Sai Thong National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติไทรทอง) is a national park in Thailand's

Chaiyaphum Province Chaiyaphum ( th, ชัยภูมิ, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), located in central northeastern Thailand , also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Lopb ...

. This mountainous park features waterfalls, scenic viewpoints, and a seasonal flower field.

Geography

Sai Thong National Park is about west of

Chaiyaphum Chaiyaphum ( th, ชัยภูมิ, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeastern Thailand, capital of Chaiyaphum Province. it had a population of 58,350, and covers the full ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Chaiyaphum District. Chaiyaph ...

town in the Nong Bua Rawe, Thep Sathit, Phakdi Chumphon and Nong Bua Daeng Districts of Chaiyaphum Province. The park's area is 199,375 rai ~ . The park is in the Phang Hoei mountain range and the park's highest point is Khao Phang Hoei at . Numerous tributaries of the

Chi River The Chi River (, , ) is the longest river flowing wholly within Thailand. It is long but carries less water than the second longest river, the Mun. The name of the river is "Mae Si" () in the Isan and Lao languages of the region, being translite ...

have their source within the park's boundaries. The park's forest types consist of mixed

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = f ...

and dry

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

forest.

Previous inhabitants

Shortly after Sai Thong was established in 1992, the forest dwellers who had lived there before the park was created, had their dwellings and lands annexed by the park. Indigenous forest dwellers, whose forebears were living in the area before Thailand came into being, were deemed criminals subject to imprisonment. More than 10 million persons in some 2,700 forest communities across Thailand face eviction and legal sanctions. More than 7,000 villagers are sent to jail each year for park encroachment. Forest evictions, often violent, have increased following the

2014 Thai coup d'état On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), launched a coup d'état, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand, foll ...

under the junta's "forest reclaiming" policy. The current (2019) national park law that criminalizes forest dwellers will soon be replaced by a new version that is even more oppressive. The new law gives forest officials the power to summon people for questioning and to enter their homes at any time. They will be empowered to destroy dwellings in the forest at will. Penalties will include jail sentences of up to 20 years and maximum fines of two million

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

. In 2018, 14 cassava-growing peasants, nine of them women, were found guilty by a lower court of encroaching on Sai Thong National Park after forestry authorities filed complaints against the villagers for refusing to leave. The villagers were ordered to pay compensation fees for environmental degradation ranging from 40,000 to 1.58 million

(US$1,300-51,000) for 1 to 48 rai (0.16-7.7 hectares) of land use. Those charged with refusing to leave had settled there in the 1970s, before the national park was established in 1992.

References

External links

Sai Thong National Park
{{authority control National parks of Thailand Geography of Chaiyaphum province Tourist attractions in Chaiyaphum province 1992 establishments in Thailand Protected areas established in 1992

Geography

Previous inhabitants

See also

References

External links