“More and more evidence suggests the area was the first seat of the kingdom of Lanna and was even a community some 3,000 years ago,” Sahawat Naennar, a senior fine-arts official said.

“We have found 76 temples within a 2.26-square-kilometre area of the inner town and another 65 surrounding that, not including an ancient Chiang Saen-style Buddha image and pot shards,” he said.

“We will propose Chiang Saen along with the historic towns of Nan and Hariphunchai [the old name of Lamphun] as UN World Heritage sites,” he added.

A budget of more than Bt100 million has been invested in exploring and restoring the area in the past year, he said.

“If our bid is successful the town could be promoted as an historic and cultural tourism site, which could mean a permanent income for local people if it’s properly managed,” he said.

To Chiang Saen residents the proposal is meaningless. They feel there is “no promising” future for them.

“First it was the FTA; now it’s World Heritage. We don’t know much about either of them, and we’re not sure what they meant for us,” a villager said.

“I hear they’re going to move a lot of us out of our homes for the heritage thing,” said another.

Yes, Sahawat admitted, at least 94 families living on the 25 historic sites will have to be relocated under the World Heritage plan.

“I am working on getting compensation from the government,” he said.

Central government is now also proposing that the lake at Chiang Saen should be a World Heritage site on environmental grounds. Norng Bong Kai, a 62,700-rai area that is part of the lake, is currently listed as a wetland site under the international Ramsar Convention.

According to Chiang Rai’s Chamber of Commerce, Chiang Saen is also targeted by central government as a “commercial border town” pilot district along with Chiang Khong and Mae Sai.

“We feel like a ball being kicked around,” Miti Yaprasit, a villager and head of the Rak Chiang Saen group said.

Dr Attachak Satayanurak, an academic at Chiang Mai University, said Chiang Saen residents were unsure about the development ideas dumped on them by central government without proper consultation.

“They are not ready for such rapid change. The only way they can survive is to start asking themselves which way they want to go,” the historian and social critic said.

“Only local strength and networking will get them over these hard times. They cannot rely on central government, considering their present situation,” he said.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation

Chiang Saen