EXPLORE Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries with this slideshow, check the location map and get all the facts and information below.
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Location and Values: The Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries are located in western Thailand, along the border with Myanmar. The two adjoining sanctuaries form the largest World Heritage conservation area in continental South-East Asia, protecting an exceptional diversity of dry tropical forest and other habitats with their associated plants and animals. The sanctuaries support at least a third of all the terrestrial vertebrates known from South-East Asia, including 120 species of mammals and 400 birds, with 34 internationally-threatened species. These include animals such as tiger, clouded leopard, Asian elephant, wild dog, Asian tapir, gaur, banteng and serow. The sanctuaries cover a series of folded mountain ranges, ranging in altitude from the valley bottoms at around 250m to 1,830m at Thung Yai, the tallest peak. The complexity of landscapes, with its mosaic of vegetation types punctuated by rivers and waterfalls provides an area of exceptional natural beauty.
Conservation Status and Prospects. According to IUCN’s Conservation Outlook Assessment (2017) the conservation status of the Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries is ‘good, with some concerns’. The IUCN report notes that the site is relatively well protected as a result of its isolation and difficult access, and has an effective legal framework and management regime. However, a number of current and potential threats exist, notably illegal logging and wildlife poaching. Poaching remains the most significant threat as new roads, agricultural development, logging and dam projects in surrounding areas are facilitating access by poachers. Low-level subsistence hunting is occurring within the boundaries of the site as well as adjacent buffer zone areas. High value timbers are being cut illegally for commercial trade in some areas. In addition proposed hydro-power developments in the buffer zone may negatively affect the integrity of the sanctuaries in the longer-term.
Links:
Google Earth
Official UNESCO Site Details
IUCN Conservation Outlook
UNEP-WCMC Site Description
Birdlife IBA
Slideshow description
The slideshow ‘tells the story’ of the Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries with a portfolio of photos by Sue Stolton and Nigel Dudley (Equilibrium Research) from a visit to Huai Kha Khaeng in November 2015. They illustrate the landscape features of this outstanding place, together with some of the typical plants and animals. The visit was made in collaboration with a research project on tigers, so some of the images provide insights that would not normally be accessible to regular visitors, as most of the site is closed to the public. Some interesting visitor centre exhibits are shown, as well as general landscape views and photos of several notable large mammals including hog deer, banteng and Asian elephant.
Factfile
Website Category: Tropical and Sub-Tropical Forests
Area: 6,222 km2
Inscribed: 1991
Criteria:
- Outstanding natural beauty (vii);
- Ecological processes (ix);
- Natural habitat for biodiversity (x);
- Significant number of rare, endemic and/or endangered species (x)
