BANGKOK – The Panda World Tour, an event to raise awareness and support for WWF to preserve wildlife in the most natural environment, now arrives to Lumpini Park, one of the most iconic gardens in central Bangkok.
The Panda World Tour was first hosted for the purpose of panda conservation in which only 1,600 were believed to survive their natural environment, the same number of the Panda model displayed in all of previous events.
However, the campaign has proven to be a stunning success with the number of panda raised from 1,600 to over 1,800 in the wilderness. As such, the panda has since become champion of wildlife preservation efforts and been moved from place to place around the world to raise awareness and support for not only the panda but the wildlife in their host country.
Thailand is of no exception, the role of the Panda model is rather aimed at the local wildlife such as the Indochina Tiger and Asian Elephant in Thailand which are both seriously in need of support to survive. The former only have 200 left in the wild while the number of the latter is only in a few thousands.
Noppharat Nuangchamnong, the WWF Fundraising Manager, said 2016’s drought in Thailand has driven wild elephants in such places as Guiburi invading local farmland which caused a human-animal conflict. The major part of the fund raised in this event will therefore be used to improve the elephant habitats to keep them in the forest.
Similarly, the tiger which often used as indicator of forest conservation value will also be supported. Some forest in Thailand has up to 14 tigers which indicates their high value for conservation and could benefit from the fund raised through this event.
Participants as well as members of the Thai public can offer to support the work of WWF via various activities in this event. Something as simple as sharing a photography of the pandas can be used to raise awareness of WWF mission in Thailand. Others can volunteer to participate in the organizing of this event which will not only result in striking a success but also solidifying the will and network of like-minded individuals in bid to support the wildlife conservation of Thailand.
