In 1986, during his tenure as head of the wildlife relocation project at Cheow Lan Dam in Surat Thani province, Sueb Nakhasathien always carried a camera with him. Many photographs he took reflected the challenges of working under constraints and captured the eyes of wildlife unable to plead for their lives. The words of “Head Sueb,” saying "I speak on behalf of wildlife," are reflected through these images, passing on conservation ideas to future generations.
The year 1986 marked a crucial period in the life of Sueb Nakhasathien when he took on the role of head of the wildlife relocation project at Cheow Lan Dam in Surat Thani province. Almost every time he went to help animals in the floodwaters submerging their original forest habitat, he carried a camera to document the work. This served as research on the impacts of dam construction. The film from this period is now preserved at the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation.
The sight of drowned wildlife drove Sueb to work day and night, but he ultimately realized that even relocating an entire forest’s worth of animals to a new area did not guarantee their survival or reproduction. This realization led him toward becoming a conservationist. In 1987, he joined efforts to oppose the construction of Nam Jon Dam in Kanchanaburi province.
“I speak on behalf of wildlife” became a phrase Sueb Nakhasathien used every time he spoke at forums, becoming the most cited words after the sound of gunshots rang out in the forest...
Looking back at the time when Sueb Nakhasathien was head of the wildlife relocation project at Cheow Lan Dam in Surat Thani, the work was full of limitations. The relocation covered an area of over 100,000 rai, with an initial budget of only 800,000 baht, no approved equipment to aid animal rescue, relying instead on learning from local hunters and the team’s experience.
Taking on the lead role in rescuing wildlife from Cheow Lan Dam helped save 1,364 animals, while nearly all the rest perished. Sueb understood that academic work alone could not protect forests, a national issue. He therefore joined activities such as opposing the government’s plan to build Nam Jon Dam in the Thung Yai Naresuan area of Kanchanaburi.
Public reports on animal relocation aimed to raise social awareness of the forest’s dangers and to confirm that dam construction caused more harm than good, destroying natural resources irreparably. Despite these efforts being initially unsuccessful, conservationists banded together supporting Sueb’s approach, eventually leading to the cancellation of the Nam Jon Dam project.
In 1989, Sueb Nakhasathien received a scholarship to pursue a doctoral degree in England but chose instead to become head of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. There he faced problems like illegal logging, hunting by influential people, and park rangers being shot dead. Poverty among local villagers compounded these issues, which were largely ignored by authorities.
He worked to prepare reports submitted to UNESCO to consider designating Thung Yai Naresuan and Huai Kha Khaeng forests as World Heritage Sites, which helped protect these areas, yet still lacked attention from officials in his own country.
Until his final days... on 1 September 1990, Sueb Nakhasathien wrote a will before taking his own life to urge society and government to pay attention to the destruction of natural resources.
After Sueb Nakhasathien’s death, his legacy spurred greater public interest in forest conservation. Stakeholders came together to establish the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation to continue his mission to this day.
Following Sueb’s death, research on wildlife relocated from Cheow Lan Dam found that some species became extinct, such as red gaur, tigers, dhole, hairy-nosed otters, fishing cats, and otters, which are among the rarest in the world.
Similarly, sambar deer that lived in the forest area affected by Cheow Lan Dam had to relocate to new forest areas. They faced challenges adapting from mountainous terrain to steeper land, making it harder for them to survive and reproduce.
The photographs taken by Sueb Nakhasathien during the rescue of wildlife at Cheow Lan Dam are invaluable, reminding people of the cruelty of seizing forest land, where wildlife had no chance to plead for their lives.
Photos courtesy of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation