Global Conservation Supports New SMART Patrols for Thap Lan World Heritage, Thailand

Thailand is the Last Chance for Tiger's Survival in Southeast Asia

Global Conservation is funding a major effort to remove poachers and illegal logging from the Thap Lan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

After many years of poaching and illegal removal of rosewood, the toll on tigers and their prey in Thap Lan is becoming desperate. 

Thap Lan World Heritage and its adjacent parks are one of the last refuges for tigers in the Eastern Forest Complex of Thailand.

Global Conservation is supporting WCS Thailand and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife of Thailand to eliminate illegal wildife poaching and logging to achieve 'No Kill, No Cut' in Thap Lan.

Global Conservation is investing in training, technology and systems for the Thap Lan National Park through a multi-year Global Park Defense program.  

With support of the military and the Global Conservation-funded program, Thap Lan Park Authority under the leadership of the Park Director and lead rangers in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Thailand, illegal logging and poaching is being targeted and the park is now getting control of its borders and core threat areas.

With no known tigers now left in Cambodia or Vietnam, and only a few in Laos and Myanmar, Thailand is the last bastion for the endangered species. 

See the Q1-Q2 2016 Progress Report on SMART Patrols in Thap Lan.

Highlights from 2016 include:

• Trained 42 park rangers and 3 superintendents for Thap Lan National Park into SMART patrol system, ambush methods, use of firearm, arrest methods, and self-defending tactics with the aim to operate in both day and night patrols.
• Increased ranger patrol coverage by 360% and patrol frequencies by 300%. 
• increased arrests of illegal loggers and poachers in the park to 55 persons, including 45 foreigners, primarily from Cambodia.
• Completed state of the art Command Center for SMART Patrols utilizing the latest technology and systems.