Roads in parks must be tamed
Another endangered wildlife animal, a male Asiatic black bear, has fallen victim to a road accident in the Khao Yai-Tab Lan forest. According to police, the ill-fated bear, weighing about 200kg, was found dead in the wee hours of July 5 at kilometre marker 82-83 on Highway 304 in Na Di district, Prachin Buri. He was found lying by the roadside in a pool of blood with severe head injuries. The animal was believed to be searching for food when he encountered the oncoming vehicle which hit and killed him before driving off.
The Khao Yai route is known among locals as the “death road” for wildlife, given the frequency of such sad incidents.
Several types of rare animals have died on the highway over the past years including a leopard, a wild gaur, deer, snakes and monkeys. In 2016, the sight of a dead female monkey, with her baby clinging to the lifeless body, prompted a public outcry.
Members of the public then petitioned via change.org for authorities to close the road through the forest, which is a World Heritage site, at night.
Highway 304 is among five domestic hot spots for traffic-related wildlife deaths. The other four are: Kui Buri and Kaeng Krachan national parks in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ang Rue Nai in Chachoengsao and Khao Paeng Ma wildlife sanctuary, all of which are part of the five-province forest complex in the east and northeast regions.
All these troubled areas have one thing in common — a straight, long, wellpaved road that allows drivers to easily and carelessly (especially when driving at night) exceed the 60 kph speed limit. Of the five, only Ang Rue Nai national park bars nighttime driving; a policy which has worked well and significantly reduced the number of animal deaths and injuries in the park.
The authorities overseeing the Khao Yai-Tab Lan area are well aware of the problem but still resort to the same, passive measures — putting up signs asking drivers to drive within speed limits and relying on reactive CCTV monitoring.
Things are the same for the July 5 hit-and-run case. Though authorities vowed to track down the driver, there is little hope they will. Not a single motorist has ever been arrested for such a tragedy.
The Khao Yai route is known among locals as the “death road” for wildlife, given the frequency of such sad incidents.
Right after the bear’s carcass was found, authorities repeated their message that more signs are needed and they will intensify measures to control vehicle speed along the stretch.
But the authorities must go beyond words and learn from these repeated tragedies. What is needed is a drastic action. The ongoing hit and run case attests to the fact that further pledges of rote measures are a farce.
However, there is a discrepancy in state policy that may hinder the goal. The 304 highway, which covers a section of the road from Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Thong Chai district to Prachin Buri’s Kabin Buri district, is known for its notorious “wildlife corridor” project designed by the Highways Department.
The 1.3 billion baht project which is near finished includes a crossing, or viaduct, for animals.
Environmentalists are worried about the project’s environmental impact, not to mention whether wildlife would actually use the man-made structure.
Highway 304, which links the Northeast with the eastern region, is designated as a crucial economic route and the Highways Department cited this as a reason to widen the road, from two to four lanes, on a 15 km stretch.
This means drivers can go even faster, not slower, despite the status of the area as a conservation zone.
More importantly, the upgrade to the infrastructure will only increase the number of cars in the area.
Conservationists from the Love Khao Yai Foundation allege that the agencies involved bypassed the required environmental impact assessment studies for the road widening as all the focus was placed on the implementation of a tunnel to allow safer animal crossings.
This is not acceptable. Park officials must insist on official EIA studies regarding the changes to the road and work to mitigate any issues that the studies flag up.
In the meantime, a fence should be put up as a temporary measure to keep the animals away from the vehicles.
However, Khanchit Srinoppawan, head of the Khao Yai National Park, is optimistic that the planned tunnels and bridges on Highway 304 will make it safer for wildlife to cross the road and this will greatly reduce the number of animals killed. But such unrealistic optimism is really not useful.
It’s time for all agencies to work together to find ways to ensure drivers observe the laws.
They must install road bumps along the highway, each with clear signs and lights, as a measure to force drivers to slow down, while shutting the area from traffic at night would also help to reduce the number of similar accidents.