Saving Thailand's Natural Heritage

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ANNEX 4
Notes to the Publications Production team
The attached manuscript has been copy-edited and modified from previous drafts, with
considerable new material added. This should be considered the final draft, and now ready for
publication.
You will see that I have suggested places where maps and photographs can be inserted to make
the text more user-friendly. I will be glad to work with you to select these but you might wish to
make the first selection from among the material available at DNP. The photos contained in the
DNP book, “National Parks in Thailand” are the kinds of pictures we need, but the maps need to
be better, like some of the ones used by Dr. Songtam.
Please feel free to keep in touch with me through the production process.
Jeffrey A. McNeely
jam@iucn.org

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FINAL DRAFT, FOR DISTRIBUTION TO REVIEWERS,
INTERNAL DNP USE, AND PUBLICATIONS PRODUCTION
ONLY
SAVING THAILAND’S NATURAL HERITAGE:
PREPARING A NATIONAL PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEM
PLAN
By
Jeffrey A. McNeely

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report owes a great debt of thanks to Dr. Songtam Suksawang, who as the Director of
CATSPA guided its development every step of the way. From UNDP, Dr. Sutharin Koonphol
has been a stalwart supporter of this effort. Dr. Daniel Navid and Khun Tawee Nootong were
very helpful co-consultants to CATSPA during the time this report was drafted and offered
numerous helpful comments. Songpol Tippayawong and Panuwat Boonyanan provided the
necessary administrative support and were helpful associates on our various field trips to the
CATSPA pilot sites (Doi Inthanon National Park, Koh Tarutau National Park, the Western Forest
Complex, and the Eastern Forest Complex). The staff of the protected areas we visited freely
offered their opinions and helped ensure that this report stayed as realistic as possible. Piyathip
Eawpanich has been the godmother of this entire effort, and her support is gratefully
acknowledged. Numerous workshops were held in association with our visits to the pilot sites,
involving people too numerous to mention, but who generously gave their time and advice. Two
review workshops were held in Bangkok, and their participants are listed in Annex 1. Many
thanks to them for their helpful comments. Prof. Udomsak Seenprachawant and Prof. Surachet
Chettamart provided very helpful insights into the key issues.
And most of all, this report owes a great debt to the late Dr. Boonsong Lekagul, widely
considered the ”Father of Thai Conservation”. The years I spent working with him (1970-1977)
provided me with considerable insights into the history of Thai conservation, the key individuals
involved, and the many challenges that remain. His inspiration lives on.

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CONTENTS
Preface
Executive Summary
Recommendations
Introduction: How a System Plan Can Improve Management of Protected Areas
Part I. SETTING THE STAGE
Chapter 1. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
1.1. Introduction: Building an understanding of key terms and concepts
1.2. Some key terms and concepts of ecosystem management
1.3. The national and international legislation supporting protected areas
1.4. The organizational structure of protected areas and opportunities for collaboration with
other government agencies
1.5. External sources of support to the protected areas of Thailand
Chapter 2. THE VISION AND OBJECTIVES FOR THAILAND’S SYSTEM OF PROTECTED
AREAS
2.1. The Vision for Protected Areas
2.2. Strategic Objectives for the PA System
Chapter 3. CHALLENGES PROTECTED AREAS MUST ADDRESS
3.1. Loss of biodiversity
3.2. Climate change
3.3. Changing economic conditions
3.4. Increasing demand for wildlife, food, timber, and other forms of biomass
3.5. Increasing demand for water
3.6. Increasing demand for minerals
3.7. Changing distribution of the human population
3.8. Changes in land use in the rural landscape
3.9. Resident human populations within and around protected areas
3.10. Dealing with increasing numbers of tourists

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3.11. Human-wildlife conflict
3.12. The spread of invasive alien species
Chapter 4. THE BENEFITS OF PROTECTED AREAS
4.1. Introduction: Identifying the benefits of protected areas
4.2. Provisioning services
4.3. Supporting services
4.4. Regulating services
4.5. Cultural services
4.4. Payment for ecosystem services
II. FOUNDATIONS OF THE SYSTEM
Chapter 5. PROTECTED AREAS AND THE LARGER LANDSCAPE
5.1. Introduction: The ecosystem approach to landscapes and seascapes
5.1. Implementing management at the landscape/seascape level
5.2. Water providing linkages in the landscape
5.3. Applications to seascapes
Chapter 6. A GEOGRAPHIC BASIS FOR THE SYSTEM PLAN
6.1. Introduction: Applying Both Geographic and Political Units to the PA System
6.2. Transboundary Protected Areas
6.3. Using a Geographic Approach to Identify Gaps in the System of PAs
6.4. The Geographic Basis of PA System Planning: Using Complexes of Protected Areas
as the Basis of the System
III. ESSENTIAL MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
Chapter 7. MANAGEMENT CATEGORIES AND GOVERNANCE
7.1. Introduction
7.2. A System of Categories for Thailand’s Protected Areas
7.2.1. Category I. Wildlife Sanctuary
7.2.2. Category II. National Park
7.2.3. Category III. Natural Monument
7.2.4. Category IV. Habitat/Species Management Area
7.2.5. Category V. Protected Landscape or Seascape

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7.2.6. Category VI. Managed Resource Protected Area
7.3. Categories for Marine Protected Areas
7.4. Management Zones Within Protected Areas
7.5. Governance of Protected Area Categories
Chapter 8. GENERATING ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL AND OTHER FORMS OF SUPPORT
FOR THE PROTECTED AREA SYSTEM
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Economic Principles of Protected Areas
8.2.1. Some economic principles of protected areas
8.2.2. Principles of generating new funding for protected areas
8.3. Enhancing the Traditional Sources of Funding for Protected
8.3.1. Building budget support from the national and provincial budgets
8.3.2. Enhancing support from international agencies and collaborating governments
8.3.3. Increasing the funding from tourism to protected areas
8.3.4. Enhancing support from the private sector
8.3.5. Enhancing grants and other support from non-governmental conservation
organizations
8.4. Innovative Funding Mechanisms: Payments for Ecosystem Services
8.4.1. Payments for access to genetic resources
8.4.2. Payment for carbon offsets
8.4.3. Payments for water-related ecosystem services
8.5. Some Innovative Mechanisms to Manage Innovative Sources of Funding for Protected
Areas
8.5.1. Establishing conservation trust funds
8.5.2. Increasing support for protected areas through co-management
8.6. The “Products” that some “Customers” Desire from Protected Areas
8.6.1. Customer: Other government agencies
8.6.2. Customer: Development assistance agencies
8.7. What DNP can do to Help Generate Additional Support for Protected Areas
Chapter 9. COMMUNICATIONS FOR BUILDING A BROADER BASE OF SUPPORT FOR
PROTECTED AREAS
9.1. Introduction
9.2. A Communications Strategy to support the National System Plan
9.3. A Model Communications Strategy for Thailand’s Protected Areas
9.4. Building a broader constituency for protected areas

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Chapter 10. DEVELOPING A FORMAL SET OF POLICIES AND GUIDELINES FOR
MANAGING PROTECTED AREAS
10.1. Introduction
10.2. The DNP Policy on Management Planning of Protected Areas
10.3. The DNP Policy for Tourism
10.4. The DNP Policy on Relations with the Private Sector
10.5. The DNP Policy on Managing Cultural Resources Within Protected Areas
10.6. The DNP Policy on Development and Management of Roads in Protected Areas
10.7. A DNP Policy on Research in Protected Areas
10.7.1. The multiple values of research in protected areas
10.7.2. High priority research questions for the Protected Area System
10.7.3. High priority research questions for individual protected areas
10.7.4. Policy Guidelines for research to benefit protected area management
10.7.5. Options for the role of research in innovative management of Thailand’s System of
Protected Areas
Chapter 11. SOME INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO MANAGING TERRESTRIAL AND
MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN THAILAND
11.1. Introduction
11.2. Guidelines for a Geographic Information System for Thailand’s Protected Area System
11.2.1. Elements of a protected area GIS
11.2.2. Guidelines for DNP’s GIS System
11.3. The restoration of species and ecosystems
11.4. Controlling invasive alien species
11.5. Working in collaboration with local people
Chapter 12. PRIORITIES FOR BUILDING CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT THE SYSTEM
12.1. Introduction
12.2. Some fundamental constraints in building long-term capacity
12.3. Priorities for enhancing existing forms of DNP capacity
12.4. Priorities for building innovative forms of capacity
12.5. Innovative technologies for capacity building
12.6. Innovative audiences for capacity building in support of protected areas
Glossary of Key Terms
References and Additional Reading
Annex 1: Attendance at Workshops
ACRONYMS USED IN THE TEXT

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ASEAN: Association of Southeast Asian Nations
CBD: The Convention on Biological Diversity
CIDA: Canadian International Development Agency
CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora
CMPA: Community managed protected area
CRADA: Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (US NPS)
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
CTF: Conservation Trust Fund
DANCED: Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development
DANIDA: Danish International Development Agency
DNP: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (Thailand)
EEZ: Exclusive economic zone, part of Thailand’s national marine territory
EFCOM: Eastern Forest Complex of protected areas (Thailand)
EGAT: Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
EIA: Environmental impact assessment
FAO: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
GDP: Gross domestic product
GEF: Global Environment Facility
GIS: Geographic information system
GMO: Genetically modified organism
GNP: Gross National Product
GPS: Geographic positioning system
Ha: hectare, 10,000 square meters = 6.25 rai
IAS: Invasive alien species
ICBP: International Council for Bird Preservation
ICMM: International Council on Mining and Metals
IMPACT: Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association
IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ITTO: International Tropical Timbers Organization
IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature
Km: kilometer
Km2
: Square kilometer = 625 rai
m2
: Square meter
MA (also MEA): Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
MAB: Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO
MCPA: Marine and Coastal Protected Area
MDG: Millennium Development Goal
MOSTE: Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (Thailand)
MPA: Marine Protected Area

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MVP: Minimum viable population
NESDB: National Economic and Social Development Board (Thailand)
NESDP: National Economic and Social Development Plan (by NESDB)
NGO: Non-governmental organization
NOAA: National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (USA)
NTFP: Non-timber forest product
OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PA: Protected area
PAC: Protected Area Committee (Thailand)
PES: Payment for ecosystem services
PVA: Population viability analysis
REDD+: Reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries,
and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest
carbon stocks.
SEIA: Social and environmental impact assessment
SIDA: Swedish International Development Agency
SSC: IUCN Species Survival Commission
SWOT: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (a form of project analysis)
TAO: Tambon Administrative Organization (Thailand)
TBCSD: Thai Business Council for Sustainable Development
TBPA: Transboundary Protected Area
TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, a project that has developed economic
tools for dealing with biodiversity issues.
TNC: The Nature Conservancy
UAV: Unmanned air vehicles (also called “drones”)
UNDP: United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
USAID: United States Agency for International Development
USNPS: United States National Park Service
WBCSD: World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WCMC: World Conservation Monitoring Centre (part of UNEP, and host of WDPA)
WCPA: World Commission on Protected Areas
WDPA: World Database on Protected Areas
WCS: Wildlife Conservation Society
WEFCOM: Western Forest Complex of protected areas, in Thailand
WHC: World Heritage Convention
WWF: World Wide Fund for Nature; World Wildlife Fund in some countries
PREFACE

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This report is meant to inspire discussion and additional content from stakeholders in the
protected areas of Thailand, aiming toward to preparation of a National Protected Area System
Plan. Serving as a sourcebook for the System Plan, it provides guidance on each of the key
elements of a System Plan that would ensure more effective management, generate new sources
of support, and even provide regional leadership on protected areas. The resulting System Plan
should be a much shorter document, with much of the material contained here being used in
different ways by CATSPA, DNP, and other agencies to stimulate contributions by numerous
interested parties. Drawing on a wide range of sources of information, this report needs to be
supplemented in the System Plan by the substantial number of DNP reports, policy statements,
and management plans written in Thai, and to reflect the consolidated views of DNP.
CATSPA is specifically designed as a source of innovation, so this document contains many
elements that will be new, even controversial, within DNP. Among the many issues that need
discussion: the proposed Categories, zones, and governance; the relations with local and resident
communities, and the surrounding lands more generally; the various policies that may need
modification to fit within DNP practice; the numerous potential funding mechanisms with a view
to selecting those that are most likely to succeed; how to generate the many benefits of protected
areas that will depend on improved management; how to build broader support from multiple
stakeholders; and how to build the institutional and staff capacities to implement the improved
management of Thailand’s protected areas. The on-line form of this report has direct on-line
links to many of the relevant websites.
The report draws from reports that the two external consultants have submitted to CATSPA since
May 2013, including field trips to all four of the demonstration sites (or complexes). It is
supplemented by insights gained from many years of working on protected areas planning and
policy development, and from relevant guidelines and other materials from the Secretariat of the
Convention on Biological Diversity, IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, and
numerous organizations and individuals who have worked on Thailand’s protected areas. Many
of these are cited in the text and listed in the references listed at the end of the report.
A System Plan for Protected Areas will require broad agreement on the priority actions that DNP
and others intend to implement, along with a clear indication of the resources required and a
timeline for implementation. The information, suggestions, and recommendations contained here
can help inform this agreement, following wide discussion.
Jeffrey A. McNeely
Hua Hin
31 October 2014

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“Thailand’s protected areas will ensure that waters continue to flow, wildlife flourishes, and
the Kingdom’s natural heritage is conserved.”
Thailand’s protected areas cover about 17% of the land and 8% of the sea, approaching global
targets established by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This report provides a
toolbox of concepts, lessons from experience, and standards that will enable the sites to be
managed as a system that puts the entire network into its broader social, economic, and
environmental context. It demonstrates the significance and effectiveness of the national PA
system, describes the major contributions it makes to the culture and economy of Thailand, and
recommends practical steps that can be taken to improve the management of the protected areas
system.
Produced with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the report will
also be useful to the many other sectors whose mandates include activities that can affect
protected areas, or be affected by them. Among government agencies, these include tourism,
agriculture, fisheries, health, energy, forestry, transport, and even the military. Many parts of the
private sector can also contribute, and the support of civil society, including the many non-
governmental conservation organizations, is essential.
Thailand’s protected areas are established under laws passed in B.E. 2503 (1960) and 2504
(1961), and are influenced by many other laws. However, new legislation may be required,
to improve PA management, improve relations with local people, and take advantage of
innovative funding mechanisms.
The protected areas are enhanced by the Kingdom’s active participation in relevant
international conventions, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Heritage
Convention, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, and the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species. These international agreements enable Thailand to
meet its international obligations on issues of global importance, such as the conservation of
biological diversity. Multiple benefits also flow to the protected areas from these conventions.
Implementing the System Plan will require:
• Leadership through DNP with the authority and skills to guide the management of the
protected areas system;
• Putting scientifically-based planning and management processes in place and
implementing them at the site level;

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• Supporting sustainable economic activities in the protected areas that support the
management objectives of each site;
• International and national awareness of Thailand’s protected areas system so national
stakeholders respect and understand the economic importance of the system, relevant
regulations, and the roles and responsibilities of DNP and partners;
• Comprehensive protected areas policies, supported by legislation that effectively provides
an enabling environment that allows relevant interested parties to participate meaningfully
in the management of protected areas;
• A sustainable financing system supported by the necessary legal and regulatory
framework; and
• Effective monitoring of the species and ecosystems contained within the Protected Area
System and the management systems in place to implement the objectives of each site. .
Many of the major challenges to protected areas in Thailand come from outside the PAs, so the
System Plan also reaches beyond the protected areas themselves, and includes a focus on
relations with surrounding lands. Protected areas are therefore linked to the nearby lands and
waters, including farms, forest plantations, forest reserves, fish farms, mines, and all other land
and water uses, as part of comprehensive land and water management that will enable
Thailand to adapt to changing conditions.
These changing conditions include threats and risks to the country’s ecosystems, linked to
development issues that are discussed in Chapter 3. Sources of change include: loss of
biodiversity; increasing carbon emissions that affect climate; global and national economic
conditions; increasing demand for wildlife, food, timber, and other forms of biomass; increasing
demand for water; increasing demand for minerals; movements of the human population that
affect land use in the rural landscape; resident human populations within and around protected
areas; dealing with increasing numbers of tourists; human-wildlife conflict; and the spread of
invasive alien species. Each of these is discussed to show how they affect protected areas.
An important means of addressing these challenges is to highlight the multiple benefits of
protected areas, the topic of Chapter 4. Most obvious for most people, protected areas are
designed and managed to conserve natural and cultural heritage. The rich diversity of
Thailand’s native species and ecosystems depends on protected areas that ensure their continued
survival, even saving some from the brink of extinction and reintroducing some that had been
lost from some areas.
It is useful to think of the benefits protected areas provide to people as services from nature.
These are commonly called “ecosystem services” and are divided into “provisioning services”,
such as the production of crops, timber, medicinal plants, fresh water, and wild game;
“supporting services”, such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling; “regulating
services”, such as watershed protection, pollination, climate regulation through carbon

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sequestration, and filtration of pollutants by wetlands; and “cultural services”, such as
recreation, education, aesthetics, and spiritual values.
Different protected areas can provide different ecosystem services, depending on their size,
history, location, and management. The general principles are that conserving genes, species,
and ecosystems is linked to human well-being, and that protected areas often contain the
healthiest ecosystems in the regions in which they occur.
Given that Thailand has always been geographically, culturally, and biologically dynamic, the
surviving natural ecosystems have already shown the ability to adapt to dramatic changes.
Protected areas are particularly important because these are where the richest species diversity is
found, where “nature’s toolbox” is at its fullest. Therefore, they can be an essential part of any
measures designed to enable the country to adapt to the changing conditions the future will
surely bring.
The discussion of ecosystem services helps underline the importance of linking protected areas
to the larger landscape and seascape, the topic of Chapter 5. The communities living in and
around the protected areas and even urban centers that are far downstream depend on protected
areas and their surrounding landscapes for water, tourist destinations, and other purposes. By
considering the relations with surrounding lands and waters as part of the System Plan, mutual
benefits are more likely to be achieved and potential conflicts can be reduced or addressed.
Landscapes obviously include the people and institutions within them, and seascapes also
involve people who are using marine resources and the institutions that are intended to manage
these. The establishment of protected areas should foster widespread implementation of
conservation practices far beyond the boundaries of the protected areas, since they are
economically important contributors to the management of rural lands and important
marine habitats. Particularly important in financial terms are the numerous businesses that
are attracted to the economic opportunities provided by the protected areas (lodging,
restaurants, tour agents, transport, and so forth).
Protected areas depend on inputs from other areas and produce outputs that affect other areas.
This dynamism needs to be included in PA system planning and management, and Chapter 6
describes ways of doing so. Thailand’s political geography is the critical perspective for
conservation, recognizing that many provincial governments are strongly supportive of
protected areas and may wish to provide greater support to them, and to participate in their
management decisions. This will often be based on economic imperatives such as tourism or
watershed protection.

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The landscape and seascape scale can extend across national boundaries, and transboundary
protected areas are possible solutions to at least some of the conflicts and environmental
problems that may occur along the borders with some of Thailand’s ASEAN neighbors. Many
case studies have illustrated the factors that can influence the success of such protected areas,
including communication at all levels, from government to local communities. If created and
managed thoughtfully, transboundary PAs can contribute to national security.
Despite the substantial percentage of the land and sea devoted to protected areas, gaps in the
terrestrial and freshwater systems may leave some biodiversity unprotected. For marine
species, some gaps have already been identified. For birds, 15 of Thailand’s Important Bird
Areas for Thailand are outside the current PA system; five of them have a significant marine
component. The System Plan should also consider the 20-30 sites that have been proposed for
inclusion in the system but are awaiting approval. Any new sites will need to be negotiated with
other agencies that are already using the land (or water) for other national priorities.
A well-known principle of conservation biology is that larger areas can support larger wildlife
populations and thereby reduce the risk of extinction. To be effective in conserving rare species,
protected areas need to be sufficiently large to include at least a minimum viable population,
though few, if any, are yet large enough. To address this concern, Thailand has become a leader
in establishing complexes or clusters of protected areas, designed to facilitate their planning
and management on an ecosystem basis. These 19 complexes cover both terrestrial and marine
protected areas, in virtually all parts of the country. They connect protected areas through
conservation corridors that include privately owned land, or land managed by other government
agencies (such as forestry or the military) to connect protected areas, expanding their effective
size. These corridors enable the movement of plants and animals between protected areas, as well
as physically linking the habitats. Protected area complexes provide more opportunities for
adapting to climate change and enable closer collaboration between protected areas and the
local communities, thereby supporting rural development.
All protected areas in the system should receive adequate management input, and this can be
facilitated through having explicit system-wide policies and broad objectives that enable each
site to develop its own management plan that contributes to the whole system with a clear
purpose. Not surprisingly, this often means that different sites may be managed for very
different specific objectives, and thus may deserve different labels that recognize their particular
contributions to the system. This is a major insight, and may require a wider range of protected
areas than is foreseen in the current legislation. Chapter 7 puts forward a new approach for
different categories of protected areas.
A more flexible system of categories of protected areas can be useful for supporting systematic
conservation planning, though presenting a more nuanced picture of protected areas rather than

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assuming that all National Parks or all Wildlife Sanctuaries are under identical management, or
that all protected areas should fall under the same set of legal restrictions and permissions. And
the system of categories also can be seen as a way of approaching different management regimes
in different conditions, thereby giving DNP greater flexibility in the way it implements its
responsibilities.
The approach proposed draws on the global system of categories prepared by IUCN over the past
three decades, adapts these to Thailand’s particular needs, and can apply to all areas that meet the
broad objectives of a protected area: conserving biodiversity; contributing to regional
conservation and development strategies; operating under a management plan and a
monitoring and evaluation procedure; providing ecosystem services that are consistent with
the management plan; and operating under a clear and equitable governance system.
This system has six categories, based on management objectives. Only the first two are
currently used in Thailand.
Category I. Wildlife Sanctuaries are strictly protected to conserve outstanding ecosystems or
species, where human visitation, use and impacts are controlled and limited to ensure protection
of the conservation values. This is broadly consistent with Thailand’s Wildlife Sanctuaries,
though the smaller ones might better be merged with one or more protected areas of other
management categories, but zoned for strict protection.
Category II. National Parks are established to protect the ecological integrity of one or more
ecosystems for future generations, to exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes
of designation of the area and to provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, recreational and
visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally compatible. Thailand’s 100+ national
parks are often all considered to be Category II National Parks, but relatively few of them Naional
Parks actually meet this objective. Many of them contain villages, posing significant
management problems. Moving some of these national parks to other categories could help
address this problem.
Category III. Natural Monuments are areas managed to protect landforms (such as limestone
outcroppings), waterfalls or series of waterfalls, sea mounts, marine caverns, geological features
such as a cave or cave system (commonly in limestone), living features such as ancient groves or
bird roosting areas that may exist in association with a temple, or small areas of forest. Many
Forest Parks may best be considered Category III, though others may be more appropriate as
Category IV, V, or VI (below).
Category IV. Habitat/Species Management Areas are managed to protect particular species or
habitats, often requiring regular, active interventions to meet the needs of particular species or

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habitats (such as enrichment planting or fire management). Such areas are often relatively small,
containing only fragments of a formerly widespread ecosystem type (such as a remnant
rainforest) and some of the current National Parks could be included in this category, as could
some areas currently considered as Watershed Class I or II.
Category V. Protected Landscape or Seascape designation is suitable where the interaction of
people and nature over time has produced ecosystems of distinct character with significant,
biological, cultural and scenic value; and where safeguarding this interaction is vital to protecting
and sustaining the area and its associated nature conservation and other values. A major reservoir
within a protected area may be surrounded by a Category V site to help reduce sedimentation and
included within the protected area, provided the reservoir is managed consistently with protected
area objectives. Category V sites may contain villages whose practices are consistent with the
conservation objectives of the site.
Category VI. Protected Areas with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources are managed to
conserve ecosystems, together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource
management systems. They are generally large, with substantial areas in a mainly natural or semi-
natural condition, with some of the area under sustainable natural resource management and
where low-level non-industrial natural resource use compatible with nature conservation is seen
as one of the main aims. Since using nature to sustain livelihoods is a major objective, the
involvement of local communities in management decisions is essential.
The management of protected areas is a complicated process, especially for large sites that may
not have sufficient staff to provide all the services that are required. An important way of
addressing this challenge is to establish management zones within the site, with different kinds
of management to be applied to different zones to achieve different objectives. Zones that have
been found useful in protected areas include: Strict Protection Zone; Nature Protection Zone;
Habitat Management Zone; Tourism Development Zone; Cultural Conservation Zone;
Sustainable Use Zone; No-Fishing Zone; Special Use Zone; and Buffer Zone.
The management categories are applied with a typology of governance types, describing who
holds authority and responsibility for the protected area. Good governance of protected areas
today is recognized as including legitimacy and voice that recognizes rightsholders,
stakeholders and others, keeping them informed and empowering them to have a say;
direction, that sets a clear long-term perspective for the PA that is shared by all interested
parties; performance, which ensures efficient and effective management that meets the
objectives established by the management plan and builds resilience to change;
accountability that includes the principles of integrity and transparency to decision-making as
well as clear lines of responsibility and reporting; and fairness that promotes equitable access to
benefits and respects the principles of free prior and informed consent for PA management. The

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current PAs include these elements with some variability from site to site, with few yet meeting
the ideal.
Governance for protected areas can be divided into four broad types, of which only the first is
currently in general use in Thailand. A broader range of governance may offer opportunities for
enhancing sustainable management and working with local people.
Type 1. Governance by Government. This is how protected areas are managed today, with the
Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) responsible for managing
most, but not all, sites that could be considered “protected areas” as defined by IUCN and the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
Type 2. Shared Governance, sometimes called co-management or joint management, involves
DNP sharing management responsibility with civil society. Under the system of categories
proposed above, at least PA categories IV, V, and VI may lend themselves to greater co-
management. Many local communities already manage part of their village territory to conserve
or regenerate natural systems, so co-management seems to hold considerable promise for
Thailand.
Type 3. Private governance. Thailand is not characterized by large land holdings that lend
themselves to management that would qualify as a protected area, though Category III Natural
Monuments could be possible. Many Buddhist temples are have large land holdings within
protected areas. They could serve as private, self-governing enclaves within any Category, but
would be subject to site’s management plan (and contribute to preparing it).
Type 4. Governance by local communities may be possible, on a trial basis, for some portions
of Category IV, V, or VI protected areas. Some traditional approaches may also warrant
examination, such as the water management associations that have reported in the north. Some
community managed conserved areas exist in Class 1 and Class 2 watersheds, and a survey of
these could reveal that at least some of them could be considered protected areas in the sense
considered here.
A broad objective for a protected area system is to ensure the financial sustainability of the
sites within the system. Chapter 8 therefore explores how DNP can develop the ability to secure
sufficient, stable, and long-term financial resources, and allocate them in a timely manner and in
an appropriate form. An essential element is treating protected areas in a more businesslike
manner, with management plans being implemented with the support of a site-based business
plan.

18
Many of the benefits of protected areas are “public goods” that benefit everybody in Thailand.
These include the conservation of biological diversity (a national and global public good), the
conservation of cultural values (a national public good), air quality regulation (benefits scales
from local to regional), regulation of erosion, pests, and natural hazards (mostly local), social and
religious values (many levels, including global), and educational values and inspiration (also at
many scales). Such public goods typically are covered by the national budget and sometimes
receive international support (in the case of biodiversity, for example).
Economists might argue that the protected areas are suffering from a market failure when the
amount provided by the government budget is insufficient to effectively manage the public goods
provided by the protected areas. Additional funding mechanisms for protected areas are required
to correct these market failures, and several are proposed.
The private sector is a funding source that holds considerable promise, depending on
providing opportunities for the private sector to make appropriate kinds of investments in the
protected areas and the protected area system. The large companies are likely to provide the most
significant levels of funding, but protected areas can also could explore relationships with small-
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could in principle operate within protected areas,
managing businesses that are consistent with the site management plan and providing a share of
their income to the protected area. National Parks could each consider designing and producing a
unique product, like a national park OTOP, with support from innovative product developers.
Grants and other support from non-governmental conservation organizations can be
enhanced. Thailand’s protected areas have long benefitted from the support of non-
governmental conservation organizations, both domestic and foreign. Such support is often “in
kind”, that is, support for DNP policies, conducting or supporting field research, providing
expertise, and so forth. Thailand now has many domestic NGOs that are providing support to
protected areas that could be expanded. International NGOs have often been instrumental in
generating financial support from governments or international agencies, helping to build support
in the donor countries, and providing expertise to the projects. The potential for such support
continues to grow, as the global environmental movement gains strength.
Innovative sources of funding are also required, especially in the form of payments for
ecosystem services. These can be used to benefit protected areas specifically by determining their
economic value, identifying the beneficiaries of this value, and finding a culturally appropriate
way of collecting payments for the ecosystem service. Three major ecosystem services are
highlighted because of their potential relevance to Thai PAs, though many other ecosystem
services are worth exploring.

19
1. Payments for access to genetic resources can use the CBD’s Nagoya Protocol on Access and
Benefit Sharing as a basis for creating legal certainty, clarity, and transparency about access to
genetic resources; provide fair and non-arbitrary rules and procedures; issue permits when access
is granted by DNP; create conditions to promote and encourage research contributing to
biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; and consider the importance of genetic resources
for food and agriculture for food security. Funds are already becoming available for
implementing the Nagoya Protocol
2. Payment for carbon offsets is a potentially lucrative source of income, given that Thailand’s
protected areas include the richest stores of carbon (in forests and coral reefs), and these are
increasing as they continue to grow. The value of this ecosystem service is likely to increase as
governments become more aware of the urgency of mitigating climate change. The Parties to the
Climate Change Convention are promising substantial funding to carbon sequestration. The
carbon sequestration value of protected areas can convince Parliament to increase the DNP
budget so it can maintain the increasingly valuable old-growth forests contained within protected
areas.
3. Payments for water-related ecosystem services seem especially promising because water
is specifically linked to provisioning services such as capture fisheries, aquaculture, and fresh
water; regulating services such as water regulation, erosion regulation, water purification and
waste treatment, and natural hazard regulation; cultural services such as tourism and inspiration;
and supporting services such as water cycling. A good beginning would be quantifying the
economic benefits of sediment control from protected areas around reservoirs supporting
dams that provide hydroelectric power, and seeking appropriate payment from, for example,
EGAT.
Payments for ecosystem services could yield substantial new funding, but this should be seen as
new and additional funding, not replacing the government-allocated budget. Some new
approaches to managing this new income may be required. One possible approach is
establishing conservation trust funds, under which funds are raised from grants or project
support and held in trust for application to protected areas. Foundations are typically the legal
structure that is used to establish and govern the operations of a trust fund, and Thailand has the
legislation necessary to use this mechanism.
Taking advantage of the funding opportunities will require DNP providing a good “product”,
namely well-managed protected areas that meet the demands of “customers” (that is, visitors to
protected areas and supporters of protected area objectives). This in turn requires that DNP also
provide outstanding “services” in the form of transparent, well-managed finances, with income
and expenditure made very clear to all interested parties.

20
Judging from the multitudes of visitors to many of Thailand’s protected areas, the public
appreciates having protected areas as an attractive destination. Chapter 9 explores ways to
expand this support, using modern communications technology and an expanded approach to
reach out to new audiences. The System Plan can serve as a blueprint for communicating with the
public, various stakeholders, the private sector, and parts of the government (and even within
DNP).
DNP can use various social media to embrace a broader public and provide useful information
to visitors and potential visitors. Thailand already has well-established infrastructure for using
such media, with over 18 million Facebook users, over 90 million mobile telephone subscribers,
and 24 million Internet users. With virtually everyone in Thailand having access to a cellphone, it
is relatively easy to provide Phone Apps for protected areas.
Many protected areas have taken advantage of the new technologies to establish their own
websites or Facebook pages. An innovation for DNP would be targeting appropriate
information to other government agencies whose operations directly affect PAs. Many other
approaches could be included in the DNP website, including a Google Earth link that would
indicate the location, boundaries, and links to other protected areas for each of the major sites.
Site-based Communications Plans could be attractive as both a means of attracting funds to
support such outreach, and to reach out to potential donors or sponsors of the protected area.
As indicated throughout the report, protected area policies are essential to the success of a
System Plan, converting the laws into practice. Chapter 10 provides detailed advice on the
guiding principles or procedures that set the direction for management decisions. Policies can
deal with more specific issues than most legislation, and can be adopted in a much more flexible
manner.
Thailand’s protected areas are guided by numerous policies, at various levels. They have been
developed over the years, and it may be worthwhile to revisit them, bring them up to date, and
compile them into a DNP policy manual for protected areas. Formalizing policies and making
them easily available will help ensure that management plans follow the agreed policies, PA
superintendents have a clear basis for making decisions, and management decisions can be clearly
communicated to other interested parties.
Ideally, since protected areas are of interest to the entire country and affect many interests, the
major policies should be developed through a concerted consensus-building process that involves
drawing from experience in both Thailand and other countries, extensive field review,
consultation with key stakeholders, and review and comment by the general public. Examples of
such policies include management planning in protected areas (formalizing and modifying
existing practice to give more responsibility to the site senior staff), tourism in protected areas

21
(of great interest, given that tourism provides about 6% of GDP, a higher percentage than any
other Asian nation), relations with the private sector (involving the ministries of Commerce,
Industry, and Energy and the Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development),
managing cultural resources in protected areas (involving the ministries of Culture and Social
Development and Human Security), development and management of roads in protected
areas (which affect the interests of the ministries of Transport and Defense, among others), and
research in protected areas (which may have international implications and will be of interest to
the ministries of Education, Culture, and Science and Technology, and various universities and
conservation organizations). Proposals for these policies are presented in the report, with the one
on research presented in a form that would enable DNP to debate alternatives.
Numerous approaches to managing protected areas are provided by established practice
in many countries, and are being implemented by DNP. The report need not discuss these
well-known approaches, but in Chapter 11 highlights a few particularly important
management approaches that may have some innovative elements for Thailand.
First is a Geographic Information System to support the System Plan. it would be a
computerized system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to the
management of the protected area. It would give protected area managers a clear and
objective picture of the state of the protected area, the factors that are influencing changes
in habitats, which areas are most popular for tourists, where the likelihood of seeing
certain species is highest, where poachers are most active, and where management
attention is most needed. The full development of the GIS should involve active
participation of private sector expertise in electronic data management, remote sensing,
and information management, as well as NGOs with experience in this field.
Second, the restoration of species and ecosystems deserves greater attention now that the
protected areas are being managed sufficiently well to bring back some species that may have
been lost from an ecosystem, but still survive elsewhere. This is already being implemented in
some areas, such as the Western Forest Complex, but now needs to be expanded. While allowing
nature to take its course in recovering the productivity of ecosystems is often the wisest course,
sometimes nature needs a helping hand. In such cases, restoration may be needed: establishing
the population of the introduced species; growth of the population at a normal rate; and the
long-term persistence of the introduced species.
Restoring native species and ecosystems can be facilitated by another management approach that
needs greater attention, namely controlling invasive alien species. These non-native species by
definition are harming native ecosystems. The prevention of invasive species becoming
established begins with regulations that control the import of potentially invasive species by
Customs, the importing agencies, and those interested in using the potentially invasive species in

22
agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. But PA managers can seek to prevent potentially invasive
species from entering the protected area, and once such a species arrives, implementing
procedures to eradicate the invader; and if it becomes established, to control its effects.
Finally, greater management attention is required on an issue that affects virtually all protected
areas in Thailand, namely working in collaboration with local people. The landscapes and
seascapes that include resident people and protected areas define Thailand, though the current PA
legislation makes their residence in PAs technically illegal. As a way of finding a productive
relationship with rural communities in and around protected areas, this report suggests using
protected areas management objectives consistent with Category IV Habitat and Species
Management Areas, Category V Protected Landscapes and Seascapes, and Category VI Protected
Areas with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources. Non-hunting Areas provide some flexibility in
this regard.
In Thailand, community-based conservation is likely to work best when it is supported by
appropriate policies, incentives, and enforcement of regulations. Such a program could be
part of payment for ecosystem services, where local people receive appropriate payments for
controlling poaching, protecting watersheds, and respecting boundaries.
Many examples of positive relations between people and protected areas are described.
With its important mandate, DNP will need to build greater capacity implement the protected
area system, the topic of the final chapter. Protected areas are far more complicated to manage
than production forests, so a detailed consideration of capacity building for the System Plan needs
to cover the full range of expected competencies described in this chapter.
But recent developments, including many described in this report, suggest that innovative
approaches to PA management will require some new approaches by both DNP staff and many
others who need to be supporters of protected areas. Some of these can be located at the site level,
but more are best located at the system level so that support can be provided to all sites. The new
skills required include expertise in Geographic Information Systems; expertise in working
with local communities; expertise in working with the private sector; expertise in protected
areas economics; expertise in multi-sectoral management; expertise in legal aspects of
modern protected area management; expertise in climate change in relation to protected
areas; and expertise in communicating protected area values to the public.
A comprehensive training program would reach beyond DNP. It could provide short courses to
conservation organizations that could use the training to provide more informed support to the
protected area system. It could design brief hikes, coral reef tours, and camping trips for relevant
businesses, including in the tourism sector, to give them better understanding of protected area
management and stimulate stronger support to the System. DNP could also consider establishing

23
an Intern Program, where students from relevant universities could spend several months
providing support to appropriate protected area staff, and thereby learn the practical challenges of
protected area management. Some of these students may later apply for employment in DNP, but
all of them will leave with a better understanding of protected areas and provide the basis for
stronger public support of the National PA System.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
Much needs to be done to ensure the success of Thailand’s system of protected areas, by DNP
and many other agencies and organizations that affect protected areas. The recommendations
made throughout this report will help create the conditions for effective management. Some are
sequential, or at least would help others to be implemented subsequently. Many others can be
implemented concurrently, making progress across a wide range of issues. Some of the most
important recommendations are collected here for ease of reference.
Chapter 2 Recommendation on Vision and Objectives: DNP should establish a High-level
Working Group that would approve a Vision for Thailand’s Protected Areas, and disseminate this
vision widely in numerous languages as the basis of a new communications plan. The Working
Group should also approve the system-wide Strategic Objectives for protected areas management,
and ensure that they guide the application of site-specific objectives included in site-based
management plans.
Chapter 3 Recommendations on Challenges to Protected Areas:
1. Led by DNP and involving a wide range of expertise from numerous agencies, Thailand
should prepare a National Red List of Threatened Species, following IUCN guidelines and
applying them to local conditions. This would provide an authoritative and internationally
recognized baseline of the status of species, based on current knowledge. It would enable
changes in species to be monitored over the coming years, guide species-based research, and
provide a powerful tool for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas.
2. DNP and CATSPA should develop a detailed understanding of the main challenges that
protected areas must address at the national level and publish this in a form that can receive
additional input from senior staff throughout the protected areas system. Such a document could
help the site-level managers address the local challenges by establishing the national and
international context within which they are working. Site-based management plans would be
expected to identify clearly the specific challenges they are addressing during the period of the
management plan.
Chapter 4 Recommendations on Benefits of Protected Areas:
1. A detailed report on the benefits that protected areas provide to the people of Thailand should
be prepared separate from the System Plan and made widely available in published form. It
should be well illustrated and demonstrate the multiple values of protected areas to the public,
government officials, and political leaders. Such a publication could form the basis of building
broader support (Chapter 9) through providing specific examples of social, cultural, ecological,
political, and economic benefits of protected areas.

25
2. To enhance the capacity of protected areas to deliver ecosystem services, DNP should restore
degraded ecosystems, establish connectivity between PAs, integrate them with the wider
landscapes and seascapes (including transboundary connections where appropriate), ensure that
PAs are actively involved in national climate change adaptation strategies and plans, and consider
joining international initiatives such as REDD+.
Chapter 5 Recommendation on Landscape Approaches: Thailand’s System of Protected
Areas should be strongly linked to other land uses in the rural landscape and seascape, calling for
significantly increased collaboration with other government agencies involved in the adjacent
areas (Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, and others) and new
links with private land owners. Available legal instruments include the Town and Country
Planning Act, the National Environmental Quality Act, and perhaps several others. Combined
with the approaches suggested in Chapters 6 and 7, these can provide the basis for the
collaborative innovation that is required for long-term success.
Chapter 6 Recommendations on the Geographic Basis:
1. The System Plan should be based on ecosystem management principles that imply
linking the protected areas in complexes that include other compatible land uses wherever
possible. To this should be added the political boundaries of provinces that would clearly
identify which protected areas occur where in each province. Such an understanding would
provide an explicit basis for expanding provincial-level support for the protected areas and
encourage cooperation among provinces that share a Protected Area Complex.
2. The issue of transboundary protected areas should remain a medium-level priority for
DNP, given the limited PA management capacity of some of the neighboring countries.
Perhaps the initial focus should be on inter-governmental cooperation in regional initiatives
such as the Greater Mekong Subregion (through the Asian Development Bank) and the Bay
of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (that includes work in the Andaman Sea). At the
site level, cooperation could be sought initially on addressing poaching problems.
3. DNP and CATSPA should appoint an Expert Panel to prepare a detailed study on potential
additions to the protected area system, based on field studies where necessary. The study should
recommend optimal boundaries, values of the site, contributions of the site to the PA System,
potential links to other PAs in a Complex (see 6.3 below), appropriate Management Category
(based on the system proposed in Chapter 7), and any other issues the Panel considers relevant.
Once priorities have been agreed, DNP staff would need to be assigned to negotiate with the
current land holders in the cases where additional land would be added to the DNP-managed
protected areas, and to seek appropriate cooperative agreements in the cases where land or waters

26
are, or could be, managed as a protected area but would remain the responsibility of the
government (for example the military), the private sector (such as Buddhist temples), or others.
4. The System Plan should build on the experience from Khao Yai-Dong Phayayen, the
Andaman Sea, Kaeng Krachan, EFCOM, WEFCOM, and other PA complexes to support
additional opportunities for managing more protected areas as part of complexes, including
terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. DNP should work to prepare Protected Area
Complex-wide Management Plans, perhaps starting with the CATSPA pilot sites of WEFCOM
and EFCOM. The Management Categories from Chapter 7 provide a possible means for linking
protected areas that may currently be separated, by incorporating into the Complex some areas
that may contain villages and private lands that can be managed in ways that contribute to the
objectives of the System Plan. In other cases, the landscape and seascape approaches described in
Chapter 5 may be applied through cooperation with other government agencies, using the
management recommendations of the Ecological Corridor Study. While PA complexes should
remain the foundation of the system, some isolated areas remain essential parts of the System,
perhaps as Category III in some cases.
Chapter 7 Recommendation on Management Categories, Zoning, and Governance:
1. The solution for to the problem of allocation of categories proposed in this chapter is to
establish a high-level committee within DNP to be responsible for assigning each of the protected
areas to a category, based on input from the site superintendents, managers who have served over
the past decade or so, and others who may offer useful input. A relatively simple first step that is
already being implemented is to review the existing National Parks and assign them to priorities
based on agreed characteristics that indicate their importance.
2. The policy implications of Management Categories, Management Zones, and Protected Area
Governance are so significant that they require broad discussion and debate, both within DNP and
with other government agencies that may be affected. This chapter should be the basis of detailed
discussions, first internally and then with senior officials dealing with such policies. A crucial
impediment is that the current legislation, based on the National Parks Act and the Wildlife
Protection Act, does not permit such a system to be adopted. While regulations and ministerial
orders can address some of the problems, the Parliament ultimately will need to address the issues
raised in this chapter. Once adopted, this system of categories, zones, and governance would
provide the foundation for the System Plan and subsequent improvement of management
sustainability for Thailand’s protected areas.
Chapter 8 Recommendations on Generating Additional Support:

27
1. Innovative funding for protected areas will require appropriate legislation, regulations, and
oversight. Therefore, the DNP Legal Division should explore the possibilities for modifying
existing measures or creating new ones to ensure that the innovative approaches have the
appropriate legal, regulatory, and incentive support. This element should be addressed separately
from the System Plan, but taking guidance from the Plan.
2. Since tourism is a major source of funding for protected areas, DNP should seek multiple
sources of additional income from this industry, including reviewing admission fees, providing
additional attractions that could generate payments, working with the private sector, providing
opportunities for voluntary donations, and others. DNP should ensure that the increased flow of
funds from tourists leads to observable improvements in management of the protected area.
3. To enhance funding from the private sector, DNP should consider appointing a senior staff
person to be responsible for reaching out to the private sector. This may include attending
appropriate meetings, corresponding with potential supporters of marine and terrestrial protected
areas, preparing project proposals for both Thai and international companies, and so forth.
4. To enhance funding from NGOs, DNP should establish a full-time professional-level position
within DNP to serve as a liaison officer to international agencies, foundations, and non-
governmental organizations with an interest in the species and ecosystems contained within
Thailand. This person would also be responsible for identifying funding opportunities, developing
project proposals, and ensuring that the superintendents of the relevant protected areas are fully
involved in the effort.
5. DNP should enhance its capacity to address issues related to genetic resources of all kinds
(plant, animal, fungus, micro-organism) in protected areas, and participate actively in discussions
about the development of biotechnology in Thailand.
6. To generate carbon-related funding for protected areas, DNP should support the development
of REDD+ and other such payments for carbon as potential sources of innovative funding,
recognizing that this will require further research and negotiation, including internationally with
the other parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and domestically with the
Royal Forest Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (among others). The potential
benefits make this well worth the effort to explore this funding option thoroughly, and ensuring
that protected areas are well recognized in the study of this option. This is also consistent with
the 2012-2016 NESDP.
7. To generate a system of payments for water-related ecosystem services, DNP should consider
developing a project for a detailed analysis of the water flows from a limited number (about 20)
of the most important protected areas in terms of watershed protection. The project should

28
include an estimation of the quantity of the water flow (which ideally would be measured through
standard flow gauges that would operate for several years, to also measure annual variation in the
water flows), the quality of the water (using standard measures of water quality), economic
valuation of the water flow, and identification of the beneficiaries of this ecosystem service (to be
used as a demonstration to bolster argumentation about the importance of conserving the
protected areas). Using available information, DNP should identify which protected areas are
contributing to protecting the watersheds of reservoirs, preparing a list of the protected areas and
the reservoirs they are supporting. DNP should also identify which protected areas are serving as
water sources to local villages through direct tapping of water sources within the protected area
(as at Khao Chamao, as just one example). This should lead to a list of which protected areas are
providing water directly to which villages, ideally with the population of the village. This would
provide an objective indication of how protected areas are contributing directly to provision of
water supplies, setting the stage for exploring payments for these services.
8. In exploring new customers and products, CATSPA should organize a brain-storming session,
involving relevant DNP staff, representatives from other government agencies, university experts,
NGOs, and representatives of the private sector, to explore the idea of “customers” and
“products” of protected areas and recommend additional “customers” and “products” that may be
worthy of a project proposal.
9. In addition to the specific recommendations made above, DNP more generally should enhance
its capacity to raise funds, through the kinds of expertise that are described above. This will
require building long-term relationships with the key potential partners among interested
governments, international organizations, conservation organizations, and the private sector. It
will also require site management plans that lead to business plans that clearly identify
investments required, the justification for the investments, the expected results of the investments
(in business language, “return on investment”), and the amounts required.
Chapter 9 Recommendations on Communications to Build Broader Support:
1. DNP and CATSPA should develop and implement a Communication Strategy for reaching
potential supporters among the public, the private sector, government officials and agencies, the
media, and political leaders. This could build on the Vision for protected areas and the multiple
benefits that were covered briefly in Chapter 4, and would support the innovative funding
mechanisms introduced in Chapter 8. DNP should set up a Working Group, including from the
private sector and conservation organizations, to design the most effective ways to use social
media to support protected areas.

29
2. DNP should consider expanding its communications and collaboration with a much broader
range of ministries, organizations, and interest groups that may support the overall objectives of
the System Plan, and the specific objectives of the sites contained within the System.
Chapter 10 Recommendations on Policies to Support Sustainable Management of Protected
Areas:
1. Regarding a policy on management plans, new guidelines for preparing management plans
in each category of protected areas should be prepared by DNP, following the guidelines outlined
in this section. A particularly important element is to link the budget for the site to the
management plan and the annual workplan.
2. Regarding cultural values of protected areas, DNP should further develop policies on the
multiple issues surrounding the cultural issues within protected areas, with a view to further
improving relations with Buddhist temples located within protected areas, incorporating
traditional ecological knowledge in protected areas management where appropriate, and working
more collaboratively with people in the lands surrounding protected areas.
3. Regarding a policy on research, the Protected Area System Plan can only be fully
implemented if it is supported by a strong Research Strategy that provides the information needed
to enable sites and PA complexes to adapt to changing conditions. Therefore, the Research
Division of DNP should develop a Research Strategy that would help support innovative funding
mechanisms such as payment for ecosystem services; address on-going problems such as human-
animal conflict, poaching, and encroachment; and provide the basis for managing commercial
uses of genetic materials collected from protected areas. It could also build stronger partnerships
with other government agencies that benefit from protected areas, and with universities and
conservation organizations that see protected areas as important sites for conducting valuable
research.
Chapter 11 Recommendations on Enhancing Sustainable Management of Protected Areas:
1. The complexity of modern GIS software and hardware, and the growing experience within
Thailand in the use of such technology, calls for a substantial discussion of how a GIS system
should be developed for DNP. This should take the form of a technical workshop that involves
the private sector companies dealing with GIS (for example, Pasco, Globetech, and others), the
academics who are using (and developing) the technologies, NGOs with relevant expertise, the
other governmental sectors that are using GIS, including the Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives, the Ministry of Defense, and other parts of the Ministry of Science, Technology
and the Environment. The outcome of this workshop should be the design of the most
appropriate GIS for the needs of DNP.

30
2. Once the factors that have led to species being depleted have been ameliorated, DNP should
develop a programme for restoration of suitable plants and animals, learning from experience and
drawing on expertise from universities, zoos, botanical gardens, and the private sector as
appropriate. This programme should aim an enriching ecosystems and building their capacity to
adapt to changing conditions.
3. DNP should recognize the multiple threats that invasive alien species pose to its protected area
system, and work with the many other government agencies, non-governmental organizations,
and relevant parts of the private sector to initiate a national initiative to address these threats.
4. DNP should develop its management approaches to the communities living in and around
protected areas through a major consultation with the agencies that have been implementing
project activities in these sites, academics who have been working on these issues, non-
governmental organizations in both conservation and development, the protected area managers
who are dealing with these issues on a regular basis, tambon governments, and relevant
ministries. This should be a substantial event, with case studies, open discussions, and clear
conclusions with advice to DNP on how to include resident peoples in protected area
managements.
Chapter 12 Recommendation on Capacity Building:
1. Drawing on the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation’s publication on
“Competence Standards for Protected Area Jobs in Southeast Asia,” DNP and CATSPA should
prepare an action plan for training all staff working in protected areas. This should involve
making Protected Area Management a career, with clear steps toward advancement, training the
trainers in the CATSPA Effectiveness Unit to implement detailed activities in management
effectiveness, and developing ways to take full advantage of the skills gained by forest-dwelling
people who have much to contribute even though they may lack the academic training required
for formal government service (a limitation that may be overcome in time).

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INTRODUCTION: HOW A SYSTEM PLAN CAN HELP IMPROVE MANAGEMENT
OF PROTECTED AREAS
Thailand already has an excellent network of 102 terrestrial National Parks, 22 Marine National
Parks, 58 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 67 Non-hunting Areas, and 120 Forest Parks, totaling 106,036
square kilometers (based on official figures as of 30 September 2014; additional areas have been
proposed and are pending approval). These cover almost 20% of the land and about 8% of the
sea. A Thailand National Report on Protected Areas and Development was prepared as part of
the Protected Areas Development Partnership (ICEM, 2003), with broad support from
government agencies, Thai experts, bilateral donors, and international technical advice. And a
Thailand Protected Area Master Plan (Dearden and Tanakanjana, 2012) also had broad
participation from Thai experts and support from GEF-UNDP. So why is a System Plan
required?
[Insert Photo: Scenic of a protected area]
[Insert full page map on Thailand’s protected areas on facing page]
Both of these major reports called for such a plan, and laid the groundwork for it. The proposed
System Plan will add value to these efforts by building on the current focus on individual sites to
examine the relationships among these sites, and show how to put the entire network into its
broader social, economic, and environmental context. This report also includes more recent
literature and experience, with a cutoff date of 15 October 2014, but continuing findings will be
relevant to a System Plan, especially those presented at the November 2014 World Parks
Congress held in Sydney, Australia. A System Plan would demonstrate the significance and
effectiveness of the national PA system and the major contribution it makes to the culture and
economy of Thailand. It would provide the basis for integrating protected areas into the
implementation of the 2012-2016 National Economic and Social Development Plan (NESDB,
2012). It would do so by communicating the multiple values of protected areas to national
planning agencies, and to the many sectors whose mandates include activities that can affect
protected areas, or be affected by them. These include tourism, agriculture, fisheries, health,
energy, forestry, transport, and even the military. A System Plan would facilitate incorporating
protected areas appropriately within the Fourth National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan,
being prepared as part of Thailand’s implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD). Preparing a System Plan is also called for by the CBD (Article 8a), and Thailand’s
System Plan will be one of the first of its kind in the ASEAN region.
[Insert photo of marine protected area]

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This report on a System Plan provides a framework for establishing appropriate management
objectives for each PA so that the system as a whole meets national development objectives,
linking protected areas to each other and thereby expanding their effective size, identifying an
appropriate role for research and monitoring, adapting to climate change, and providing
additional support to maintain the health of ecosystems that promote human well-being. It
presents guidance to meet these broad objectives in the most cost-effective way. It will also
suggest how to identify additional protected areas to ensure that all of Thailand’s biodiversity is
conserved. The System Plan will demonstrate regional leadership in making protected areas an
integral part of national development.
A System Plan establishes a clear policy framework that will enable the managers of each
protected area to prepare a Site Management Plan that meets the site requirements while also
supporting national policies on key topics such as management planning, tourism, research,
relations with the private sector, road design, research, and so forth (Box 1).
Finally, a System Plan establishes priorities for research, communications, training, wildlife
management, capacity building and other issues that will enable each site in the system, and the
system as a whole, to ensure that the natural wealth of Thailand is conserved and enhanced for the
benefit of all.
Box 1. How the National Protected Areas System Plan would fit with other major
policy guidance and applications. Note that many policies on protected areas already
exist, but the System Plan would provide the basis for a more coordinated approach
to them. Policies by other agencies that affect protected areas, for example a national
policy on climate change or biodiversity, would both inform the System Plan and be
informed by it. Annual work plans would follow from business plans.

33
The 2007
Constitution
National Parks
Act BE 2504 &
Wild Animals
Reservation &,
Protection ACT
BE 2503
(revised 2535),
plus other
relevantt Acts
The 2012-2016
National
Economic and
Social
Development
Plan
The National
Protected
Areas System
Plan
Protected Area
Policies
Protected Area
Site
Management
Plans
Protected Area
Site Business
Plans

34
Part I. SETTING THE STAGE
Chapter 1. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Key messages:
• Thailand’s protected areas enjoy broad national and global support, judging from the
number of visitors to them and the many partners in protecting nature, including NGOs,
international organizations, and many like-minded governments.
• Preparing a System Plan requires a shared understanding of basic terms and concepts,
as well as ecological concepts and the role of international agreements.
• Many government agencies have a substantial interest in protected areas, and numerous
national laws have relevance to PAs. A major challenge is to coordinate these many
laws, bring them up to date, and enforce them effectively.
A National System Plan for Thailand’s Protected Areas needs to be built on a solid foundation.
This should include a shared understanding of key terms and principles among all relevant
organizations, a solid grounding in the ecological science that governs the function of ecosystems,
a sound understanding of the social and economic issues facing protected areas, and detailed
knowledge of the international support that Thailand’s protected areas can expect. This Chapter
seeks to provide such a foundation.
1.1. Building understanding of key terms and concepts
Many of the key terms in a National Protected Area System Plan are fairly new in the
international vocabulary. Even such a fundamental concept as “biodiversity” has multiple
definitions (Swingland, 2001), and not everybody has the same idea of a “protected area”. Here,
some key definitions and concepts are presented. The interested reader is referred to the Glossary
for the definition of other terms, some of which remain somewhat controversial.
Protected areas are geographically defined areas that are designated or regulated and managed to
achieve specific conservation objectives.  M ore specifically,the most widely used definition is
provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which defines a
protected area as “a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term conservation of nature with

35
associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (Dudley, 2013). It provides a slightly different
definition for a marine protected area: “Any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its
overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been
reserved by law or other effective means to protect all or part of the enclosed environment”
(Dudley, 2013).
Most of the protected areas covered by the System Plan are managed under the authority of the
Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation (DNP), though many other parts
of the government have interests in protected areas and the benefits they provide. For example,
56 Species Conservation Areas, totaling over 166 km2
, have been established under the Fisheries
Act and are managed by the Department of Fisheries, though the Department of Marine and
Coastal Resources may have interest in marine protected areas as well (in addition to those
managed by DNP). Some areas under the control of the Royal Thai Navy also function
effectively as protected areas and make important contributions to national conservation
objectives (for example, helping to conserve Endangered green sea turtles Chelonia mydas and
Critically Endangered hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata)
(www.facebook.com/SeaTurtleSattahip).
[Insert photo: Navy turtle conservation project at Sattahip, or sea turtles]
Among other things, protected areas help conserve biological diversity, which is defined by the
Convention on Biological Diversity (which entered into force in 1993 and was ratified by
Thailand in 2003) as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including
terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are
part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” This convention,
often called the CBD, is particularly important for protected areas because its Article 8(a) calls on
each contracting party to “establish a system of protected areas or areas where special measures
need to be taken to conserve biological diversity.” Its Article 8(b) expects parties to “Develop,
where necessary, guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of protected areas
or areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity” (see Glowka,
et al., 1994 for a discussion of the CBD and a copy of the convention; the latter is also available
at https://www.cbd.int/cbd-en.pdf).
1.2. Some key terms and concepts of ecosystem management
Protected areas are designed to help conserve biological diversity and otherwise contribute to
national conservation and development objectives. Managing these areas requires understanding
of how their natural systems functions. Detailed discussions of these critical functions can be
found elsewhere (see, for example, Groom, et al., 2006 and Primack, 2010, both of which are

36
regularly updated), but some of the terms and concepts that are most important to the System Plan
are presented here.
Biological diversity (often shortened to “biodiversity”) includes ecosystems, defined by the CBD
as “dynamic complexes of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living
environment interacting as a functional unit.” Thailand has numerous ecosystems, ranging from
ricefields to tropical rainforests and coral reefs.
[Insert photo: montage of various kinds of ecosystems]
Ecosystems provide multiple benefits to people. These benefits are often called ecosystem
services, a term to be adopted by the System Plan. According to the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment (MEA, 2005), these services include “provisioning services”, such as the production
of crops, timber, medicinal plants, fresh water, and wild game; “supporting services”, such as soil
formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling; “regulating services”, such as watershed
protection, pollination, climate regulation through carbon sequestration, and filtration of
pollutants by wetlands; and “cultural services”, such as recreation, education, aesthetics, and
spiritual values. These are discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.
Ecosystem services are provided by all ecosystems, but those contained within protected areas are
especially important because their benefits are often unique or of particular economic value. This
means that protected areas can provide many ecosystem services and could benefit, at least
conceptually, from payment for ecosystem services. Many mechanisms for doing so have been
developed in countries around the world, especially for watershed protection and carbon
sequestration. Note that the National Parks Act of BE 2504 (1961)(Section 23) and the Wild
Animal Reservation and Protection Action of BE 2535 (1992) (Section 46) allow for payment for
“services or facilities given by the competent official” in the national park, wildlife sanctuary, or
non-hunting area, but it is not clear if this includes ecosystem services as defined more recently
and adopted here. Payment for ecosystems services (PES) will be discussed further in Chapters 4
and 8.
Ecosystems involve numerous ecological processes that need to be considered by PA managers
and system planners. A particularly important one is ecological succession, which simply stated
is the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.
Trees growing in abandoned agricultural fields provide one example. People, or their ancestors,
have been living in Thailand for over 200,000 years and have had profound influences on
virtually all ecosystems. Traditional shifting cultivation, for example, opens up the forests and
when the fields are abandoned, they provide a useful habitat for many species such as elephants,
wild cattle, and deer that feed on low-growing vegetation, and the predators that prey on such
species (Wharton, 1968). Draining wetlands to grow rice to feed people can reduce highly

37
productive wildlife habitats and disrupt the water-storage ecosystem service of these habitats,
indicating the kinds of tradeoffs that are made when converting forests or wetlands to agriculture.
[Insert photo: forest vegetation reclaiming abandoned swidden in Chiangmai]
When terrestrial protected areas are established and change the age-old influences of human
changes on ecosystem succession into a more natural progression to old-growth forests, this will
benefit some species, such as gibbons and hornbills, at the potential cost of others, such as
elephants, gaur, and tigers. One result is that many of the species adapted to early successional
systems turn to agricultural lands, where they become troublesome to farmers. This may imply
that some ecosystem management may be necessary in some protected areas if they are to
conserve all of the species they are designed to protect.
Ecosystems support species, generally considered to be populations of organisms that are able to
interbreed freely under natural conditions. They include common species such as dogs, buffalo,
rice, rats, and mosquitoes as well as species that are so rare that they are given specific attention
in national legislation. The Wild Animal Preservation and Protection Act included 15 species on
its list of Preserved Wild Animals, of which at least five no longer occur in Thailand (and two or
three may be globally extinct); the other 10 are highly dependent on protected areas for their
continued survival. By ministerial decree, 189 species of mammals, 182 species of birds, 63
species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians, four species of fish, 13 species of insects, and 13
species of other invertebrates have been designated as protected, and most of these also depend
on protected areas for their continued survival.
[Insert photo montage of several protected species of birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates]
The international standard for the status of species is the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
(IUCN, 2014), which also includes an increasing number of plant species (now with over 18,000
plant species listed, many from Thailand). Thailand’s species are well represented, with 824
species of plants (6.8% of the described species), 57 mammals (19.3%), 47 birds (4.9%), 27
reptiles (8.3%), 4 amphibians (2.8%) and 96 fish (16.8%) considered Critically Endangered,
Endangered, or Vulnerable). It seems likely that more birds, reptiles, amphibians, and plants
would be added to the Threatened list with more intensive field surveys and regular monitoring.
Some species may have disappeared from protected areas where they formerly occurred, often
due to habitat loss or overharvesting before the site was effectively managed. Now that the
protected areas are being managed more effectively, it may be possible to reintroduce some
species into their former habitats or to enrich depleted populations. The reintroduction of Eld’s
deer (Cervus eldi) and hog deer (Axis porcinus) to Huay Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary is an
outstanding example, and numerous efforts are being made in both the Andaman Sea and the Gulf

38
of Thailand to enhance the populations of sea turtles that nest in protected areas, through captive
hatching and subsequent release. Crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) are being reintroduced in
Pang Sida National Park and gibbons (mostly Hylobates lar) are also being considered for
reintroduction.
[Insert photo of Eld’s deer reintroduction project in Huay Kha Khaeng]
Many species have a significant influence on their habitats, for example dispersing seeds from the
fruits of plants they favor or pollinating their preferred species. Large predators help control the
populations of smaller predators and grazing animals, and their hunting helps keep the grazers
moving, thereby helping prevent overharvesting any particular part of an ecosystem. Tigers, for
example, can control the number of wild pigs that may raid crops, cobras help control rats, and
bats and birds help control insects. Removing any species is therefore likely to have effects on
others, and thus on the functioning of the ecosystem of which they are part (Primack, 2010). The
changes to Khao Yai’s ecosystems after tigers were apparently extirpated is easily seen by
changes in behavior of its former prey species, such as deer, wild pigs, and monkeys, and the
resulting effects on the vegetation.
The System Plan provides policy guidance for further wildlife management interventions, such as
reintroductions, control of invasive alien species, and conservation of species important for
delivery of ecosystem services such as pollination. It also recommends policies for dealing with
species that may become too numerous, or are in serious conflict with local people (such as
monkeys, wild pigs, elephants, or tigers) even though some may be legally protected.
Each species contains genetic diversity, which provides the functional units of heredity and
enables Thailand’s farmers, for example, to grow multiple varieties of rice that may have very
different characteristics. Genetic diversity enables the rice varieties (called “cultivars”) to adapt
to emerging diseases, climate change, water availability, and other factors. Genetic diversity
explains the variability in all species and forms the basis of modern biotechnology, which the
CBD defines to mean “any technological application that uses biological systems, living
organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.”
Protected areas often contain genetic materials, such as wild relatives of domestic species, that
may be of outstanding value for biotechnology in support of national development, arguing for
designing a specific mechanism to capture this economic value for the benefit of the protected
areas (and guarantee the continued provision of these values in the future). (This topic is
discussed further in Chapter 8.3.1.)
[Insert photo of genetic diversity of rice, for example seeds]

39
1.3. The national and international legislation supporting protected areas
The legal basis for protected areas is established by the Wild Animals Reservation and
Protection Act of B.E. 2503 (1960) (revised in 2535 (1992) especially for CITES, with this later
version superseding the 2503 Act), and the National Parks Act of 2504 (1961). This legislation is
supported, at least potentially, by the Forest Reserves Act of 2507 (1964), the 2518 (1975) Town
and Country Planning Act, the 2479 (1935) Military Safety Zone Act, the 2490 (1947) Fisheries
Act, the 2518 (1975) Plants Act (amended in 2550 (2007) for CITES and the CBD), the 2542
(1999) Plant Varieties Protection Act, and the 2535 (1992) Enhancement and Conservation of
National Environmental Quality Act. However, this legislation has not kept up with the more
recent advances in protected area management, or has not been implemented effectively, or has
not been applied to protected areas (such as the Plants Act and the Town and Country Planning
Act). All of this legislation is available on the Internet, and can provide a solid legal basis to the
System Plan.
Numerous reports down through the years have called for new protected area legislation that
would provide the legal foundation for sustainable management of the protected area system in
the 21st
Century and draft legislation has been proposed. Practical and political impediments have
prevented much progress on new legislation, but general guidelines for protected areas legislation
are available (Lausche, 2011). Actually enacting such legislation in Thailand is likely to be a
long and arduous process, so other legal means will need to be explored, such as Cabinet-
approved policy statements and Ministerial regulations, and the use of the various laws that affect
land use around protected areas or the activities of sectors that can potentially support (or
damage) protected areas (such as agriculture, forestry, or the military).
The existing protected areas legislation, heavily influenced by models from North America, was
enacted when the human population was much smaller, the protected areas were much fewer, and
the economic conditions were very different from those of today. It is not surprising that under
current conditions, some modifications to the legislation may be required to improve PA
management, improve relations with local people, and take advantage of innovative funding
mechanisms. For example, some management measures that are widely practiced are technically
illegal or at least not covered by the existing legislation, such as the establishing of site-level
National Park Committees; some innovative funding mechanisms, such as payment for ecosystem
services, may not benefit from legal support; the penalties established are outdated and
insufficient to serve as an adequate disincentive to those who ignore the laws; and some protected
area management innovations, especially those involving collaboration with local people and
establishment of a system of management categories, need additional legal provisions.

40
It is also worth giving further consideration to the history of the current protected area legislation,
which was based on precedents in temperate countries such as the USA (Ruhle, 1964), where
conditions were very different from those characterizing Thailand. Interestingly, many of the
American National Parks still have conflicts with local people, especially the Native Americans
who claim territorial rights in them (Keller and Turek, 1998), very similar to some of the conflicts
facing Thai protected areas. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and many other countries have
implemented legislation or other measures that give their indigenous peoples specific rights in at
least some of the country’s protected areas (Beltran, 2000). Now that Thailand’s protected areas
are reaching greater maturity and management experience, it may be timely to prepare protected
area legislation that is more specific to Thai conditions.
Similarly, the Thai legislation on forestry was based closely on legislation from Europe, where
the temperate forests are very different from Thailand’s tropical forests. This approach was
imported via Burma under pressure from the British, and designed primarily to produce teak
timber for export, under the management of British companies (Usher, 2009). It was further
supported through several decades of technical assistance that did not always meet the needs of
Thailand (e.g., Laungaramsri, 1999). Ironically, even the “best” European forestry legislation,
with its focus on even-aged and mono-specific forests managed almost exclusively as
commodities under government ownership (available for issuing logging rights to
concessionnaires), has proven inappropriate in the long run in its native countries once the forests
had gone through several rotations (Hartzfeldt, 2003; Usher, 2009). The increasing demand for
community forests in Thailand is an indication that the 2507 Forest Reserves Act also needs
revision (Zurcher, 2005; Salam, Noguchi, and Pothitan, 2006). A good indication of such a
change in approach to conservation and forestry is the 2002 vote in the Thai Senate that separated
commercial forestry from the protected areas agencies (Usher, 2009).
The protected areas are enhanced by the Kingdom’s active participation in relevant
international conventions, such as the World Heritage Convention (with two natural sites, Dong
Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex and Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries on its
list of natural sites), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (though
some of the 12 declared Ramsar Sites have not yet been declared National Parks, Wildlife
Sanctuaries, or Non-hunting Areas and therefore are not managed by DNP), and the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, which can contribute to reducing poaching
pressure driven by trade). It also participates in UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves Programme
(through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment), though the four Biosphere
Reserves are not yet included within DNP’s system of protected areas. Still, the ideal biosphere
reserve approach promoted by Unesco, with a protected core surrounded by other land uses, could
be very relevant to Thailand (Reed and Egunyu, 2013). The ASEAN Declaration on Heritage
Parks (2003) has provided a means of collaborating among the Member countries and given
special recognition to the four Thai ASEAN Heritage Parks (all national parks, including Khao

41
Yai and Kaeng Krachan on land and Koh Tarutau and Ao Phangnga, Mu Koh Surin, and Mu Koh
Similan in the sea). These international agreements enable Thailand to meet its international
obligations on issues of global importance, such as the conservation of biological diversity. The
accession to these conventions needs to be accompanied by implementing legislation that deals
with land use more broadly.
[Insert photo of Ao Phangnga as ASEAN Heritage]
By joining these agreements, Thailand is demonstrating solidarity on the topics being addressed,
gaining an opportunity to influence the content and implementation of international agreements
on protected areas, and being enabled to cooperate with other nations to address problems that
cannot be solved by a single country. Ensuring that Thai delegations to such international
meetings are well briefed and well prepared to contribute on discussions dealing protected area
issues could be enhanced through the System Plan. It can also help ensure that Thailand receives
appropriate access to the various forms of international support that are becoming available (see
8.3.2).
All of these conventions, as well as some others (such as the Framework Convention on Climate
Change, ratified by Thailand in 1994; the Convention on the Law of the Sea, ratified in 2011; the
Framework Convention to Combat Desertification, ratified in 2001; the International Treaty on
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, signed but not ratified; the World Trade
Organization, joined in 1995; and the Convention on Migratory Species, not ratified), are
important to at least some aspects of protected areas.
But by far the most significant international agreement for Thailand’s protected areas is the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Its relevance to protected areas goes far beyond its
calling for a system plan and effective management in Articles 8(1) and 8(b). Its Article 7 calls
for identifying components of biodiversity important for conservation and sustainable use,
monitoring those requiring urgent conservation measures and those offering the greatest potential
for sustainable use, identifying activities likely to have adverse impacts on the conservation and
sustainably use of biodiversity, and maintaining and organizing relevant data collected to
implement these activities.
The CBD’s Article 8 also calls for additional actions relevant to protected areas, such as
managing important species and ecosystems to assure their conservation and sustainable use;
promoting the protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and viable populations of species in
natural surroundings; promoting environmentally sound and sustainable development in areas
adjacent to protected areas, with a view to furthering protection of these areas; preventing the
introduction of alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats, or species, and controlling or
eradicating such species that nonetheless invade; respecting and maintaining traditional

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