National Parks

National parks in Thailand are defined as an area of least ten square kilometres that contains natural resources of ecological importance or unique beauty, or flora and fauna of special importance. Currently there are 102 national parks (including 21 marine national parks). Often forest parks are miscalled as national parks as well, however those are less protected and governed by the provincial administration.

The parks are administrated by the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP), which is part of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). The department was newly created in 2002, and took over the national parks from the Royal Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The first national park was Khao Yai in 1961, when the National Park Act B.E. 2504 was passed. The first marine park was Khao Sam Roi Yot, established in 1966. In 1993 the administration of the national parks was split into two divisions, one for the terrestrial and one for the Marine National Park Division (MNPD).

Controversies about Thailand's national parks include excessive development and private concessions. Ko Samet, and other island-based national parks, are particularly impacted by private concessions, often in the form of excessive bungalow developments. Further, many of the northern parks are greatly impacted by illegal swidden farming and poaching.

There are 33 national parks and three marine parks in the process of creation, and are scheduled to be officially gazetted in the future.

Notwithstanding the controversies and other issues concerning national parks in Thailand they should be included in any itinerary. Quite a few wonderful parks hardly see any visitors and they are a great escape from the hustle and bustle of towns and cities. An excellent book on national parks in Thailand is:

The National Parks and other wild places of Thailand, Steven Elliott and Gerald Cubitt.

Steven Elliot has lived and worked in Thailand for many years and is a respected authority on ecology, biodiversity and conservation within the country's national parks and throughout the wider South-east Asian region. Since 1986 he has been lecture in ecology at Chiang Mai University, and his wealth of published work includes research into the medicinal use of rainforest plants. Steve Elliot is currently working for WWF to produce the first botanical database for Northern Thailand. Gerald Cubitt is a world renowned nature photographer whose many visits to South-east Asia have been recorded in a series of stunning images. Among the books that contain his most evocative work, The National Parks of Indonesia, The National Parks of Malaysia, This is Malaysia and Wild Thailand are all published by New Holland.