Dear Sir,
I have long regarded the Bangkok Post as a very reputable newspaper, possibly one of South East Asia’s finest newspapers.
However, the article written by Apinya Wipatayotin dated 26 March 2017 and entitled “Zipline faces damage claim” concerning Canopy Tree Adventures based in Pattaya, makes me suspect that the Bangkok Post has suffered from serious credibility issues and has now sunk into the levels of the gutter press. Most likely, the author could not be bothered to check the facts. The report appears to be very one sided. Will the Bangkok Post bother to retract the article and offer handsome compensation if it is proved to be false?
Unfortunately, Thailand has a long history of self-inflicted ecological disasters. Inland prawn farming, filling in khlongs to provide building space, and fishing techniques that destroy the breeding grounds are but a few examples.
For once, in Thailand, there is an adventure that does not create vast amounts of noise pollution, does not destroy the environment and provides invaluable local employment opportunities. This is none other than Canopy Adventures Thailand. This is a zip wire business where the method of propulsion is gravity itself. The views are spectacular, the sounds…of the jungle only. This is a truly sustainable eco-tourism model that Thailand would do well to embrace.
Perhaps, the Royal Forest Department should note that gliding serenely through the forest canopy does not destroy the forest. However, forest clearance to provide land for resort development or such like most certainly does destroy the forest; for unknown reasons the Royal Forest Department usually choses to ignore this.
Yours faithfully,
Andrew Gibson
