Editing Thailand (section)

=== Biodiversity and conservation ===
{{see also|List of protected areas of Thailand|List of forest parks of Thailand|List of species native to Thailand|Environmental issues in Thailand|}}
[[File:Khaoyai 06.jpg|thumb|The population of [[Asian elephants]] in Thailand's wild has dropped to an estimated 2,000–3,000.<ref name="Elephants">{{Cite web |title=Thailand's Elephants |url=http://www.thailandelephant.org/en/thaielephant.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305080708/http://www.thailandelephant.org/en/thaielephant.html |archive-date=5 March 2015 |access-date=3 March 2015 |website=Thai Elephant Conservation Center}}</ref>]]
[[List of national parks of Thailand|National park]]s in Thailand are defined as ''an area that contains natural resources of ecological importance or unique beauty, or flora and fauna of special importance''. Thailand's protected areas include 156 national parks, 58 wildlife sanctuaries, 67 non-hunting areas, and 120 forest parks. They cover almost 31 per cent of the kingdom's territory.<ref name="PRD">{{cite web |url=https://thailand.prd.go.th/1700/ewt/thailand/ewt_news.php?nid=8297&filename=index |title=Five New National Parks in Thailand |date=6 August 2019 |department=The Government Public Relations Department |access-date=4 January 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The parks are administered by the [[Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation|National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department]] (DNP) of the [[Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Thailand)|Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment]] (MNRE).

Thailand has a mediocre but improving performance in the global [[Environmental Performance Index]] (EPI), with an overall ranking of 91 out of 180 countries in 2016. The environmental areas where Thailand performs worst (i.e., highest-ranking) are [[air quality]] (167), environmental effects of the agricultural industry (106), and the [[climate and energy]] sector (93), the later mainly because of a high [[CO2 emission|CO<sub>2</sub> emission]] per kWh produced. Thailand performs best (i.e., lowest-ranking) in [[water resource management]] (66), with some major improvements expected for the future, and [[sanitation]] (68).<ref>{{Cite journal |title=2016 Report |url=http://epi.yale.edu/reports/2016-report |url-status=dead |journal=EPI Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204021925/http://epi.yale.edu/reports/2016-report |archive-date=4 February 2016 |access-date=17 December 2016}}</ref><ref>EPI (2016): [http://epi.yale.edu/country/thailand Thailand] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227041212/http://epi.yale.edu/country/thailand |date=27 December 2016}}</ref> The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 6.00/10, ranking it 88th globally out of 172 countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |display-authors=1 |year=2020 |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=5978 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=7723057 |pmid=33293507 |doi-access=free |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M.}}</ref>

The population of elephants, the country's [[List of national animals|national symbol]], has fallen from 100,000 in 1850 to an estimated 2,000.<ref name="Elephants" /> Poachers have long hunted elephants for [[ivory]] and hides, and now increasingly for [[Elephant meat|meat]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 January 2012 |title=Poaching for meat poses new extinction risk to Thai elephants |work=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/26/poaching-thailand-elephant-meat |url-status=live |access-date=4 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205184341/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/26/poaching-thailand-elephant-meat |archive-date=5 February 2018}}</ref> Young elephants are often captured for use in tourist attractions or as work animals, where there have been claims of mistreatment.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hile |first=Jennifer |date=6 October 2002 |title=Activists Denounce Thailand's Elephant "Crushing" Ritual |work=National Geographic Today |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1016_021016_phajaan.html |url-status=dead |access-date=7 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218231457/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1016_021016_phajaan.html |archive-date=18 February 2007}}</ref> In 1989, the government banned the use of elephants for [[logging]], leading many elephant owners to move their domesticated animals to the tourism industry.<ref>{{cite report |last=Stiles |first=Daniel |title=The Elephant and Ivory Trade in Thailand |url=https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/3278/elephant-ivory-trade-thailand.pdf |publisher=Traffic Southeast Asia |pages=1–2}}</ref>

Poaching of protected species remains a major problem. [[Tigers]], [[leopards]], and other large cats are hunted for their pelts. Many are farmed or hunted for their meat, which supposedly has medicinal properties. Although such trade is illegal, the well-known Bangkok market [[Chatuchak Weekend Market|Chatuchak]] is still known for the sale of endangered species.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Teena Amrit Gill |date=18 February 1997 |title=Endangered Animals on Restaurant Menus |url=http://www.monitor.net/monitor/9702a/endangeredfood.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516023649/https://www.monitor.net/monitor/9702a/endangeredfood.html |archive-date=16 May 2007 |access-date=7 June 2007 |publisher=Albion Monitor/News}}</ref> The practice of keeping wild animals as pets affects species such as [[Asiatic black bear]], [[Malayan sun bear]], [[Lar gibbon|white-handed lar]], [[pileated gibbon]], and [[binturong]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thai Forests: Dept. National Parks, Wildlife & Plants |url=http://www.tscwa.org/forests/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126041139/http://tscwa.org/forests/index.html |archive-date=26 November 2014 |publisher=Thai Society for the Conservation of Wild Animals}}</ref>