case. However, after continued pressure from the Karen community, and especially Billy's wife Pinnapa Prueksapan, the DSI took on the case in April 2019. Possibly their late willingness to investigate was influenced by UNESCO turning down Thailand's application for Kaeng Krachan to be declared a world heritage site due to ongoing conflicts with the indigenous Karen communities. In September 2019 the DSI announced they had found an oil drum containing burned human remains, in a dam near to the area where Billy was last seen. DNA evidence matched Billy's mother and the case was re-classsifed as a murder investigation. The NGO Global Witness reports that in 2014, four Thai environmental activists were murdered due to their work on local environmental issues. From 2002-2014, Global Witness estimates the total to be 21 deaths. South Thailand's "Southern Peasants Federation" (SPF) names four of its members who were murdered between 2010–2015. The New York Times reports that "Thailand is among the world's most dangerous countries in which to oppose powerful interests that profit from coal plants, toxic waste dumping, land grabs or illegal logging. Some 60 people who spoke out on these issues have been killed over the past 20 years,..." On 5 August 2019, a prominent human rights activist, Eakachai Itsaratha, was abducted by ten men as he was entering a mosque to attend a public hearing on a rock quarry project planned for Phatthalung Province. He was taken to a hotel and held against his will until the completion of the hearing. Upon being released he was threatened. He was told not to return to the quarry site in Tamot District again, saying that his activities had adversely affected the quarry project and the process of obtaining permission from the government. Eakachai is secretary-general of Thailand's Non-Governmental Organizations Coordinating Committee on Development for the southern region (NGO COD-South), as well as the former deputy leader of the grassroots-based Commoner Party. See also Agriculture in Thailand Deforestation in Thailand Office of the National Water Resources Waste management in Thailand References Further reading Hamilton, John; Pratap, Chatterjee, 1991. "Developing disaster: The World Bank and deforestation in Thailand", in: Food First Action Alert, Summer issue. Hunsaker, Bryan, 1996. "The political economy of Thai deforestation", in Loggers, Monks, Students, and Entrepreneurs, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA. External links Air Quality Index, Thailand Pollution Control Department WWF summary Environmental Issues