While mass tourism will never be environmentally friendly, it can be educational. That is why it is encouraging to see that the number of Thai visitors to national parks over the New Year holiday season was double that of the same period last year. It is no secret that the best way to create environmental awareness is for people to spend time in places of great natural beauty and the prime destinations of Khao Yai, the Erawan Falls and Doi Inthanon showcase the best the country has to offer.
Many will treasure the experience and develop a lifelong commitment to protecting the environment. They will no longer be quite so susceptible to the eco-friendly buzzwords deceptively spouted by politicians and state and industrial polluters.
Whether from deforestation, climate change or excessive exploitation of resources, the environment is coming under severe threat because of irresponsible human activity. Those who have had a first-hand look for themselves will have seen instances of the environment being sacrificed to greed and selfishness. Apart from tree-felling, these include illegal building and random poaching of wildlife.
Then there are the signs at scenic attractions politely asking visitors to clear up before they go and not leave plastic bags and other litter lying around - a plea that is often ignored. It is sad that so much home-grown pollution fouls our parks, beaches, waterfalls and areas of great natural beauty. Although the richness of our country is being squandered, there is no real meeting of minds on how to deal with the environmental degradation we see all around us; just the usual finger-pointing we have come to expect.
Let us not forget that the environment - our air, water, lands, forests and all the other natural gifts of our country - belongs to all Thais. Equal shares belong to the government and businesses, the farmers, factory workers, those living in the city and others in the provinces, military and civilian alike. No one among these groups has the right to set themselves apart and deem themselves worthy of special privileges.
More would be accomplished if the agencies responsible for protecting our heritage worked as a team. This especially applies to the Royal Forest Department and agencies of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. The biggest problem with this ministry is that it has failed to become a scourge of big business polluters.
When action is taken, often it is inadequate. There is a disconcerting lack of genuine public concern which works in favour of the exploiters. We should be concentrating efforts on curbing industries which pollute, and forcing polluters, no matter how wealthy or influential, to clean up their act or face drastic consequences. Too often we have heard the refrain "the polluter pays", but in real life this rarely happens.
We already have an abundance of laws with which to achieve this. The problem is they are not properly integrated. But rigorous enforcement of anti-pollution regulations, especially those governing contamination of rivers, is still the only way to go.
Globally, the full impact of climate change and the wanton destruction of our environment and the delicate ecosystems sustaining it has yet to hit home. Many of us will not be around when it does and so the whole issue has become an easy one to ignore, especially after vested interests effectively torpedoed the Durban, Rio and Doha summits. Future generations will not thank us for our apathy and inaction on both the domestic and international fronts.