Colonel William A. Phillips

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.

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.[5] 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).[6]

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.[7]

Sa Kaeo Sa Khwan

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.[8]

Geography

The north of the province is covered with the forested mountains of the Sankamphaeng Range and the Dangrek Mountains. The total forest area in 2021 is 1,506 km2 (581 sq mi) or 22 percent of provincial area.[9] To the south are the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains, which are mostly deforested.

National parks

There are two national parks, along with two other national parks, make up region 1 (Prachinburi) of Thailand's protected areas.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the sun rising over archaeological ruins, Prasat Khao Noi Si Chompu, a significant Khmer temple.[11] 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.[12]

The 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

Map of Sa Kaeo with 9 districts

Provincial government

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

  1. Mueang Sa Kaeo
  2. Khlong Hat
  3. Ta Phraya
  4. Wang Nam Yen
  5. Watthana Nakhon
  1. Aranyaprathet
  2. Khao Chakan
  3. Khok Sung
  4. Wang Sombun

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).[13] (Non-municipal areas are administered by 49 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (SAO) (ongkan borihan suan tambon).[2]

Human achievement index 2022

Health Education Employment Income
44 55 62 62
Housing Family Transport Participation
5 49 75 44
Province Sa Kaeo, with an HAI 2022 value of 0.6207 is "low", occupies place 66 in the ranking.

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]

Rank Classification
  1 - 13 "high"
14 - 29 "somewhat high"
30 - 45 "average"
46 - 61 "somewhat low"
62 - 77 "low"

References

  1. ^ Thailand Human Development Report 2014: Advancing Human Development through ASEAN Community (Report). United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2014. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-974-680-368-7. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "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. Archived 2 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b "ข้อมูลสถิติดัชนีความก้าวหน้าของคน ปี 2565 (PDF)" [Human Achievement Index Databook year 2022 (PDF)]. Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) (in Thai). Retrieved 12 March 2024, page 76{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  4. ^ "Gross Regional and Provincial Product, 2019 Edition". <>. Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). July 2019. ISSN 1686-0799. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Sa Kaeo". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Population by religion, region and area, 2015" (PDF). National Statistical Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  7. ^ Taylor, Caitlin (7 January 2018). "Long fight against a hidden killer". Bangkok Post (Spectrum). Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Sa Kaeo Sa Khwan". Tourism Authority of Thailand.
  9. ^ โครงการจัดทำข้อมูลสภาพพื้นที่ป่าไม้ ปี พ.ศ. 2564 [Forest area data project 2021] (PDF) (Report) (in Thai). Royal Forest Department. 2021. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b "ข้อมูลพื้นที่อุทยานแห่งชาติ ที่ประกาศในราชกิจจานุบกษา 133 แห่ง" [National Park Area Information published in the 133 Government Gazettes]. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (in Thai). December 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Khao Noi Si Chompu Castle". Tourism Authority of Thailand. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Sa Kaeo Provincial Escutcheon". Thailex. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  13. ^ "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.

External links

13°47′49″N 102°8′14″E / 13.79694°N 102.13722°E / 13.79694; 102.13722