The report last week about the renewed ban to protect the famous century-old Yang Na trees lining the iconic Chiang Mai-Lamphun highway could sound to some like an encouraging sign for urban tree conservation.
Under the legislation, published in the Royal Gazette on Friday, construction work and any other other activities which could negatively affect their roots or branches is now prohibited.
No new permits will be issued for that section, and construction will be severely restricted on the rest of the route.
The list of outlawed structures includes any building taller than 12 metres, hotels, service parlours, factories, slaughterhouses, petrol stations and warehouses. Permitted buildings must have at least 90% of their surface colour blend in with the natural surroundings.
However, the rules do permit cutting or trimming if permission is granted from the government.
The nine-kilometre stretch of Highway 106 has more than 900 Yang Na trees, many of which are over 150 years old. About 2,000 were planted in 1899 during the reign of King Rama V and then later reclassified as a protected species due to their high market value.
While the ban appears like a tough safeguard, there are reasons not to be optimistic. There are plenty of loopholes and no overriding law governing environmental protection of this kind. The environment ministry needs to follow this edict up with tough national laws to protect unique city-based flora fauna.
The fact is that this iconic nine-kilometre stretch has been listed as a protected zone by the ministry of natural resources and environment since 2015, so this situation should not have arisen again in the first place.
It must be acknowledged that the real threat to big trees along this iconic highway are the authorities themselves, such in 2019 when it took a petition from firebrand activist Srisuwan Janya to prevent Chiang Mai provincial administration from cutting down two of these protected Yang Na trees, his swift appeal earning a rightful court injunction.
The bigger question is what type of law is needed to protect big trees along roads from our government. During the past few decades, state road building agencies such as the Department of Land Transport and local administrations have chain-sawed their way through forests of similarly valuable trees along iconic roads using road safety or road widening as their justification.
Although far from perfect, the renewed ban on the iconic Chiang Mai-Lamphun Highway will hopefully serve as an example for other provinces to emulate it with their own, more watertight, measures to name and protect the tree-lined thoroughfares that lend character and distinction to much of the country.
Indeed, BIG Trees, a urban conservation group that has been working with local authorities, including City Hall, to protect similarly sized and aged trees in urban areas, has called for the central and local government to prescribe municipal codes of conduct to make tree management more professional and inclusive. It is vital that a structure exists for responsible agencies to adhere to, and means consultation with communities with penalties for failing to adhere to it. Professional expertise also needs to be brought in to oversee and advise.
The era of state agencies riding roughshod over the roots of big trees to widen roads is over. Environmental threats such as climate change and air pollution only add to these trees' value as air purifiers and flood absorbers. It's time for the authorities to leave their chainsaws behind.
