Doctor Boonsong Lekagul (1907-1992) – one of the first green boys in Thailand

Boonsong Lekagu – Photo: Wikipedia

Boonsong Lekagul was born on December 15, 1907 into an ethnic Sino-Thai family in Songkhla, southern Thailand. He turned out in the local Public School to be a very intelligent and inquisitive boy and consequently went to study medicine at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. After he was there in 1933 cum laude after graduating as a doctor, he started a group practice together with a number of other young specialists, from which the first outpatient clinic in Bangkok would emerge two years later.

In his younger days, the Doctor was, as he readily admitted years later, a passionate hunter. Gradually, however, he became mesmerized by the animals he targeted and especially after he began to realize that some of them were threatened with extinction, his interest increased even more. The doctor developed into a skilled amateur biologist and did pioneering work as an ornithologist - bird watcher - and lepidopterist or butterfly expert. He was one of the first in the country to openly advocate for a coordinated nature policy. A theme that no one was waiting for in Thailand just after the war. His appeals initially fell on deaf ears.

The passionate doctor now considered himself a Man with a Mission and was not discouraged. In 1952 – nine years before it World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was founded – he kept the largely self-funded Association for the Conservation of Wildlife (ACW) above the baptismal font. This ACW achieved a remarkable success a few years later when it managed to get the domain around Wat Phai Lom on the banks of the Chao Phraya, the only known nesting area of ​​an endangered stork species, to be protected as a bird sanctuary. This case inspired him to tackle everything on a larger scale. He was one of the first to see the enormous effect of the rapid deforestation on the fragile ecosystem and wildlife. Inspired by a few foreign examples, he started a true crusade with the aim of facilitating the establishment of National Parks.

Tirelessly, despite his thriving doctor's practice and the care for a family of five children, he gave lectures in numerous places - including for radio and TV - and published hundreds of articles. Despite the misunderstanding and opposition, he won his battle in 1962 with the recognition of the Khao Yai National Park. The first in a long line of recognized and therefore protected National Parks. Another campaign that he managed to successfully complete concerned the protection of ecologically sensitive forests near Kanchanaburi. This activist's tenacity and persuasiveness earned him the nickname 'Mister Conservation' us.

1962 Was also the year in which he was one of the founders of the Bangkok Bird Club was, an association that was renamed in 1993 in the much more solemn Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST). This organization is now one of the largest nature-related NGOs in the country. From the XNUMXs he also published a number of standard works on the birds, butterflies and mammals of Thailand.

Even in later life, he continued to campaign where he saw fit. Even in later life, he continued to campaign where he saw fit. When plans for the construction of the huge Nam Choan Dam became known in the early 1988s, he immediately threw himself into the fray. It was partly due to his resistance that this megalomaniac project was canceled in XNUMX.

The role and significance of Boonsong Lekagul should not be underestimated. He became the figurehead of successful conservation and protection campaigns at a time when environmental and nature awareness was non-existent in Thailand. In gratitude for his pioneering work, a number of newly discovered animal species, including a snake, squirrel and bat, were named after him. Not only was his work rewarded with two honorary doctorates and honorary membership of the WWF, but in 1979 he also received the prestigious J Paul Getty Conservation Prize of the American WWF.

For Dutch readers it may be a nice fact that Dr. Boonsong Lekagul was awarded the Order of the Golden Ark established by Prince Bernhard in 1980. An award given for exceptional commitment to nature conservation.