding habits of wild animals.
Forest tracts in Khao Yai and Pang Sida national parks were separated when the authority built Highway 304 many years ago. Roads block animal migration, and their living and mating habits have changed for the worse. The plan to build a wildlife corridor to help animals migrate has been delayed for a number of years. Worse still, the proposed flyover-like corridor for wildlife to walk across has raised fears among conservationists that it may help poachers. Conservationists had proposed the authority build a tunnel for road transportation instead, but the plan was rejected given the high cost involved.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department plans to build Huay Samong Dam that will inundate 3,000 rai (480 hectares) of forest in Pang Sida and Thap Lan national parks, part of the Eastern Forest Complex.
Needless to say, the situation at the Eastern Forest Complex is worrying in terms of the longevity of the tiger.
The Year of the Tiger brings with it the fear of the Tiger Deity; of misfortune for those who are born in the incompatible year. But shouldn't we rather be fearing the disappearance of the tiger animal itself? |
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| By Anchalee Kongrut |
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| Bangkok Post, 31 January 2010 |
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