During our evening tea time discussion, just before dark, one of the young Thai monks staying here reported that a truck was parked outside our gate and the sound of chopping wood was coming from the hillside where the jand-pah (Dracaena loureiri) grows. So I, he, and another monk went to investigate. I heard the chopping too. Improvising, I yelled "the police have come, the police have come." Soon the chopping stopped.

As I climbed over the sharp rocks on the side of the hill, I met a young man followed by 5 or 6 kids aged maybe 12 to 14. He was carrying a large machete in one hand and a handful of common flowering plant in the other. "Let me see what you have there," I asked. He handed me the bunch and hurried off to their truck. Each of the kids handed me some more of these plants and hurried off, too. I followed them to the truck, where the other two monks were waiting.

"What do you want with these?" I asked. "The flowers are pretty," their leader replied.
"You weren't cutting down any trees were you?"
"Oh, no. Just these." Considering how these are pulled out of the ground with bare hands, I wondered what the machete was for. I handed them back and explained that we have had frequent visitors coming to cut down the jand-pah, including some cops. Since this rare tree is disappearing from our hillside, we are trying to protect it. "Please don't cut any trees here."
"Oh, no," he responded and drove away.

The truck was dark blue with the words "sending-receiving students truck." We then climbed up to see what they were really doing. On the sharp limestone rocks that form a small cliff on which the jand-pah grows we found eight freshly cut pieces of jand-pah root. There was also the debris left behind by previous attacks. Two decent size jand-pah trees remain, but most of the larger roots (arm-sized) that draped over the rocks on which the trees perch have been hacked off. We don't know if the smaller roots (thumb-sized) that remain will keep the two trees alive. They look sick. And if even the smaller roots have commercial value, these trees are gonners.

We carried these pieces of root back to our place. Tomorrow we'll inform the police, but I doubt they'll do anything. Our local cop, who's a friend of mine, says that local people are just planting the jand-pah at home. He's probably afraid. Because he knows as well as we do that an arm-sized piece of jand-pah sells for something like 10,000 baht (nowadays around $300; before the economic crisis $400) in Bangkok. It is fancied as an ornamental in rich hotels and homes. It is also protected by law, but that means little in this country. If our cop were to interfere in the livelihood of the wrong persons, he and his family would be in danger. Perhaps some of those persons are fellow cops. This cop is a nice guy, but they all aren't.

As for the district's forestry officer, as far as we can tell he doesn't know what a tree looks like. But he's quite familiar with tea cups.
So we have deprived somebody of 80,000 baht or more of contraband. When he drove off he was afraid. When the fear wears off he may be angry. If he was just somebody's pawn, then somebody powerful may be angry with us. And Chaiya is not known for its rule of law, even though there is a large court house just past the police station.

I sympathize with the little guys who often do the dirty work while somebody else gets most of the take, which is the usual story when trees are cut down. When the country's officials and leaders have been greedily and hugely feeding at the ecological trough for years, how can we expect ordinary folks to not want a share? I wish we could begrudge them a small share, but the forests would be gone if we did. However, if we could get the ordinary folks on the forest's side, as is happening in many places, then maybe the big-time feeders could be stopped. But our Abbot doesn't want us to try to do so here. I think he's afraid too.

Yet another story of the corruption that rankles at the heart of a once Buddhist culture. With modern education killing off the spirits and capitalism killing off virtue, what is left to protect the forests, the culture, and the people? Not much. We are in bad shape. A few gashes in my feet remain, and the possibility that my head will be cracked open by an angry poacher. Not much compared to what our friend Phra Prajak and his compatriots have suffered. And not much compared to the fires in Indonesia. But a little risk we can take on behalf of a living planet, a little inconvenience on behalf of nature, a little effort on behalf of Dhamma.

Update on our Ecological Adventure:
The following day, I gave a talk at our retreat center and mentioned this incident to illustrate certain Dhamma realities. Afterwards, various people come up with advice. One man from the Public Prosecutor's office in Bangkok told me what to do to avoid legal hassles. A professor from Prince of Songkhla University in Had Yai and some students from Kasetsart University in Bangkok told me about programs for cultivating these trees so that they can propagated and sold without destroying natural specimens. And one of Ajarn Buddhadasa's nephews has planted two potted jand-pah that he was given. They have thrived & flowered. His wife is collecting the seeds & will see what grows from them. The next day I consulted with the Abbot and other monks. Pooling our knowledge, we figured that the chunks of roots or "peripheral rhizomes," as one friend informed me, salvaged from the theft can be planted on the hill so that more jand-pah can grow there. We have since temporarily planted them in a safe place to nurse them back to health and will then transplant them into appropriate places on the hillside. If this works, we will look further into planting more.Finally, we found out that the man who did the dirty work is a teacher at a local primary schools and the children students. He is likely to claim that he only wanted to plant the jand-pah to beautify his school. Perhaps not as bad as just wanting to sell the stuff, but still selfish. And why so much destruction? Why not take just one or two and propagate more from them? Ah, but that would require thought and more work ...And an interesting insight into jand-pah's price. Although not necessarily all that beautiful, jand-pah is dangerous to get, or at least believed to be so, because it grows on cliffs. This gives more mystique and is more macho, which jacks up the price. I'm trying to find the going rates in Bangkok.It has been suggested that we try to get our neighbors involved in protecting the tress. First, there are only two families that live close to this hill and two more close to its sister. Second, none of them are involved in cutting the jand-pah. The immediate locals aren't the ones cutting, but people from farther away, such as the local market town and neighboring districts. Nonetheless, we will discuss the situation with our neighbors.I've asked the Abbot to hold a meeting with those of our monks who are frequently invited to preach at local funerals and other events. Suan Mokkh provides the vast majority of preaching done in Chaiya district, plus a fair mount in neighboring districts and the provincial town. I'm hoping that we can insert references to forest conservation and other ecological issues in these sermons. I see a clear link between the impermanence of a person's life and that of the ecosystems that we depend upon.

Last of all, the wounds on my feet are superficial and have healed pretty well. But my legs were sore for a few days after hauling the heavy chunks of "peripheral rhizomes" down the hill. Nonetheless, I had a wonderful time exploring the hill and climbing some of its cliffs (none very big or dangerous) a few days ago.

Dawn Kiam
Suan Mokkh
Chaiya District
Surat Thani 84110
Thailand
email: santikaro@suanmokkh.org
http://www.suanmokkh.org