Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex
Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex is the inscribed name of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Thailand. It covers the areas of Kaeng Krachan, Kui Buri and Chaloem Phrakiat Thai Prachan national parks, and Mae Nam Phachi Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan provinces of Western Thailand, on the country's border with Myanmar. The site was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2021.
Description
The site is located on the Thailand side of the Tenasserim mountain range, which is part of a north-south granite and limestone mountain ridge extending down the Malay Peninsula. Situated at the intersection of the Himalayan, Indochina, and Sumatran faunal and floral realms, the property boasts rich biodiversity. The area is predominantly covered by semi-evergreen and dry evergreen forests, with some mixed deciduous forests, montane forests, and deciduous dipterocarp forests. A number of endemic and globally endangered plant species have been reported in the property, which overlaps with two Important Bird Areas and is noted for its rich diversity of birdlife, including eight globally threatened species. The property is home to the critically endangered Siamese Crocodile, the endangered Asiatic Wild Dog, Banteng, Asian Elephant, Yellow/Elongated Tortoise, and the endangered Asian Giant Tortoise, as well as several other vulnerable species of birds and mammals. Remarkably, it is also home to eight cat species: the endangered tiger and Fishing Cat, near-threatened Leopard and Asian Golden Cat, the vulnerable Clouded Leopard and Marbled Cat, as well as Jungle Cat and Leopard Cat.
Human rights issues
The site was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2021 during the World Heritage Committee's extended 44th session. This decision was made despite controversy surrounding the government's long-standing campaign to forcibly displace the indigenous S'gaw Karen people of Bang Kloi from their village in Kaeng Krachan NP, which also involved the murder of activist Porlajee Rakchongcharoen in 2014. Days before the inscription, a panel of special rapporteurs for the United Nations Human Rights Council had urged the World Heritage Committee to defer the nomination due to ongoing rights violations, but it was approved with the support of China and Russia, among other countries. The Thai government had previously made two nominations for the site, the first in 2016.