EXPLORE THAILAND’S DONG PHAYAYEN-KHAO YAI FOREST COMPLEX with this slideshow, check the location map and get all the facts and information below.

Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex
Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex

For slideshow description see right or scroll down (mobile). Click to view slideshow

Location and Values: The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex includes five almost contiguous Protected Areas spanning 230 km along a range of forested hills in eastern Thailand. It includes the Khao Yai, Thap Lan, Pang Sida, and Ta Phraya National Parks, and Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary. These areas contain the last substantial area of globally important Thailandian Monsoon Forest ecosystems which are exceptionally rich in fauna and flora and provide sanctuary for the survival of rare and endangered species such as tiger, elephant, leopard cat and banteng.

Conservation Status and Prospects. According to IUCN’s recent Conservation Outlook Assessment the conservation status of this site is ‘critical’. The IUCN report notes that ‘sufficient threats remain to indicate that a greater level of protection and management control is urgently required in important areas of the property. Unless there is immediate and decisive management action and intervention, the property will continue to be threatened. These threats include the issues of illegal logging, land use and encroachment, ineffective management and wildlife corridors. Enforcement of speed limits on the sections of Highway 304 and other roads that run within the boundaries of the property appear to be ineffective. Similar concerns remain if there is expansion or re-opening of other roads throughout the property. Construction of the Huay Samong Dam continues despite concerns about its impacts. Whilst mitigation activities have been implemented in collaboration between DNP and RID, concerns remain in regards to the management of the area post construction, plans for the introduction of fish species and the impact of flooding on areas of the property. Large areas found within the current boundaries of the property have suffered heavily from encroachment into forested areas and subsequent land use change. The impact of resort developments within the boundaries and the encroachment into forest areas has not improved and continues to impact the integrity of the property. Threats to the integrity of the property remain considerable and given the limited progress in regards to a number of the threats, the emergence of new and significant threats and the continued inability to effectively address these issues the conservation outlook for this property can be assessed as critical.’

Links:
Google Earth
Official UNESCO Site Details
IUCN Conservation Outlook
UNEP-WCMC Site Description
Birdlife IBA

Slideshow description

The photos in this slideshow are intended to ‘tell the story’ of the forest complex, with a focus on the different forest types, landscape features, plants and animals in the Khao Yai National Park where tourism facilities have been developed. Towards the end of the slideshow there are photos of road development works (late 2016) through the controversial infrastructure corridor that splits the complex between the Khao Yai and Thap Lan components, showing the considerable efforts that are being made to provide for habitat connectivity by providing wildlife over- and under-passes in the construction of this road.

This page of the website is still under development and a more detailed description of the various aspects of the site will be included in due course – so please come back again soon!

Factfile

Website Category: Tropical & Sub-tropical Forests

Area: 6,155 km2

Inscribed: 2000

Criteria:

  • Natural habitat for biodiversity (x);
  • Significant number of rare, endemic and/or endangered species (x)

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