Thailand

Asia

Capital: BangkokNovember to February

285

Documented species

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Thailand runs from the forested mountains of the north, an extension of the eastern Himalaya, down to the Malay peninsula, covered in equatorial rainforest and flanked by two very different seas: the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. In the west, the Thung Yai and Huai Kha Khaeng forest complex holds the largest block of protected forest in mainland Southeast Asia, with tigers, elephants, gaur and banteng. Khao Yai, the country's first national park, protects monsoon forest a few hours from Bangkok and is famous for its hornbills. The Andaman coast contributes limestone islands, reefs and seagrass meadows with dugongs, and the southern mangroves work as nurseries for the coastal fishery.

The nature of Thailand

National animal: The Asian elephant, Thailand's national animal

Did you know?

Hornbills have one of the most extreme breeding strategies in the bird world: the female shuts herself inside a tree hollow and seals the entrance with mud and droppings until only a narrow slit is left. There she stays walled in for months, moulting her feathers and feeding the chicks with whatever the male passes through the gap. If the male dies, the whole brood is lost.

Biodiversity profile

Sudeste Asiatico continentalAprox. 19-23% del territorio terrestre bajo areas protegidas segun distintos estudios cientificos (2020-2022)

Climate

•Tropical monzonico (Am) en el centro y sur
•Tropical de sabana (Aw) en el noreste (meseta de Khorat)
•Clima mas templado en montañas del norte

Main biomes

•Bosque tropical humedo semi-siempreverde (Tenasserim-sur de Tailandia, compartido con Malasia y Myanmar)
•Bosque deciduo monzonico (meseta de Khorat, norte)
•Manglares costeros
•Selva monzónica
•Bosque siempreverde de tierras bajas
•Karst calizo tropical
•Manglar costero
•Arrecife de coral
•Pradera marina
•Bosque de montaña del norte

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Costas del Golfo de Tailandia y el Mar de Andaman, con arrecifes de coral relevantes

Flagship wildlife

•Elefante asiatico (animal nacional)
•Tigre indochino
•Gibon de manos blancas
•Leopardo nebuloso
•Delfin del Irrawaddy
•Cálao bicorne
•Tigre de Indochina
•Gaur
•Banteng
•Dugongo
•Tiburón ballena
•Tapir malayo
•Tortuga laúd

Notable endemic species

•Aprox. 8% del total mundial de especies de plantas (15.000 especies)
•6 especies de mamiferos endemicas de un total de 302 registradas
•25% de endemismo en plantas vasculares, la segunda proporcion mas alta entre regiones tropicales del mundo tras compararse con Mesoamerica, Sudamerica y Africa subsahariana
•Murciélago nariz de cerdo de Kitti
•Pez de las cuevas de Tailandia

Notable threatened species

•Tigre indochino (En Peligro, poblacion silvestre muy reducida y fragmentada)
•54% de las especies modeladas en areas protegidas proyectadas a estar amenazadas para 2070 bajo escenario climatico severo (RCP8.5), con 11 extinciones nacionales previstas
•Ecoregiones como los bosques secos de Indochina y de la meseta de Khorat norte insuficientemente representadas en la red de areas protegidas

Notable protected areas

•Complejo forestal de Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai (Patrimonio Mundial)
•Santuario de Vida Silvestre de Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng (Patrimonio Mundial)
•Parque Nacional de Khao Yai
•Santuarios de Thung Yai-Huai Kha Khaeng
•Parque Nacional de Kaeng Krachan
•Islas Similan
•Parque Nacional de Khao Sok
•Islas Surin

Main conservation threats

•Cambio climatico proyectado a amenazar mas de la mitad de las especies de vertebrados y plantas en areas protegidas para 2070
•Tala de bosques de tierras bajas, que ha sesgado los registros de fauna forestal hacia zonas mas frias de altura
•Caza que ha confinado a los grandes vertebrados a zonas bien protegidas

Conservation

Kitti's hog-nosed bat, discovered in 1974, is one of the smallest mammals in the world, weighing barely two grams. Hornbill nest adoption programmes, in which communities guard the trees in exchange for compensation, have drastically reduced poaching.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Khao Yai between February and May for hornbills and elephants. The Similan and Surin islands between November and April for reefs and whale sharks. Kaeng Krachan at dawn for primates and birds.

Sources: ASEAN Biodiversity Outlook / Thailand's National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2027 | Nature Scientific Reports - Vulnerability to climate change species protected areas Thailand | ScienceDirect - Evaluation effectiveness protected areas Thailand

Rainforest Temperate forest Ocean