Sisaket province

Geography

The province is in the valley of the Mun River, a tributary of the Mekong. The Dângrêk mountain chain, which forms the border with Cambodia, is in the south of the province. The total forest area is 1,025 km² or 11.5 percent of provincial area. Khao Phra Wihan National Park covers an area of 130 km2 of the Dângrêk mountains in the southeast of the province. Established on 20 March 1998, it is named after the Khmer Empire temple Preah Vihear (anglicised in Thailand as Phra Wihan), now in Cambodia, which has been the subject of a border dispute. The temple faces north and was built in dedication to the Hindu god Shiva.

Access to the temple is still principally from the Thai side, as the ruins are difficult to reach from the Cambodian plains at the bottom of a sheer cliff several hundred meters below.

National park

There is one national park, along with five other national parks, make up region 9 (Ubon Ratchathani) of Thailand's protected areas.

• Khao Phra Wihan National Park, 130 km2

Wildlife sanctuaries

There are two wildlife sanctuaries, along with four other wildlife sanctuaries, make up region 9 (Ubon Ratchathani) of Thailand's protected areas.

• Huai Sala Wildlife Sanctuary, 380 km2
• Phanom Dong Rak Wildlife Sanctuary, 316 km2

History

The many Khmer ruins found in the province show the area must have been important to the Khmer empire at least by the 12th century, although it was apparently sparsely populated. According to local tradition, it was known as Sri Nakorn Lamduan (ศรีนครลำดวน.) It was later called Khukhan, after a town built in the late-15th century CE during the reign of King Boromaratcha III of Ayutthaya. Ethnic Laos began settling the northern portion of the province, and in 1786 the town Sisaket was formed, subject to Khukhan. In 1904, Sisaket was renamed Khukhan, while the original Khukhan was designated Huai Nua.[[File:Rasisalai dam.jpg|thumb|Rasi Salai Dam]]Monthon Udon Thani was created in 1912, and assumed the administration of the most of region. In 1933 the monthon system was ended, and the province of Khukhan was administered directly from Bangkok. Five years later, the name of the town and province were restored to Sisaket, with the district containing Huai Nua being called Khukhan. The Rasi Salai Dam built here in 1994 was unofficially decommissioned in July 2000, following devastation of local farming villages.

Demographics

The province is populated by four main ethnic groups: Kui, Lao, Khmer, and Yer. Sisaket is one of the provinces where there is a sizable northern Khmer population. In the 2000 census it was reported that 26.2 percent of the population are capable of speaking Khmer. This is down from the 1990 census when it was reported that 30.2 percent of the population were capable of speaking Khmer. The majority are Lao speaking people.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows Prasat Hin Ban Samo, a Khmer temple about 1,000 years old, in the Prang Ku District.

The provincial tree and flower of the province is the lamduan. The six leaves of the flower symbolise the six original districts of the province: Khukhan, Kantharalak, Uthumphon Phisai, Kanthararom, Rasi Salai, and Khun Han. The provincial aquatic life is the Chinese edible frog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus).

Economy

Sisaket is largely agricultural. Among other agricultural produce, it is known for its garlic and its shallots, for which it was rewarded with GI registration in 2020.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into 22 districts (amphoes). The districts are further subdivided into 206 sub-districts (tambons) and 2,411 villages (mubans).

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there is one Sisaket Provincial Administration Organisation (ongkan borihan suan changwat) and 37 municipal (thesaban) areas in the province. Sisaket and Kantharalak have town (thesaban mueang) status. There are a further 35 subdistrict municipalities (thesaban tambon). The non-municipal areas are administered by 179 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations, SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon).

Transportation

Sisaket is on the northeastern railway line from Bangkok (กรุงเทพอภิวัฒน์) to Warin Chamrap (วารินชำราบ). Sisaket's main station is Sisaket Railway Station. Sisaket has frequent bus service to and from Bangkok's Northern Bus Terminal (; )

Health

Sisaket's main hospital is Sisaket Hospital, a regional hospital operated by the Ministry of Public Health.

Human achievement index 2022

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.

References

References

1. "Table 2 Forest area Separate province year 2019". Royal Forest Department.
2. "Official statistics registration systems". Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA).
3. (July 2019). "''Gross Regional and Provincial Product, 2019 Edition''". Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
4. "ข้อมูลสถิติดัชนีความก้าวหน้าของคน ปี 2565 (PDF)".
5. ราชบัณฑิตยสถาน. (2000-09-14). "ประกาศราชบัณฑิตยสถาน เรื่อง การเขียนชื่อจังหวัด เขต อำเภอ และกิ่งอำเภอ ลงวันที่ ๖ กรกฎาคม ๒๕๔๓". สำนักเลขาธิการคณะรัฐมนตรี.
6. (2019). "ตาราง 5 พื้นที่เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่า พ.ศ. 2562".
7. (2019-03-23). "Splendid in Si Sa Ket". The Nation.
8. "(Si Sa Ket) Key indicators of the population and household, population and housing census 1990 and 2000." [http://web.nso.go.th/pop2000/finalrep/srisaketfn.pdf Population and Housing Census 2000].(retrieved 14 Jul 2009)
9. (24 June 2020). "Sri Sa Ket shallots, garlic join GI registration list". Bangkok Post.
10. (26 November 2019). "Number of local government organizations by province". Department of Local Administration (DLA).