So what  has been the response of authorities this year? Apart from a few large billboards featuring a picture of the Prime Minister with large writ words STOP BURNING and a picture of skyscrapers in the background, (was this meant to refer to the events at Ratchaprasong in April 2010?)  Very little it appears.

Yet scars of the years fires remain visible on the ground, if not in people’s lungs, as this picture of young Dipterocarpus turbinatus (ยางแดง) trees killed at the Mok Fah Waterfall in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park show. One wonders what the park staff were doing to allow a fire to burn on both sides of a walking path, a perfect fire break, where control should have been easy?

Yang Daeng saplings killed by fire at Mok Fah Waterfall

His letter was in praise of the Elephant Nature Park along the Mae Tamin a half hour drive north from Chiang Mai city.

Yesterday I was in the area so called in to ENP where two years ago I had sent trees for their revegetation program.

There I heard a few words from Khun Lek, the proprietor about the actions of officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment seeking to confiscate ENP elephants. (Click on the link to see details)

As the panorama above shows, Elephant nature Park is not situated on some narrow strip of land between the road and the river, where the animals are chained , but on a wide expanse of flood plain where the elephants roam free.

Places like this are called Monkey Cheeks in Thaliand, as they can store large volumes of water during floods, and thereby reduce the speed of potentially damaging flows and lessen damage done down stream. HM King Bhumipol is a long time advocate for the preservation of such natural assets.

However, despite their protestations of loyalty to the King, people in the previous Democrat led government had a different agenda. Since early 2010 there has been a systematic reforming of natural streams all over Thailand into channels with steep sided embankments which prevent the beneficial flooding of areas like that at ENP.

Here is another aspect of the siege ENP is suffering, as a new embankment like in these pictures taken just upstream of ENP is presently under construction.

Already this has brought tragedy causing the death of a mahout employed at the park, according to Khun Lek.

In the near future the twice daily elephant bathing, so health giving in  a hot climate, may become a thing of the past. The danger posed by these large animals and human carers trying to descend the unstable and steep slope, may be too great for this practice to continue.

Many readers will know better thanthe author that the forests of SE Asia and all that comprise them from the bacteria, in the ground, to the plants and animals from tiny to giant size remain under threat, with many species still becoming extinct.

The International Year of the Forests gives those of us who care, a platform to advance nature conservation and for purposes of promotion nothing comes near a charismatic animal, like a beautiful Tiger or the Giant Panda for attracting sympathetic attention.

Usually cuddly, furry animals are best even if they are potential man eaters but the hard skinned Pangolin is very attractive in the way it moves and eats. Pangolin toys are also quite a hit with children it seems. And the sad plight of the Pangolin resulting from forest clearing and the so-called medicinal properties, which I guess are no more than  superstition, highlights the destruction of the forest in general. The lesson may be – if we save the Pangolin  - we save the forest.

I would hope the ASEAN countries, very much once a Pangolin land, could give a lead and I think that rather than dry scientific argument, or even photographs of Pangolins, presenting a lively cartoon character, which speaks the languages of people will be immediately attractive. It can be a way of having children persuade their elders to keep the animal’s habitat and reject the so-called traditional remedies from Pangolin skins to Bear bile.

So it seems to me we need some talented people who work in animation to do a short animation of a Pangolin character to present th idea and we need to find volunteers to work quickly.

I personally do not have any contacts in this field nor do I directly work on animal conservation but I thought some of your supporters would have the skills needed and might be prepared to volunteer.

We would also need some organisation which has established international and government links to notionally  the project. Perhaps the IUCN or WWF? I suspect readers might have ideas about this.

In a sense the Year of the Forest is like the Global Warming issue. Forest conservation is crucial to almost every individual conservation issue and a failure there means a failure every where. The lesson I draw is that, just as we all must set aside some of our work time to work to combat global warming,  so must we in this year work on forest conservation.

The matter of finance also is relevant as some money may be needed initially to seed the project until it, hopefully, gets ASEAN & UN sponsorship. you may have ideas about this. One thought is that companies which make toy Pangolins could very well be interested.

Please pass these thoughts around among your contacts and let us see if we can get some action.

Suggestions for a scenario:

I suggest it would be great to get a cartoon made with a pandolin being asked questions like “What is a forest?” etc. Answer My Home if you don’t mind!

If he is a Thai he could be called Panlop the Pandolin ( I have a friend Panlop). He could put trees into perspective: “The deader the better – so yummy termites can eat them”

Living trees – “Well ok…  They give nice shade and conserve moisture – and without moisture
my favourite food (yes termites) cannot survive – and they (the trees) must die some time and provide more termite food.”
“So yes let’s have more trees”  .. and bamboo!!

And why do you matter Mr Panlop ?
“Well the more termites I eat, the less methane the termites give off and as you may well know methane is 25 times as powerful a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide”.

So Cool the World – Keep the Pandolins.

The weekend of the 15th and 16th of January 2011 ‘Bring Home The Elephant’ invite you to join their ‘Bike for Elephants’ tour in Northern Thailand. Two days of adventure and fun biking through the Mae Tang valley, in Chiang Mai province.

This event will raise much needed funds for the Elephant Nature Park and create awareness about the plight of Thai elephants. The Elephant Nature Park, in a beautiful mountain range north of Chiang Mai, is a safe home to rescued elephants that were previously abused and neglected.

The route: Tour de Chang

January 15, 2011

About 50 km, route is suitable for average bikers.

We will start at the Mae Rim Lagoon Resort with the briefing and biking and safety instructions. Through the mountains we will cycle towards the Elephant Nature Park, where we will camp on Saturday night. Here you will not only have a chance to refresh in the river while washing liberated elephants, but also to learn about natural elephant behavior and to see how their money will be spent. We will set up our tents in the Elephant Nature Park, have an early night and wake up with the sounds of elephants!

January 16, 2011
About 40 km, some climbing at the start of the route, route is suitable for average bikers.

After breakfast and group photo of bikers and elephants, we will climb one hill to get out of the Elephant Nature Park valley. We will cycle through mountains and rice fields,  until the finish at one of the most beautiful and unknown waterfalls of Thailand: Bua Tong Waterfall. We will set up a small picnic near the waterfall, where we have a chance to share experiences, have drinks, snacks, relax and cool down under the waterfall after all the hard work.

Start your team
Join this event by starting a team with any of your social network. It’s a great team building event and fun and healthy way to do something good for the world!
A team needs to have at least 4 and maximum 10 members. As a team you will receive your own page on our website to help you with online fundraising. Your team will set your own target for the fundraising efforts, but a minimum amount of 5,000 baht per person is required.

Or join the Bring the Elephant Home team!
Individual bikers are very welcome to join the Bring the Elephant Home team. Please fill in the register form at this website. You pay for the costs of the event, 2,500 baht pp – excl mountain bike (or 3,300 baht pp incl mountain bike, helmet and water bottle) and raise a minimum of 5,000 baht per person to support the Elephant Nature Park.

This fee includes safety instructions, a Bike for Elephants t-shirt, all meals and drinks and camping at the Elephant Nature Park. Also included: elephant feeding, bathing, elephant morning walk, a lot of new impressions, friends and an experience you won’t forget.

The teams will set their own target for their fundraising efforts, but a minimum amount of 5,000 baht per person is required.

You can find out more about this event and register here – Also bikers can download your sponsor form here.

The weekend of the 6th and 7th of February 2010 we invite you to join the ‘Bike for Elephants’ tour in Northern Thailand. Two days of adventure and fun biking through the Mae Tang valley, in Chiang Mai province.

This event will raise much needed funds for the Elephant Nature Park and create awareness about the plight of Thai elephants. The Elephant Nature Park, in a beautiful mountain range north of Chiang Mai, is a safe home to rescued elephants that were previously neglected.

The route: Tour de Chang

February 6, 2010

48 km, 40% off road but flat land, 60% concrete with some hills, road quality is good, route is suitable for average bikers.

We will depart from a resort on the Samoeng road, following an irrigation canal through the rice fields and cycle off road to join the road to Pai. On a concrete road through the mountains we will cycle towards the Elephant Nature Park, where we will camp on Saturday night. Here you will not only have a chance to refresh in the river while washing free roaming elephants, but also to learn about natural elephant behavior and to see how your money will be spent. We will set up our tents in the Elephant Nature Park, have an early night and wake up with the sounds of elephants!

February 7, 2010

33 km, 95% small concrete roads, some climbing at the start of the route, road quality is good, route is suitable for average bikers.

After breakfast we will climb one hill to get out of the Elephant Nature Park valley. A shortcut will lead us to the rice fields near Sri Lanna National Park. After passing some villages, we reach Mae Ngat reservoir where we will take long tail boats to the Echachai houseboats. Here we can share experiences, swim, have drinks, snacks and relax after all the hard work. You can stay overnight in a houseboat or take the boat and minibus back to Chiang Mai.

Start your team

Join this event by starting a team with any of your social network. It’s a great team building event and fun and healthy way to do something good for the world!

A team needs to have at least 4 and maximum 10 members. As a team you will receive your own page on the Bring The Elephant Home website to help you with online fundraising. Your team will set your own target for the fundraising efforts, but a minimum amount of 5,000 baht per person is required.

Join Bike for Elephants

Will you join the Bike for Elephants event? You pay for the costs of the event, 2,500 baht pp – excl mountain bike (or 3,300 baht pp incl mountain bike, helmet and water bottle) and raise a minimum of 5,000 baht per person to support the Elephant Nature Park.

This fee includes insurance, safety instructions, a sponsor book, meals and drinks, camping at the Elephant Nature Park and the boat ride on Mae Ngat reservoir. Also included: elephant feeding, bathing, elephant morning walk, a lot of new impressions, friends and an experience you won’t forget.

Visit the Bring The Elephant Home website for more information.

I had a call this morning from Nikom Putta, who is mentioned in the article. Nikom is an Ashoka Fellow and works on community forestry, the mighty Ping River and, animal trading. He told me that tomorrow at 10 a.m. there will be a group gathering at the Night Safari to protest the mistreatment of animals. I know some of you have been very active in addressing the problem of stray dogs and dog population.

Please call Nikom for more information: 0819926031

And feel free to spread this message to animal activists.

(I’m reading Water for Elephants right now, which feels relevant to the issues Nikom is raising)

Author: Carol Grodzins – Senior Advisor – Ashoka: Innovators for the Public