Sa Kaeo Province

Sa Kaeo (Thai: สระแก้ว, pronounced [sàʔ kɛ̂ːw]) is one of the 76 provinces (changwat) and lies in eastern Thailand about 200 km from Bangkok. Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise) Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, Prachinburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Buriram. To the east it borders Banteay Meanchey and Battambang of Cambodia.

Contents
History
Geography
Symbols
Administrative divisions
Human achievement index 2017
References
External links

History

Sa Kaeo became a province in 1993, when the six districts Sa Kaeo, Khlong Hat, Wang Nam Yen, Aranyaprathet, Ta Phraya, and Watthana Nakhon of Prachinburi Province were elevated to provincial status.[4] It is thus one of the four newest provinces of Thailand, together with Amnat Charoen, Nong Bua Lamphu, and most recently, Bueng Kan.

The province is overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist (99.4 percent).[5]

In 1979 Sa Kaeo Refugee Camp was established northwest of Sa Kaeo town. It closed in 1989, but the legacy of the border clashes of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s is ever present. The largest land mine field in the world was planted along the Thai-Cambodia border according to some experts. Almost 4,000 people have been injured or killed by landmines in Thailand since the border battles—19 persons in 2017 alone. According to a survey conducted in 2001, 27 of Thailand's 76 provinces were plagued with land mines, impacting more than 530 communities and some 500,000 people. Thailand still has approximately 409 km2 of mined area to clear scattered around the country. With an annual clearance rate of about one km2 between 2011 and 2015 the problem will not soon disappear.[6]

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The name Sa Kaeo, literally 'crystal pond', refers to two ponds (Sa Kaeo Sa Khwan) containing water thought to be sacred once used for the coronation ceremony. The name of the province originated with this place, now the ponds lie inside a public park next to Mueang Sa Kaeo Municipality Office.[7]

Geography

The north of the province is covered with the forested mountains of the Sankamphaeng Range and the Dangrek Mountains. The total forest area is 1,506 km2 (581 sq mi) or 22 percent of provincial area.[8] To the south are the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains, which are mostly deforested.

Two national parks are found in the province: Pang Sida National Park was established in 1982, Ta Phraya National Park in 1996.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the sun rising over archaeological ruins, Prasat Khao Noi Si Chompu, a significant Khmer temple.[9] The rising sun symbolizes the location of the province in the east. In the front is a Buddha image in a pond with lotus flowers.[10]

Provincial tree is Phyllanthus emblica. The provincial flower is the Orange Jessamine (Murraya paniculata).

The provincial slogan is "Frontier of the east, beautiful forests, splendid waterfalls, ancient civilisations, Thai-Cambodian commerce".

Administrative divisions

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Provincial government

Sa Kaeo is divided into nine districts (amphoe). The districts are further divided into 59 subdistricts (tambons) and 619 villages (mubans).

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 the province had one Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO) (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 16 municipalities (thesaban): Sa Kaeo, Aranyaprathet, and Wang Nam Yen had town (thesaban mueang) status, with a further 13 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon).[11] (Non-municipal areas are administered by 49 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (SAO) (ongkan borihan suan tambon).[2]

Human achievement index 2017

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]

References

  1. Advancing Human Development through the ASEAN Community, Thailand Human Development Report 2014, table 0:Basic Data(PDF) (Report). United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thailand. pp. 134–135. ISBN978-974-680-368-7. Retrieved 17 January 2016 , Data has been supplied by Land Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, at Wayback Machine.
  2. "ร่ยงานสถิติจำนวนประชากรและบ้านประจำปี พ.ศ.2561" [Statistics, population and house statistics for the year 2018]. Registration Office Department of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior. stat.bora.dopa.go.th (in Thai). 31 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  3. Human achievement index 2017 by National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), pages 1-40, maps 1-9, retrieved 14 September 2019, ISBN 978-974-9769-33-1
  4. "Sa Kaeo". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. "Population by religion, region and area, 2015"(PDF) . National Statistical Office. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  6. Taylor, Caitlin (7 January 2018). "Long fight against a hidden killer". Bangkok Post (Spectrum). Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  7. "Sa Kaeo Sa Khwan". Tourism Authority of Thailand.
  8. "ตารางที่ 2 พี้นที่ป่าไม้ แยกรายจังหวัด พ.ศ.2562" [Table 2 Forest area Separate province year 2019]. Royal Forest Department (in Thai). 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021, information, Forest statistics Year 2019CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  9. "Khao Noi Si Chompu Castle". Tourism Authority of Thailand. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  10. "Sa Kaeo Provincial Escutcheon". Thailex. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  11. "Number of local government organizations by province". Department of Local Administration (DLA). 26 November 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019. 63 Sa Kaeo: 1 PAO, 3 town municipalities, 13 subdistrict municipalities, 49 SAO.