D-Day in war against Thai forest encroachers

[webfact]

D-Day in war against forest encroachers
KASEM CHANATHIT,
PIYANUT TUMNUKASETCHAI
THE NATION

NATIONWIDE CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN ON JUNE 1, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER SAYS

BANGKOK: -- NATURAL RESOURCES and Environment Minister General Dapong Rattanasuwan yesterday revealed that operations against forestland encroachers nationwide would be under way from June 1.

Evidence, including aerial images of the targeted areas, has been compiled and is ready, he said. Any problems and obstacles emerging from this operation will be regarded as lessons for future operations.

Dapong outlined policies for forestland-reclaiming operations in the Northeast to 300 officials from 20 provinces at the Suranaree Camp in Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang district yesterday.

He urged the joint operations to reclaim state land and forestland from encroachers, particularly investors, to be intensive and with clear action plans.

Citing a report that 400,000 rai (64,000 hectares) had been encroached by para-rubber plantations - of which 71,600 rai was in the Northeast - Dapong said the operations would focus on these para-rubber investors and influential figures and urged officials to be confident in fighting them.

He urged officials not to believe those citing positions or connections to avoid punishment and affirmed he would ensure disciplinary and criminal punishment to any officials found to be involved.

As for encroachers who were poor villagers, the rule of law would be applied - but along with a political consideration: They would be given remedial measures according to the prime minister's policy of "taking care of the poor".

"This matter will be discussed with the land allocation committee … Villagers living on [government] lands will be given leniency according to a 1998 Cabinet resolution, so they should not be worried. People should abide by the rules and must not expand any further," Dapong said.

Meanwhile, the Esaan Land Reform Network, a non-governmental organisation, early this week reported on the plight of 82-year-old Chantha Bangthong, whose 2,000 rubber trees on 18 rai of land in Sakon Nakhon's Waritchaphum district were destroyed last Friday by Phu Pha Lek National Park officials and soldiers. As the grace period for her debt with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives would soon end, Chantha said she had until next year to start repaying debt at Bt25,000 a year for 10 years.

Chantha received this plantation from making use of a plot in 1985. She turned to growing rubber trees as the government in 2007 promoted it as a high-profit crop. "The plantation was our hope and last refuge and it was destroyed," she said.

The Office of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Second Army Region yesterday inspected a 10-bungalow resort in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district accused of encroaching 100 rai of Dong Phayayen Forest. PACC investigator Thanawat Sanitsakdee said a tip revealed that a senior policeman had joined with investors to build this resort and sell several nearby plots.

The place was initially found to have no land-rights documents and none claimed ownership.

Forestry officials were authorised by law to demolish the buildings immediately, he added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/D-Day-in-war-against-forest-encroachers-30260549.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-21

[NongKhaiKid]

Should they not wait until June 6 ? Da Da Da Da, Da Da Da Da.

Somchai Eisenhower says " It's a go ! "

[ezzra]

D stand for Don't try to hard to find them

Or, Demand bribe as soon as you make contact

Or, Deny both the above D's

[rametindallas]

NATURAL RESOURCES and Environment Minister General Dapong Rattanasuwan yesterday revealed that operations against forestland encroachers nationwide would be under way from June 1.

The general looks serious as a heart-attack. He has his mission and his marching orders; he will do his duty as a good military officer. I wouldn't care to be a land office official right now or a hi-so with ill gotten land that he's invested millions in because he was confident he'd paid off the right officials. Preserving nationally owned land and forests is traditionally one of His Majesty's highest priorities. In 1993 he banned the logging of teak in the national forest because Thailand, in a very short span of time, had lost more than 40% of its forests.

[worgeordie]

The difference is the real D-Day was kept a secret,this

one gives the loggers ,encroacher's,the heads up to

move their gear,and themselves pronto.is the element

of surprise lost on the powers that be.

regards Worgeordie

[deckape]

^^ Yeah. D Day wasn't announced a few weeks in advance. I have a joke I tell my wife from time to time "never give a Thai a microphone". They will literally talk until blue in the face. Stick a mic in front of any Thai pol and it won't be long before something silly comes out.

[Toknarok]

With the current rubber prices being what they are, and not likely to improve in the near future if at all, rubber production is a loss making enterprise at present. I don't think those who have encroached on forest land by planting rubber will be too worried about losing their plantations. However if rubber prices were at the level they were three years ago I think this scheme to reclaim forest would be fought tooth and nail.

[Acharn]

NATURAL RESOURCES and Environment Minister General Dapong Rattanasuwan yesterday revealed that operations against forestland encroachers nationwide would be under way from June 1.

The general looks serious as a heart-attack. He has his mission and his marching orders; he will do his duty as a good military officer. I wouldn't care to be a land office official right now or a hi-so with ill gotten land that he's invested millions in because he was confident he'd paid off the right officials. Preserving nationally owned land and forests is traditionally one of His Majesty's highest priorities. In 1993 he banned the logging of teak in the national forest because Thailand, in a very short span of time, had lost more than 40% of its forests.

Well, there are reasons, going back to Royal policy in the nineteenth century, why Thailand has such a messed-up land registration system. The forest policy mostly dates back to the 1930s, but was vastly modified by Generals getting rich off logging as a tactic to fight Communism in the 1950s and '60s. In the 1970s the Forestry Department designated large parts of the country where few trees grow as "protected forest area," pretty much without regard to history or land ownership. In the 1990s there were protests as the Army tried to move thousands of freeholders off land they had paid for and registered properly, because the Forestry Department's maps showed the land was "degraded forest." The Army tried to move whole villages of people. Thai history is fascinating, and it's a shame so little of it is available in English. Pasuk Phongpaichit wrote a number of excellent books in the '90s and '00s, but most of them are out of print now.

[NickJ]

What about the trillon shrimp farms in Sam Roi Tad National Park? Those farms ruin the land pretty much forever and everytime I go there I see more being dug.

[catweazle]

Does this mean they will shoot the corrupt national park rangers first, or will they "assist" in that "war"?

[ratcatcher]

What about the trillon shrimp farms in Sam Roi Tad National Park? Those farms ruin the land pretty much forever and everytime I go there I see more being dug.

Is this the park to which you were referring?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_Sam_Roi_Yot_National_Park

Are these shrimp farms?

[metisdead]

A post containing an image from Bangkok Post has been removed:

26) The Bangkok Post and Phuketwan do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on Thaivisa.com. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to Bangkok Post or Phuketwan publications will be deleted from the forum.

[Lupatria]

War against encroachers. Maybe someone found the instruction sheet regarding the "war on drugs" in a dusty desk drawer. If so, I guess many unwanted poor village people will bite the dust, not the owners of plantations.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Lupatria

[Fat Haggis]

Surat Thani beach encroachments next month?

I wonder if any farangs have bought some of these "homes" without any knowledge of encraochment and are about to see their life savings get bulldozed, and lose the lot?

[marko kok prong]

True about the shrimp farms,as the shrimp need salt water,after that nothing will grow there,recently watched a docu about it,was in Bangladesh,the salt basically sterilises the soil.

[lujanit]

What are the odds this 'crackdown' ends up with the same result as the 'crackdown' on the Tiger Temple'?

[webfact]

Large-scale operation to bring back illegally occupied land from landlords to begin June 1



BANGKOK: -- A large scale operation to take back all encroached land in forest reserves, and national parks nationwide from influential people, landlords and business operators will be kicked off simultaneously on June 1, according to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Gen Daphong Rattanasuwan.

The operation was decided at the meeting today in the Second Army Region headquarters in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Participants at the meeting included the deputy commander of the Second Army Region, commanders of provincial police commands, director-generals of the Department of Forests, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and heads of relevant government agencies.

Gen Dhapong emphasised on occupation of encroached land without ownership documents by influential people, both in the private and public sectors.

He pointed to rampant encroachment of land by landlords in the Northeast which has turned forest and national parks into a vast areas of 400,000 rai of rubber plantations.

He said the operation aims to retrieve 90,000 rais back from these peoples this year.

For the encroachment of forest land to grow rubber trees by local people, Gen Dhapong said this would need different legal approach unlike landlords to avoid putting them in troubles.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/large-scale-operation-to-bring-back-illegally-occupied-land-from-landlords-to-begin-june-1


-- Thai PBS 2015-05-21

[Srikcir]

It seems like the Junta has put far more resources against Thai forest encroachers than human trafficking in and through Thailand. I guess it's a matter of prioritizing national security.

[Srikcir]

True about the shrimp farms,as the shrimp need salt water,after that nothing will grow there,recently watched a docu about it,was in Bangladesh,the salt basically sterilises the soil.

Wikipedia:

The global annual production of freshwater prawns is produced primarily by China, followed by India and Thailand.

[FangFerang]

D Day for poor people who lived there before the area was ever declared public forest.

Not D Day for Suthep's son's alleged incursions on Koh Samui.

More like more D Days for middle aged women gathering mushrooms in a public forest being sentenced to more than two decades in jail.

And like phlegm icing on a vomit cake, " was in the Northeast - " -- so the red pogram continues....but no encroaching in the south -- except for huuman traffic camps, the yellow territory is sanctified.

Edited May 21, 2015 by FangFerang

[scorecard]

It seems like the Junta has put far more resources against Thai forest encroachers than human trafficking in and through Thailand. I guess it's a matter of prioritizing national security.

It that your best shot at a negative post today?

[Robby nz]

D Day for poor people who lived there before the area was ever declared public forest.

Not D Day for Suthep's son's alleged incursions on Koh Samui.

More like more D Days for middle aged women gathering mushrooms in a public forest being sentenced to more than two decades in jail.

And like phlegm icing on a vomit cake, " was in the Northeast - " -- so the red pogram continues....but no encroaching in the south -- except for huuman traffic camps, the yellow territory is sanctified.

It would be great to see the case against Sutheps son regarding encroachment revived.

Chalerm was going to have him strung up for that until he said "If you are going to investigate me investigate all those around me as well" After that silence, it was all forgotten.

It would be real interesting to find out who was 'around' him that prevented the investigation going any farther.

Particularly as it was at a time when Chalerm and Tarit were so keen to pin something on Suthep and Abhisit that they ended up taking a case against them and other Dem MP's to the Ombudsman for paying a portion of their parliamentary salary into the party by electronic means rather than by check or cash.

Incidentally the mushroom pickers got 15 years and the charge was illegal logging, they are both out now having been pardoned.

[Beng]

Should they not wait until June 6 ? Da Da Da Da, Da Da Da Da.

Somchai Eisenhower says " It's a go ! "

[Acharn]

D Day for poor people who lived there before the area was ever declared public forest.

Not D Day for Suthep's son's alleged incursions on Koh Samui.

More like more D Days for middle aged women gathering mushrooms in a public forest being sentenced to more than two decades in jail.

And like phlegm icing on a vomit cake, " was in the Northeast - " -- so the red pogram continues....but no encroaching in the south -- except for huuman traffic camps, the yellow territory is sanctified.

It would be great to see the case against Sutheps son regarding encroachment revived.

Chalerm was going to have him strung up for that until he said "If you are going to investigate me investigate all those around me as well" After that silence, it was all forgotten.

It would be real interesting to find out who was 'around' him that prevented the investigation going any farther.

Particularly as it was at a time when Chalerm and Tarit were so keen to pin something on Suthep and Abhisit that they ended up taking a case against them and other Dem MP's to the Ombudsman for paying a portion of their parliamentary salary into the party by electronic means rather than by check or cash.

Incidentally the mushroom pickers got 15 years and the charge was illegal logging, they are both out now having been pardoned.

Well, that was Chalerm's standard operating procedure. He'd come out yelling about the evidence he had (I still believe he always did have it) and how he was going to bring down the temple and reveal all to an astonished and adoring public, and then crickets. He never actually revealed any evidence, no matter whether he won or lost on the measure he was trying to promote. He won often enough, though. I kind of miss his family's going ons (goings on?). I was amused the time he so annoyed Gen. Sanan that the good general admitted there had been a conspiracy to subvert justice to protect Chalerm back when he was only a Sergeant Major in the Army and was accused of extortion. He complained how ungrateful Chalerm was being by threatening the people who broke the law to protect him (many of them were still high up in the Democrat Party). Then, crickets.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Acharn