How Can Thailand Protect 30%of Its Land Area for Biodiversity,and Will This Be Enough?

Dr. Nirunrut Pomoim
Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant conservation
Bangkok, Thailand
Email: kekek_r@Hotmail.com

Tropics ofPresentation
1.

Thailand Overview

2.

Protected areas in Thailand

3.

Conservation Targets

4.

Thailand’s 30% of PAs?

Thailand Overview
Location: SE Asia
Area: about 517,624 sq. km.
Population: 70 million
Middle-income country.
••

Total GDP, USD 1.47 trillion,
Per capita 7,500 USD

Topography•••

Low-lying (64% is < 250 m a.s.l.)
Relatively flat
Mountains in the north and west

Thailand Overview
One of the most biodiversityrich countries in Southeast Asia.
10% of vertebrate spp.
5% of vascular plants
Forest area remaining 31.7%
1973, forest cover 43%
National Policy (40% forest target)
25% protected areas
15% production forestProtected areas
In Thailand

1st national park established in1962
PAs covers 118,320 km2 or 22.8%of the country’s land area
(DNP 2019).
Small size and fragmented, only
8% are > 1000 km2

Conservation Targets
CBD Aichi Target 2020
Protect at least 17% of terrestrialand inland water, and 10% of coastal
and marine areas.

Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework 2030 (draft)Protect at least 30% of the terrestrial area of the planet
well connected and effective
system of protected areas
and other effective areabased conservation

Can Thailand protect 30%
of its land areafor biodiversity and will
this be enough?
Key Questions…….?
How can Thailand meet theproposed CBD area target of 30%
by 2030?
Will the 30% be “well connected
and important for biodiversity?
How vulnerable will this 30% be
to climate change?

GEF Funded Project through CI

Spatial Planning for Protected Areas in Response to Climate Change

How achieved 30% of protected areas?
The existing and already planned PAs
covering 24.3%
Forest patches >10 km2 adjacent to PAs
cover 5.2%
Other effective area-based conservation
measures (i.e Ramsar site, and water catchment)
cover 0.04%

An additional 0.5%
Smaller and isolated forest patches,
may support viable species
Coastal wetlands in the Inner Gulf ofThailand and inland wetlands in theChao Phraya floodplain.

Achieved 29.5% (152,705 km2 )Are protected areas
well connected?
The expanded protected area will
increase both patch size andconnectivity, particularly in thenorth and west.
Protected patches less isolated
than in the current system.

Protectedarea

Number of patches
100-1000 km2 >1000 km2<100 km2

24.3%
29.5%

total

Mean area
km2

Mean distance tonearest large patch(km)

570

80

20670

188

14.3

520

69

19608

251

12.5

Will 30% PAs be enough for biodiversity?
1. Conserving importance for biodiversity

2. Representation of biodiversity

Protect 702 bird and 80 mammal
species in PAs

Forest types (RFD 2018)
Elevation range
The WWF ecoregions and WWFGlobal 200 ecoregions.
Bioclimates present and projectedfor 2070.

The importance forbiodiversity conservation
Increase in adequately protectedspecies
from 28% to 60% of mammals
from 26% to 38% of birds

Increase in the area of underrepresented forest
Deciduous Dipterocarp Forestfrom 42% to 62%
Mixed Deciduous Forestfrom 61% to 81%

Representation of elevation ranges
Elevation
Range(m)area protected
total
(km2)
area(km2) 24.3% 29.5%% of range
protected
24.3%% of total% naturalareavegetation
protected
protected
29.5% 24.3% 29.5% 24.3% 29.5%0-250

395814 25181

30151

68171758

65250-750

169217 80106 100356

4759555790

92

750-1500

55788 38246

45773

698226269294>1500

1482

1330

7990

1195

971175The lowlands is still greatly underrepresent (only 8% protected),but most forest (65%) within this range will be protected.
The remaining unprotected forest is in small, isolated fragments.

Representation of WWF ecoregions and Global 200 ecoregions

15 ecoregions present in the expanded
PA system from 1% for the Chao Phraya
freshwater swamp forest to 90% for thePeninsular Malaysian montane rain
forests
Limited Freshwater Swamp Forest andMangrove Forest

80% or more of remaining naturalvegetation protected of five Global 200
ecoregions, except Indochina dry
forest, at 67%

Representation of bioclimatic zone
Bioclimatic zone
Extremely Hot and Moist
Extremely Hot and Xeric
Hot and Mesic
Hot and Dry
Warm Temperate and Mesic

Total areaof zone
(km2)
262852
200660
43791
5818
83

% of zone
protected
24.3%
28.5
3.9
72.2
76.5
91.6

% of total area
protected

29.5% 24.3%
35 63.1
6.6
683.4 26.6
3.7
88.8
0.1
97.6

29.5%
63.1
8.2
25
3.5
0.1

% of naturalvegetation
protected
24.3% 29.5%
83.1
86.3
69.9
80.2
92.4
93.7
93.2
93.6
100
98.8

Increased the area of protected forest in the currently underrepresented
Extremely Hot and Moist and Extremely Hot and Xeric,However, these bioclimates are still underrepresent in terms of thepercentage of zone protectedHow vulnerable will theexpanded PA system be toclimate change?
The expansion does little toreduce the impacts of climatechange
The coolest bioclimatic zone will belost from protected areas system,and the Hot and Mesic and Hot
and Dry zones will be greatly
reducedAdequacy of protection for
mammals and birds declines
by 2070

Wake up humans,
you areendangered too

Conclusions
Thailand needs to seriously consider climatechange in protected area planning andmanagement.
Increasing the area of the existing PAs to 30%
by 2030 is practical and will significantly
increase protection of biodiversity in Thailand.
The expansion relatively reduces the impact
from climate change and additional actions will
be necessary.
• Biodiversity corridors and transboundaryPAs• Ex-situ conservation & genetic
improvement

Khao Yai-Thap Lan
corridorThank You :)