Showing 1 - 10 of 16
Wild elephants on the edge of existence
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 13/04/2014
» ‘Stop the truck and turn the lights off now!” shouted 57-year-old Somporn Mee-im to his colleague, Mai, driving the pickup.
Road to Dawei paved with anguish
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 02/03/2014
» From the Tenasserim mountains which form the Thai border to the bright blue Andaman waters of Myanmar’s west coast, a swathe is being cut through communities sitting in the way of progress.
Taking it to the streets
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 12/01/2014
» With the myriad street protests that have raged across the country in recent years, it is easy to forget that such an expression of public discontent is only a fairly recent phenomenon.
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''.
Seeds of hope in forest fight
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 14/07/2013
» Thap Lan National Park chief Taywin Meesap guides a team of rangers to a plot showing some signs of progress in the battle to win back land lost to forest encroachment.
Clock ticks for parks to keep promises
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 02/06/2013
» Officials in charge of overseeing the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex are scrambling to come up with a plan to stave off a potential downgrade by Unesco's World Heritage Committee this month.
A mother's wait, a daughter's hell
News, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 24/02/2013
» A short time after her seven-year-old daughter was abducted from an orange grove her Karen mother _ who was working illegally in Thailand with her husband _ went to confront the couple she believed had snatched her child.
Heavy metal tragedy still playing out at Klity Creek
Spectrum, Piyaporn Wongruang, Published on 27/01/2013
» Ma Aung Seng's bamboo thatched-roof home has no running water, and the 50-year-old blind Karen woman has no money to buy bottled water as she can no longer work her rice fields. So when she needs water she normally asks her 16-year-old son to walk down to Klity Creek and fetch some to use for drinking, cooking and cleaning.