A picture is worth a thousand words, is a well-known expression. The photo accompanying this article summarizes the problem in a nutshell.
The signs point to holiday parks in Thap Lan National Park. Most of them were built illegally and their demolition is in no hurry since the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation took over in September.
The previous head Damrong Pidech was strict. In 2011, after an often tough legal battle, he managed to level a number of them to the ground. That was not easy, because the owners are often wealthy and influential people and the authorities are not eager to get into a fight with them. In addition, they have sufficient resources to conduct legal proceedings.
The new head Manopat Huamuangkaew, appointed by the Yingluck government, favors a more flexible approach and you may wonder – but we won't say that out loud – who told him to do so.
Still, Taywin Meesap (photo homepage), head of Thap Lan, is not discouraged. Ten demolished parks have now been replanted in the park. The grass is tall and the saplings are "proof that we are doing our duty to return the forest to the land," he says. "Not only that, we also warn anyone who is considering buying protected forest land that they are making the wrong choice."
Taywin took office in early 2011. On his desk was a December 2010 directive requiring all regional forest management parks to strictly follow Section 22 of the National Park Act of 1961. That article empowers the authorities to take firm action against illegal construction.
Taywin and his assistant went to work in the country's second largest national park (1,4 million rai). They came across 429 cases of potentially suspicious buildings. The court had already determined 50 of them to be illegal. The owners were given three months to demolish their property. To make a long story short: 27 properties went to the ground and 23 owners continued to take legal action.
When he took office, Manopat promised that new squatting actions (let's call them that) would not be tolerated, but he no longer wielded the sledgehammer of his predecessor. Out of necessity, Taywin and his men are now concentrating on reforestation and cleaning up what's left of the demolished holiday parks. But a request for a budget for the work has so far gone unanswered.
In the past, landless peasants took possession of the land; they usually planted cassava on it. Today's squatters are wealthy investors and because they seem to be able to do what they want, smallholders still go deep into the forest, chop down trees and plant crops.
"It's a vicious circle," says Taywin. 'The only way to put an end to this is to change the public perception of conservation. And if we can scare rich people into buying protected land, deforestation will decrease. It's not just about Thap Lan, it's about preserving the forests across the country.”
(Source: Spectrum, Bangkok Post, July 14, 2013)
News from Thailand reported on July 17:
– Since the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation got a new head, illegally constructed holiday parks and built holiday homes in national parks have not been demolished, as they were under its predecessor, but the new Minister of Natural Resources and Environment now wants a short make do with.
Vichet Kasemthongsri says that from next month the sledge hammer will swing. To this end, he has set up a committee of twelve members, which must hurry with the demolition, provided that it is legally correct. The minister says he has a list of parks, for which the legal procedure has been completed. There are 27 illegal holiday parks in Thap Lan National Park (Prachin Buri) and three in Khao Laem Ya-Mu Koh Samet.