seamas wrote @ June 30, 2008 at 3:32 pm

From tomorrow (July 1, 2008), Thailand’s Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) will limit the number of tourists permitted to visit Khao Yai and nine other important protected areas around the country.

According to The Nation, DNP Director General Chalermsak Wanichsombat says the new limits will help ecosystems recover.

Over the next year, Khao Yai will admit 2,650 overnight and 3,235 daytime visitors.

Since its World Heritage Listing in 2005, Khao Yai has grown in popularity as a tourist destination and some have expressed concern about the impact of increasing numbers of visitors and the multiplication of resorts around the park.

Human presence invariably impacts on wildlife and ecosystems, but responsible visitors can limit that impact and even make it positive by supporting conservation efforts.