The Cabinet has approved the submission of Songkhla Lake and its surrounding lagoon settlements for UNESCO World Heritage Site consideration. The documents are set to be reviewed by the UNESCO committee in New Delhi, India, in July as part of this year’s candidates for cultural world heritage recognition.
Songkhla Lake, known as the largest natural lake in Thailand, is technically a lagoon complex that spans over 1,040 square kilometers and touches the provinces of Songkhla and Phatthalung. The area is celebrated for its rich biodiversity, including vast mangrove and swamp forests, paddy fields, and grasslands.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris, which coordinates the nominations, announced an April 15 deadline for this year’s submissions, positioning Thailand’s entry just within the cutoff. Once on the tentative list, the Songkhla settlements will undergo a year of review before potentially being designated as a World Heritage site by 2025.
Thailand currently boasts four cultural world heritage sites: the Historic Town of Sukhothai and its associated historic towns, the Historic City of Ayutthaya, the Ban Chiang archaeological site, and the Ancient Town of Si Thep along with its associated Dvaravati monuments. The inclusion of Songkhla would add to this distinguished list, showcasing Thailand’s rich cultural and natural heritage on a global stage. (NNT)
