Showing 1 - 5 of 5
Voices of the dammed
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 17/11/2013
» Thong feels lost in both senses of the word. After being told the plan to build a dam on the nearby Mae Wong stream had been revived, the cassava farmer, who preferred to use a pseudonym, feels defeated in his campaign to oppose the project. He is also unsure of which direction his life will take in the wake of the decision.
Paving a piece of paradise
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 27/10/2013
» Dech Khieonarong is one of many residents of Tak's Umphang district who cheered when the government announced it was reviving a plan to construct a new road from Khlong Lan to the remote town in the midst of a protected wilderness. Weary of traversing the 164km of arduous road with, by his count, more than 1,000 hairpin curves, he volunteered to head a committee of locals to push for the construction of the ''new'' Khlong Lan-Umphang road, a large part of which was actually constructed more than 40 years ago by the military as part of its efforts to suppress communist insurgents. The military managed to cut 115km of road through the deep forest inside Mae Wong National Park, 30km from Umphang in the 1970s. The military backed off on completing the road to Umphang because of objections that it would compromise the Western Forest Complex. Over the years the military road fell into disuse and is now overgrown and impassable in some places.
Talking the walk
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 13/10/2013
» Seub Nakhasathien Foundation secretary-general Sasin Chalermlarp, 45, made headlines three weeks ago after undertaking an unprecedented long-distance walk to protest against the planned dam in Mae Wong National Park. The journey took him from Nakhon Sawan province to the heart of Bangkok, where he was welcomed by thousands of supporters. Spectrum interviewed him after the mission was completed.
Dam activist hits the road ... all 388km of it
News, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 15/09/2013
» At the age of 45, environmental activist Sasin Chalermlarp admits that embarking on the most physically gruelling mission of his life is ''not fun at all''.
Strong deeds needed from new forest chief
News, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 30/12/2012
» The Seub Nakhasathien Foundation paints a grim picture of the state of the country's forests with its 2012 report, which estimates that in the last 50 years Thailand has lost 50% of its forest cover. The report says forests now account for only about one-third of the country's total area, or about 171,000 square kilometres and there are now only five provinces that have a forest cover of more than 70%. No wonder the foundation's secretary-general, Sasin Chaloemlap, says, ''We cannot afford to lose more forest and forest encroachment cannot be allowed and tolerated any more.''