News from Thailand – March 9, 2013
Thailand has failed to secure support for relaxing the protected status of the saltwater and Siamese crocodile. Thailand's proposal to move both animals from CITES' Appendix I to II did not receive the required two-thirds vote yesterday.
According to Thailand, the number of crocodiles living in the wild is increasing, so it is no longer necessary to protect the animals rigorously. Animals on Appendix I may only be traded in exceptional cases, Appendix II allows regulated international trade.
A representative from Ireland says 28 EU countries disagree with the proposal because the population of crocodiles living in the wild is still small. The animals are only found in scattered places in protected areas. Thailand has also provided little information on the conservation of either species. The Philippines supports the proposal. A representative of that country says that laws are in force in Thailand and that projects have been set up to protect crocodiles.
Thailand will again try to convince the CITES countries and wants to put the proposal back to a vote on March 13 or 14. This requires the support of one third of the member countries.
See also the (new) Dossier section at the end of News from Thailand.
– The Buri Ram police has seized more than two hundred rosewood blocks worth 300 million baht in a large wood factory in the Prakhon Chai district.
From the March 8 news: – In Thailand, rosewood is a protected species, so Thailand supports the proposal to place the tree on Appendix II of CITES. China opposes it, because it makes the supply and trade of the wood popular in China (which is often smuggled from Thailand) more difficult. The proposal will be voted on next week. Incidentally, Thailand intends to promote the commercial planting of rosewood, which will ensure sufficient supply for commercial use.
– Some private hospitals pay rescue workers when they bring victims of traffic accidents inside. For each victim, the hospital receives an amount of 15.000 baht from the compensation fund for victims of car accidents.
Paiboon Suriyawongpaisal, first aid expert at Ramathibodi Hospital, revealed this yesterday at a conference of the National Institute for Emergency Medicine in Nonthaburi.
According to Sakaorat Somsakulrungrueang of the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, one of the largest organizations of voluntary aid workers, paying tea money led to fierce competition among rescuers. Another consequence is that the lives of the victims are sometimes endangered because they are taken to hospitals further away. And even worse: unregistered volunteers try to get a piece of the pie.
[The article does not mention the amount of it tea money, a euphemism for a bribe.]
– The rice farmers who want to go to court in connection with the salinization of their fields by nearby salt pans and shrimp ponds, had better not use a geological research report from Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University. That report contains no evidence of causation.
Sarothini Kaewthyani, one of the researchers, advises the farmers to enlist the help of other specialists to substantiate their case before the administrative court.
Farmers from three districts in Nakhon Ratchasima plan to sue the provincial governor and seven government departments for failing to address the threat of salinization. Salinization has ruined their rice fields, they say.
According to the head of the provincial Industry Office, all 23 salt processing companies comply with the rules. The farmers fight that: they break the rules because they are in business all year round. No, says IO head, they only work between October and March (dry season)
– Sukhumbhand Paribatra, elected governor of Bangkok but not yet in office, must appear on Thursday at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI, the Thai FBI). He allegedly violated the Political Parties Act in connection with donations to the party.
By law, donations higher than 20.000 baht must be made with a crossed check of bill of exchange, but the donations in question here were deducted from Sukhumbhand's salary. If found guilty, Sukhumbhand will be barred from holding political office for 5 years.
According to the DSI, opposition leader Abhisit and 46 other Democratic parliamentarians have committed the same 'misdemeanor'. Abhisit has already been summoned to defend himself. It is the turn of the 46 parliamentarians after parliament has gone into recess on April 20.
– It's about tension. A former deputy inspector of Huai Kwang Police Station has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the court, but the Supreme Court has overturned the sentence. The evidence is inconclusive. However, the Supreme Court did not release the man: he remains detained pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The deputy inspector is said to have shot and killed a taxi driver during an argument in July 2010. In 2010, the inspector also escaped the dance when he was acquitted by the court of the murder of a naval officer. Also due to insufficient evidence. So who knows, maybe it will work again.
– It can't be a coincidence: the owner from whom Sathian Permthong-in's wife bought a hotel two years ago is the same man who delivered first aid kits to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation during the 2011 floods. The National Anti-Corruption Commission does not trust it and will investigate it.
Sathian, former Permanent Secretary of the Defense Ministry, is currently under investigation by the NACC for his "unusual wealth". The bank accounts and assets of him, his wife and daughter have been seized.
– During a gunfight between a drug gang and the border police at the border with Myanmar in Nong Khiew (Chiang Mai), three gang members were shot dead. Police seized two AK rifles, a handgun, a pickup truck and three bags of cash. The men were about to hand over the money from the sale of drugs to a network in Myanmar.
– Opposition leader Abhisit and the recalcitrant red shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan have not been able to settle a libel case amicably. The court requested that. Abhisit has filed a libel suit against Jatuporn alleging that he ordered [Abhisit] to shoot red shirt protesters in April and May 2010. Abhisit has filed a total of four charges against Jatuporn. In one case, Jatuporn was acquitted, in the other two he received a suspended prison sentence and a fine.
Financial news
– Thailand has received a point from rating agency Fitch Rating. Yesterday it announced that the long term foreign currency rating of the country moves up to BBB+ thanks to reduced political risk, stable finances and low government debt. Also the short-term foreign currency rating and the country ceiling were upgraded: the first from F2 to F3, the others from A- to BBB+.
Credit ratings are used in financial markets to price new debt issuance and by investors as a reference point for price risk and private company debt.
Fitch points out that Thailand's economy has proved resilient to repeated shocks, averaging 2009 percent growth between 2012 and 2,9, above the 2,5 average for A economies. Investment levels have increased in recent years and political risks have been reduced under the current government. Public debt is relatively low and is likely to rise to no more than 50 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) when the planned infrastructure works are carried out.
Thailand's ratings are constrained by relatively low median income, low productivity, few value-adding activities, and reduced but still lingering social and political tensions, Finch says. The rating could fall due to economic overheating, the flare-up of social and political tensions and new shocks in the global economy.
– Average per capita income could rise from US$10 (5.600 baht) to US$166.000 a year in 10.000 years, predicts Kanit Sangsupan, director of the Fiscal Policy Research Institute. This increase is caused by the investments of 2 trillion baht in infrastructure works in the coming years. Thailand then wrestles from the middle income trap, a situation in which growth comes to a standstill.
The plan to borrow 2 trillion baht to finance infrastructure works (mainly railways) is expected to be discussed by parliament in the third quarter. According to Kanit, once approved, construction could begin before the end of the year.
As a result of the plan, the national debt, which stood at 45 percent of GDP at the end of January, will rise to more than 50 percent. The statutory ceiling is 60 percent. Given the current low interest rates, now is a good time for loans. The yield on 10-year government bonds stands at 3,6 percent, 30-year at 4,2 percent and 50-year at 4,4 percent.
Economic news
– It has been known for longer: Thailand is doing better in the world than any other country with women in top positions. 49 percent of CEOs are women, according to figures from Grant Thornton.
Globally, women make up 24 percent of senior management, 3 percent more than last year. China is the only country in the world where women make up more than half, or 51 percent, of senior management. Japan is at the bottom with 7 percent. All figures are reported in Thornton's International Business Report. The figures were announced Friday on International Women's Day.
– The Thai consumer has confidence in the economy. For the fifth consecutive month, consumer confidence rose to a record high last month, measured over a period of 19 months.
Last month, the index rose from 81,7 in January to 84 points. The other indices also showed an increase: the overall economic index, index for job opportunities and the index on future income. Nevertheless, consumers remain concerned about the strong baht, domestic political stability and the recovery of the global economy.
– The Ministry of Energy still has to adjust the regulations, but after that investors and homeowners can go wild with the installation of solar panels. The ministry is mainly targeting large factories [with large roofs], Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said at a meeting of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers on Thursday. Regulatory improvements are needed in the areas of double taxation, environmental impact assessments and the sale of surplus electricity. Those who want to install solar panels need permission from the Department of Energy and the Industrial Works Department.
For the diversification of energy, the government itself sees more benefit in biogas from napier grass and biomass from agricultural waste instead of solar and wind energy, because these are cheaper. Solar and wind energy costs 10 to 12 baht per kWh, significantly more than the 3,75 baht consumers now pay. According to the ministry, 100 investors have applied for a permit for biogas projects, mainly in the North and Northeast.
www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post
Dossier
As of today, News from Thailand concludes with a new section containing information on topics that are regularly in the news. Dossier provides background information, based on articles Bangkok Post. Today we start with the crocodile. The column won't appear every day, but for now I can get ahead with the topics I've collected data on over the years. I hope that the blog readers will appreciate the new section and correct errors and/or add information where necessary.
Crocodiles in Thailand
Thailand started breeding crocodiles in 1937. Currently, the country has 836 crocodile farms registered with the Thai government with 700.000 crocodiles: 600.000 Siamese crocodiles and 100.000 saltwater crocodiles. Of those farms, 23 Siamese crocodile farms and 13 saltwater crocodile farms are registered with CITES, which means they are allowed to export products made from crocodiles.
Thailand is home to an estimated 200 animals in three provinces, including the Khao Ang Ru Nai Game Reserve in Chachoengsao and the Phu Khiew Reserve in Chaiyaphum. In addition, about a hundred animals live in the Beung Boraphet non hunting area (Nakhon Sawan) and in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi, females lay eggs every year.
Thailand is the world's largest exporter of skin, meat and leather products made from crocodiles. The industry employs 10.000 people and has a turnover of 4 billion baht per year. Many countries, including the US and some European countries, have an import ban on crocodile products from Thailand, because they prohibit imports of endangered animals.
The saltwater crocodile and Siamese crocodile are on Cites Appendix I; that list contains the names of animals that are threatened with extinction. Trading is only allowed in exceptional cases. Thailand is in favor of moving both crocodile species to Appendix II from animals that are not necessarily endangered, but whose trade must be controlled to ensure their survival. If successful, Thailand can find more export markets. In Thailand, wild crocodiles are not traded and that is not necessary given the large number of breeding farms.
CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The member countries will meet in Bangkok until March 14, 2013.
(Source: Bangkok Post, March 8, 2013)
amnesty proposals
Yesterday in News from Thailand I paid attention to the eighth amnesty proposal drawn up by a group of red-shirt parliamentarians. The accompanying illustration in Bangkok Post list all eight. For those interested.