Forestry staff told to protect residents
Forestry officials at the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) have been told to widen their duties beyond protecting trees and wildlife to assisting forest dwellers.
The RFD has made structural reforms to facilitate residents to continue living in the forests under different conditions based on the fragility of the ecosystems, alongside other forestry related work including local logging.
Besides 5.9 million rai of the protected forest under the National Parks Department, over 12 million rai of forest reserves and watersheds under the RFD are found to have been massively encroached upon or had overlapping rights with residents, estimated to be in their millions, resulting in a long-time conflict with the authorities.
The junta in consultation with the land-policy committee and Natural Resources and Environment Ministry initiated a major shift in forest policy in mid-2018, named Khor Tor Chor, to try to resolve the conflict.
The DNP authorities began making preparations two years ago, instructing officials to work with the communities to delineate clear boundaries between national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and the communities inside. The maps were handed out to all chiefs in February to implement the new policy.
The RFD, meanwhile, has rearranged its regional structure into new district-based forest protection and forestry development units nationwide, over 380, to implement the policy so that it can work closely with people in the target areas.
Detailed maps showing boundaries of different types of land plots in their reponsible districts have been distributed today by RFD chief Athapol Charoenshunsa and Environment Minister Gen Surasak Kanchanarat who told them to get ready for additional duty as a result of the shift in policy.
Surasak said the conflict had continued for a long time with no obvious solution, meaning the government had decided to allow residents with legitimate rights to continue living in the forests under different conditions, including helping the state to protect the forests.
Officials were told that they would need to adjust and not arrest people but instead assist them within agreed areas and conditions.
The RFD has so far endorsed the living in forest reserves in 115 target areas in 53 provinces across 500,000 rai.
It has targeted 1.2 million rai in 253 targeted areas in 61 provinces by the end of this year, Athapol said.
“The RFD needs to adjust its work structure so it can be ready to work alongside other agencies in the target areas and accomplish the new task,” said Athapol.