Encroachment crackdown set

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has vowed to tackle the encroachment problem at Sirinat Marine National Park in Phuket within a month’s time. The DNP is also targeting Taksin Maharat National Park in the mountains of Tak province.
At a seminar yesterday, DNP director-general Rerngchai Prayoonwej called a meeting of 800 forest rangers as a show of force in preparation for the coming sweeps.
The tactics, which will include the demolition of illegal resorts as was done at Tub Lan, will use the “boldest law enforcement and operational readiness available”.
At Sirinat park, authorities will conduct verification of land-ownership claims by several resorts.
Rerngchai said 14 plots totalling 600 rai (96 hectares) were detected and encroachers prosecuted under the park’s previous chief. Verification of three other plots is underway.
There’s likely encroachment on 372 more plots totalling 3,673 rai at the Phuket park, Rerngchai said.
The first teams of rangers will conduct verification from October 29 to November 7. A second team will operate from November 8-18, and the third and final sweeps will be held from November 19-29, checking 366 plots.
Rerngchai told the rangers that encroachment at Sirinat National Park was regarded as an act of defiance to the honour of the DNP. He called on them carefully to exercise their power and not discriminate.
He cited the Tub Land resort demolitions as a model and said similar tactics would be used in the crackdown at Sirinat.
Evidence of encroachment at Sirinat is supported by the Department of Special Investigation.
In addition to criminal charges, violators would face civil lawsuits, a DNP source said.
At Taksin Maharat National Park in Tak, training of rangers is underway. The park’s chief, Phanit Suwannaphat, took part in the crackdown at Tub Lan and said the experience would be helpful. There are two possible cases of encroachment at Taksin, involving small plots.