Another environmental group has weighed in on the controversial Phu Kradueng cable car project, saying the scheme would have negative impacts on the environment and mar the natural beauty of Loei province.
Stop Global Warming Association’s president Srisuwan Janya submitted an open letter on Friday to the government, calling for the multi-million-baht project to be scrapped.
In the letter, he called on the government and the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta), responsible for conducting a feasibility study on the project, to review the construction of the cable car project at the natural attraction.
Mr Srisuwan said if the government and Dasta reject the association’s demand, the association will seek cooperation from locals and environmentalists, who are opposed to the plan, to bring the case to the Administrative Court.
The move came after Dasta unveiled the results of a study for the construction of the 633-million-baht cable car project to the cabinet on Tuesday and the cabinet acknowledged them.
The study cited strong support from locals and a small impact on the pristine Phu Kradueng National Park, saying the construction requires an area totalling only 0.22 rai for erecting seven poles and about 3 rai for the two cable car stations requiring minimal areas of land and having very little environmental impact.
However, Mr Srisuwan said the cable car scheme is a form of deforestation, adding the project’s construction will affect areas of forest which are home to numerous forms of wildlife and rare plants.
He also demanded the government explain the need for an increase in the number of tourists visiting the area, saying the pristine mountain already draws a large number of tourists both local and foreign every year.
More than 62,000 tourists visit the national park each year.
A larger number of tourists means more waste which would destroy the natural beauty of the location, he said.
He expressed concern over the park’s capacity to provide facilities and a waste management system to handle ever larger numbers of tourists.
The future construction of facilities to cater to the needs of tourists would affect the ecological system, he added.
A national park’s main responsibility is to conserve the forests rather than to promote tourism, Mr Srisuwan said.
The cable car project was first proposed in 1982 by Phu Kradueng National Park but it has never materialised due to opposition from environmentalists.