UNESCO ignores Karen pleas to name Kaeng Krachan National Park a world heritage site

After years of punting on a final decision, the United Nation’s cultural agency made the controversial decision to designate Thailand’s Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex as a world heritage site. 

The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex was listed Monday by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee as a world natural heritage site, hours after protesters asked the agency to deny the designation over the longstanding persecution of ethnic Karen who’ve dwelled within for over a century.

“The problem is the work of the government that allows one-sided data, binding other groups who cannot access to study the area,” Miss Universe Thailand contestant Chayathanus “Cheraim” Saradatta tweeted. “The objection of today is not just about the community and the forest. It is about stealing the geographic area and information from the independent perception of the people.”

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