The cabinet meeting on Tuesday approved a proposal to nominate Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex for listing as a World Heritage Site, deputy government spokesman Chalitrat Chantarubeksa said.
The approval was based on the fact the Kaeng Krachan forest is a centre of biodiversity and is home to more than 720 indigenous animal species, Mr Chalitrat said.
Kaeng Krachan is also a major habitat of several endangered species, including a fresh water crocodile found only in this forest complex area, he added.
The cabinet also approved a proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi that the name of Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex be changed to “Thailand Western Forest Complex”, the deputy spokesman said.
The proposal to place the Thailand Western Forest Complex on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation's (Unesco) tentative list of natural world heritage sites would be submitted by the Feb 1 deadline set by UN organisation, he said.
The forest complex covers 482,225 hectares in the eastern part of Tanao Si Mountain Range bordering Myanmar. It consists of five areas, namely Kaeng Krachan National Park, Mae Nam Phachi Wildlife Sanctuary, Kui Buri National Park, the site linking Kaeng Krachan National Park to Kui Buri National Park, and the soon-to-be-established Chaloem Phrakiat Thai Prachan National Park.
Kaeng Krachan National Park, in particular, is a well-known tourism site, located in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan provinces. It is the largest national park in Thailand, rich in fauna and flora.
The Thailand Western Forest Complex is in the Indo-Malayan Eco-region under the Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests. It is the watershed of four major rivers: Phetchaburi, Phachi, Pran Buri, and Kui Buri.
The forest complex is 220 kilometres from the Thung Yai - Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, Thailand’s first Natural World Heritage Site designated by Unesco in December 1991.
The Thung Yai - Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, the largest legally protected forest conservation area in mainland Southeast Asia, is located in Kanchanaburi and Tak provinces, it is home to animal species that can no longer be found in other parts of the world.
Thailand’s second Natural World Heritage Site is the Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex, which was declared a Natural World Heritage Site in July 2005.
It spans 230 kilometres between Ta Phraya National Park on the Cambodian border in the east, and Khao Yai National Park in the west.
The site is home to more than 800 species of fauna and it is internationally important for the preservation of globally threatened and endangered mammal, bird, and reptile species.
Thailand expects that the Thailand Western Forest Complex will be listed as the country’s third Natural World Heritage Site in the near future.