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BKK POST: January 30, 1998: GAS P
- Subject: BKK POST: January 30, 1998: GAS P
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 20:35:00
BKK POST: January 30, 1998: GAS PIPELINE PROJECT
Wild elephants
seen near route
Conservationists oppose tree cutting
Kanittha Inchukul and Chakrit Ridmontri
Three herds of about 50 wild elephants were spotted along the
gas pipeline route which runs through lush forest in
Kanchanaburi's Thong Pha Phum district, conservation groups
said yesterday.
Following an incident in which a stray wild elephant fell into a pit
near the pipeline route early this month, the groups conducted an
elephant population survey and found that as many as 50
elephants inhabited the area.
They said the elephants were scattered between the pipeline
kilometre 18 to 28 because the area was covered with elephant
food such as bamboo, bananas and wild mangoes.
"As the pipeline laying workers are cutting trees along the section
where the elephants live, so they are migrating near our camp,"
said Nithisak Toniti of Wildlife Fund Thailand.
The groups have staged a sit-in protest in the forest section of
the pipeline since last month so as to blockade the Petroleum
Authority of Thailand (PTT), agency in charge of the gas pipeline
project, from cutting trees and clearing the forest to make the
pipeline corridor in lush forest on Khao Ta Kua.
The workers have stopped working near the camp at the
pipeline kilometre 27.5, but they are laying the pipeline in haste in
areas several kilometres from the groups' blockade.
Hareuthai Khongkuan, a villager in Tambon Huey Pak Khok in
Thong Pha Phum district, said pipeline laying work in the forest
posed a serious threat to wild elephants as their habitat was
under pressure from forest encroachment.
"The pipeline route is the heart of the elephants' home. If the PTT
insists on laying the pipeline through the area, we will soon see
clashes between the elephants and construction workers," said
Mr Hareuthai.
The groups held a meeting among their members and academics
yesterday after they successfully took pictures of a herd of about
10 elephants at about 1.5 kilometres from the pipeline kilometre
28 last Wednesday. The elephants, six adults and four calves,
were eating bamboo leaves.
Dr Kumthorn Thirakhupt, a biology lecturer at Chulalongkorn
University, said the groups should pass on information about the
elephants to the Office of Environmental Policy and Planning
(OEPP).
He said the office is authorised to order a review of the project's
environmental impact assessment (EIA) study which had not
commented on the existence of wild elephants along the pipeline
route.
Team Consulting Engineer Co is the consultant that conducted
the EIA.
"If the consultant firm intended to distort information about the
elephant, it has to take responsibility," said Dr Kumthorn, adding
that the groups' information had to be done in a scientific manner.
He said the existence of elephants indicated that the project
should be ceased temporarily so as to study more about the wild
and find solutions for managing the environment.
A senior official at the OEPP's environmental impact assessment
division said the licence to conduct the EIA of the consultant
could be revoked if the data was incompetent as it wanted the
project to be approved by the National Environment Board
(NEB).
He agreed that the pipeline laying in the forest should be halted
for reassessment of the environmental impact. The decision rests
with the NEB which is chaired by the prime minister.
Songkiert Tansamrit, director of PTT's public relations
department, admitted that laying the pipeline in the forest would
have an impact on elephants. However, he said the impact could
be minimal without halting construction work.
In so doing, he said, the pipeline laying must be done during the
dry season as quickly as possible.
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Last Modified: Fri, Jan 30, 1998