National park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

s in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติ) are defined as ''an area that contains natural resources of ecological importance or unique beauty, or flora and fauna of special importance''. Thailand's protected areas included 156 national parks, 58 wildlife sanctuaries, 67 non-hunting areas, and 120 forest parks. They cover almost 31 percent of the kingdom's territory. The parks are administered by the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP), of the

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

(MNRE). The department was created in 2002, and took over the national parks from the

Royal Forest Department The Royal Forest Department ( Abrv: RFD; th, กรมป่าไม้, ) is a department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), part of the Government of Thailand. History On 18 September 1896 King Chulalongkorn establ ...

of the Ministry of Agriculture. The first national park was

Khao Yai Khao Yai National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติเขาใหญ่, , ) is a national park in Thailand. Established in 1962 as Thailand's first national park, it is the third largest national park in Thailand. Descr ...

in 1961, when the ''National Park Act B.E. 2504'' was passed. The first marine park was Khao Sam Roi Yot, established in 1966. In 1993 the administration of the national parks was split into two divisions, one for the terrestrial and one for the Marine National Park Division (MNPD). Controversies about Thailand's national parks include complaints over excessive development and allotment of private concessions.

Ko Samet Ko Samet (Cajeput Island; th, เกาะเสม็ด, ) is one of the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand, eastern seaboard islands of Thailand. It is in the Gulf of Thailand off the coastline of the Thailand, Thai province of Rayong Province, Ray ...

, and other island-based national parks, are particularly impacted by the activities of private concessions, often in the form of excessive bungalow developments. Many of the northern parks are greatly impacted by illegal

swidden farming Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an ar ...

and poaching.

Thai highlands (Part 1: 19 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (9 national parks)

Thai highlands (Part 2: 31 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (6 national parks)

Northeast (21 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (2 national parks)

Central-East (27 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (1 national park)

South (east coast: 15 national parks)

Marine parks

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (4 national parks)

South (west coast: 20 national parks)

Marine parks

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (1 national park)

Changed names of national parks

Notes

* Area: the area of the national park according to the last publication in the Government Gazette * Area: the area of the national park (preparation) according to the DNP list * Order N.P.: according to first to last publication in the Government Gazette. * DNP: more information and a map of the specific national park. * Gazette date: the date of the last publication in the Government Gazette. * Gazette source: the webpage with the pdf document of the publication in the Government Gazette. * PARO: management of Thailand's national parks since 2002 in 16 regions with 5 branches. * Visitors: visitor numbers to Thailand's national parks are for the 2019 fiscal year, which runs from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.

References

External links

National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department
* ttp://www.trekthailand.net/list/ List of Thailand National parksbr>Birdwatching sites in Thailand
{{National and forest parks in Thailand

* Parks in Thailand

National Parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

Environment of Thailand

National parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

Thai highlands (Part 1: 19 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (9 national parks)

Thai highlands (Part 2: 31 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (6 national parks)

Northeast (21 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (2 national parks)

Central-East (27 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (1 national park)

South (east coast: 15 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (4 national parks)

South (west coast: 20 national parks)

Not yet published in the Government Gazette (1 national park)

Changed names of national parks

Notes

See also

References

External links