Forest and parks departments to be merged in a year

PRASIT TANGPRASERT,

SAMATCHA HUNSARA

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- It will take about one year to combine the Royal Forest Department and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

"After the Cabinet approves the merging, we will have to propose the [relevant] law to Parliament," Natural Resources and Environment Minister Preecha Rengsomboonsuk said yesterday.

He said the law would define the duties and authority of the new department.

"The two departments should [become one] because the scope of their duties is overlapping. With the merging, the work process will be streamlined," he said.

Nakhon Ratchasima Governor Chuan Sirinanporn yesterday attacked the Royal Forest Department's Suwit Rattamanee for giving news reports that might mislead people into believing Chuan was slow to act against forest encroachers.

"I am waiting to get confirmation from the Royal Forest Department that those properties have indeed been built on forest reserves before taking any further action," Chuan said, "Besides, if the Royal Forest Department is so sure of the evidence against the alleged encroachers, it has all the power to take action on its own. It does not need to wait for me to sign any paper," Chuan said.

The governor said he had already called Suwit to ask why he gave a misleading interview.

"But he told me the media had misinterpreted his words," Chuan said.

The Royal Forest Department has been pursuing 32 cases against people who have allegedly built resorts and vacation homes on forest reserves. According to some reports, Suwit has blamed Chuan for not signing the orders to inform the alleged encroachers that they must dismantle the properties.

-- The Nation 2012-07-12

What is the reason behind this merging ? Is it a way to rein in the lunatics from the Forest Department ? That would be a good news.

The second part of the article may give us some insight (thanks to The Nation for translating yesterday article from Thai Rath). For the past two years, the Forest Department has been terrorizing the people from Wang Nam Khieow and we still don't know what is the legal ground for their action. The area from Kabinburi to Korat to Pakchong has been economically devastated. A big number of business has been closed, a huge number of people is now unemployed . And for what ? As the governor of Korat rightly said "If the Royal Forest Department is so sure of the evidence against the alleged encroachers, it has all the power to take action on its own." That's a big "if" because so far people haven't seen any legal document, any map with clear boundary of the national park justifying the action of the Forest Department, just intense bullying.

So if the merging is a way to stop the action of a government department gone crazy, that's a good thing

So just 1 underpayment rather than 2.

50% saving.