Bangkok, Thailand, July 30, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to announce that the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming Thailand's sixth World Heritage Site.

The decision to inscribe the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex on the World Heritage List was made at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee, which was held online and chaired from Fuzhou, China. The session continues until July 31, 2021.

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The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex is located in Thailand's largest national park of the same name, covers 464,000 hectares and extends across the three provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi and Ratchaburi.

This is the third natural heritage area after the Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries, which was added to the list in 1991, and the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, which was added to the list in 2005.

UNESCO describes the Kaeng Krachan forest complex as biodiverse, encompassing semi-evergreen/dry evergreen forests, moist evergreen forests, mixed forests, mountain forests, and deciduous dipterocarp forests. The area supports a diverse birdlife, including several globally threatened species, and is home to the critically endangered Siamese crocodile, the endangered Asiatic wild dog, and numerous other threatened wildlife species. Eight cat species also inhabit the area, including the endangered tiger and fishing cats, the endangered clouded leopard and marbled cat, the jungle cat, and the leopard cat.

The other three sites on Thailand's World Heritage List are cultural heritage sites: the archaeological site of Ban Chiang, the historic city of Ayutthaya and the historic city of Sukhothai with their associated historic towns.