A vast forest complex in Thailand has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, despite the UN's own experts warning of human rights violations against indigenous people in the area.

The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex in western Thailand is rich in biodiversity, including the critically endangered Siamese crocodile, UNESCO said Monday in its listing announcement.

But it is also home to an indigenous community of ethnic Karen people, who have long accused the Thai government of using violence and harassment to push them off their land.

Thailand had lobbied for years to get World Heritage status for the complex, and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa praised UNESCO's decision to list Kaeng Krachan.

United Nations experts last week had urged the UNESCO committee to defer a decision until independent monitors have visited the area and the concerns about the indigenous people have been addressed.

"This is an important precedent-setting case, and may influence policies on how indigenous peoples' rights are respected in protected areas across Asia," the three experts said in a statement released Friday by the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner.

"The indigenous Karen in the national park continue to be forcibly evicted and their houses burnt."

They also said the World Heritage nomination process did not have effective participation of indigenous people, calling on indigenous people to be treated as partners in protecting the forest, not threats.

The park's listing dismayed activist Pongsak Tonnamphet, an indigenous resident of the area.

"The decision was not made based on basic human rights principles… the minority had no chance to speak," the 24-year-old told AFP on Tuesday.

– Long-running dispute –

The World Heritage Committee did not list the park in 2016 and 2019 because of rights concerns.

The dispute has been simmering for decades.

While many indigenous residents were allegedly driven out of the area, those remaining were not allowed to cultivate the land.

Authorities say their farming activities would damage the forest, but activists argue that traditional farming methods do not harm the environment.

Rights campaigners have accused Thai officials of using harassment and violence to force indigenous people out.

The charred bones of a high-profile ethnic Karen leader were found inside the park in 2019, five years after he disappeared, according to Thai investigators.

Park officials at the time were the last to see him alive, but serious charges including premeditated murder were dropped in early 2020, with authorities citing a lack of evidence.

Ahead of the decision, an indigenous rights group held a protest in front of the environment ministry in Bangkok on Monday, flinging red paint at its signage.

Located near the border with Myanmar, the Kaeng Krachan complex is spread over more than 480,000 hectares, and includes three national parks and a wildlife sanctuary.

Dangerous attraction: Amorous pursuit imperils Cuban croc
Cienaga De Zapata , Cuba (AFP) July 28, 2021 –

Being too coveted a mating partner can have its downside for a species faced with extinction, as the Cuban crocodile has learned.

Arduous pursuit by its amorous American counterpart has seen survival of the island species, its numbers already dwindling, further threatened by hybridization.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Cuban crocodile population has declined more than 80 percent over three generations.

Known to scientists as Crocodylus rhombifer, the black-and-yellow freshwater reptile is listed as a "critically endangered" species.

Hybridization is one of the main threats to its survival, according to the IUCN, along with hunting for meat — in large part for tourist restaurant menus.

Today, the scaly predator's island-wide range has been largely limited to the Zapata Swamp some 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Havana.

But it is not alone.

The American Crocodylus acutus, a fresh- and saltwater specimen, is also found here, and seems to enjoy the company of its Cuban counterpart — perhaps a little too much.

Already at the Zapata natural reserve, one in two crocs is a hybrid, conservationists say.

– Natural or not? –

But gene mixing may not necessarily be a bad thing.

"One has to remember that hybridization also plays a role in evolution, in the appearance of new species," said Etiam Perez-Fleitas, an exotic species expert at the Zapata reserve.

The question for scientists now is whether this particular mixing of the gene pool is good or bad.

If the phenomenon is the result of human-induced stresses, it has to be stopped, explained Perez-Fleitas. But if it is natural, it might be best to leave well alone.

As sometimes happens naturally, hybridization could result in a more resistant species, combining the aggression of the smaller Cuban crocodile and the adaptability of its more timid American cousin.

The American crocodile, listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCN, is native to countries of northern South America, the Caribbean, central America and the tip of Florida.

"Our research is focused on finding out whether this is natural hybridization," said Perez-Fleitas.

In the meantime, a 2008 genetic study has allowed scientists to distinguish Cuban crocs from hybrids, and to exclude the latter from captive breeding programs.

– No other like it –

At the Zapata reserve, some 500 to 1,000 baby Cuban crocs are born into semi-captivity every year, of which about a hundred are released into the wild.

AFP visited the project on a day when workers were collecting eggs from croc nests to be placed in an incubator — which vastly improves their chances of hatching.

It is a risky business, and five men with large sticks surrounded the nest mound as another dug for eggs, ready to repel a sudden toothy attack from the water or the tall grass nearby.

Each female lays about 20 to 40 eggs, which spend some 80 to 85 days incubating.

Zapata reserve employee Jorge Luis Monero, 56, holds a young specimen measuring about half a meter in his arms, and insists its profile is reminiscent of the distinct elongated shape of the island of Cuba.

"In the Americas, there is no other crocodile like the Cuban," he said.

But in spite of the animal's uniqueness, Perez-Fleitas said preserving a pure breed is not necessarily the best option, and cautioned against deciding too hastily on the way forward.

When dealing with a creature that can live up to 70 years in captivity, it is better to have "very long-term plans," the specialist said.

"Maybe in 100 years, it will be the hybrids that need protecting," he added.