Interviewer: What do you think about if we really going to be, make Khao Yai to be the world class? It seems to me by the nature condition we are there already. Just only fix and change the management, the planning. If we have a good planning in the long term like 10 years and we divide it each 3 years, each 3 years we will see short term- middle term and long term to run Khao Yai. It seems to me that very high possibility that we can be reached our dream to be the world class like Great Smoky. Do you think that we can do it?
Maria: Absolutely. We have no doubt. The things that need to be done here to improve the management and to make that long term vision possible are things that are easily within the capabilities of the government, that Thai people and the citizens who live around the park. It just takes the will and the decision to do it.
Interviewer: So if we can be success, Khao Yai in the future, of course we maybe looking about double size of the visitors and we looking how about to be increase our protecting about the nature, improve the nature that we do have today. But the problem is if the Khao Yai is so success but the border that you mention, you know we have a lot of landowners that today of course that they have the boundaries whatever but the point is about Khao Yai is so popular today. So many people come to invest, to build a new house because they have the great ozone. You know people when they are success in the economic what do they looking for is the healthy environment and Khao Yai is so good location to Bangkok and many people coming now they are create a lot of commercial areas, residential areas and it seems to me, it turns to be a new town, you know? And maybe to become a new city if Khao Yai really to become the World Heritage or the world class National Park. What do you think? How we can be aware? How we should plan? How we should be thinking? You have any experience or mistakes on those development you know nearby your National Park of Great Smoky?
Dale: Lots of ideas and lots of mistakes. I want to key in on one word you said, many are coming here to buy land and build a home because it’s healthy, healthy environment. I use those words in managing Great Smoky. That my job was to maintain that, health of the park and the health of the services that we provide visitors. If either one of those are not healthy then we were failing in world class management. So when I spoke to the business leaders in the community who own the businesses and were making money because of visitors coming, I reminded them I’ll be supportive of your community, of your business to make sure you have a healthy opportunity to be successful, to make a living, to create jobs. But you have to remember that you have to take care of the health of the park. “The Golden Egg” as we call it. If the park is not taken care of pretty soon the land value will drop back down and people will start going other places, so everyone needs to understand the park is the value and the health of the National Park is the most important for all those other things to happen.
Interviewer: If no Khao Yai, no future for them.
Maria: That’s right.
Interviewer: This is.. This is information. This is the thing that you encourage your neighbor who are doing the business nearby the Great Smoky. And how those people cooperate with you?
Dale: Well one way they cooperate is through our friends organization. Where we meet with them, we explain what is occurring, what issues are facing the park. And many times because they’re successful in their business that they can bring resource, money to the table to help us solve those problems to maintain health of the park. One good example of development that is good next to a park is many people come here to stay in the park. They want to stay in a lodge in the park, camp in the park. And if development outside the park is clearing the land and putting in a camp ground with no trees, that’s not staying in the park, that’s a different experience. So, having development next to the park that maintains the trees and nature and putting the camp ground in, they don’t have to stay in the park here, they can stay in a private camp next to the park but it still feels like the park. That working with our neighbors, they start to understand that they’ll have more business in their camp ground or their lodging if it’s in a setting like the park.
Interviewer: So the benefit can create a lot of the developments nearby your park? And you have already been visit Khao Yai and you may found that maybe the similar thing it will be happen. So, maybe we’ll be talking in the next time how Khao Yai to be cooperate with the developer next door.