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Celebrating 50th Anniversary of the Society for the Conservation of National Treasure and Environment, SCONTE.
By Society for the Conservation of National Treasure and Environment (SCONTE)
Over a half century ago that the derelict and abandoned grounds of ancient Ayuthaya was about to be carved up for development but was saved by a group of architects, town planners and art lovers, who came together and pushed for it to become what is now the Ayuthaya Historic Park. They saw furthermore the need to raise the conservation agenda in Thailand, both for the natural and historic legacies. The result was the setting up of the Society for the Conservation of National Treasure and Environment, better known as SCONTE, itself an offshoot from the Association of Siamese Architects. SCONTE has since pushed for the setting up of variously conservation legislations such as the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act of B.E. 2018 and 2535. In turn these Acts spawned more conservation agencies and subcommittees under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Five decades ago, two-thirds of Thailand was forest land. Now it is down to one-third and shrinking, along with the degraded ecology and global warming that is happening throughout the world. Nor has the conservation of the tangible and intangible culture faired any better, while in the period the country went overboard with developmental Progress.
Marking 50 years SCONTE is an appropriate occasion as any, to perhaps review the country’s conservation effort as started by the pioneers, and how it might be passed on from this moment.
There will be a roundtable discussion “Nature-Manmade…in Conflict or Sustainable?” with the participation of a group of conservation-minded practitioners, coming together to air their views of the possible policies, directions and mechanisms, to pass on to the younger generations, who after all own the future. The discussion will be in Thai.
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