DNP submits controversial forest bills to cabinet

The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) will submit two draft laws to the cabinet next week, despite opposition from the People’s Movement for a Just Society (P-Move), which fears local communities could lose rights to their ancestral lands.
DNP chief Attapon Charoenchansa said the drafting of the bills — focused on conserving and protecting natural resources in national parks and wildlife reserves — is now complete.
Both measures have been prepared under the DNP’s mandate in accordance with the National Park Act and the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act.
These acts require authorities to establish guidelines and regulations governing activities in these areas.
Mr Attapon said the bills are intended to protect the rights of people living within forest areas by guaranteeing their basic right to reside there.
The bills also address local communities’ rights to access basic infrastructure provided by state agencies, receive compensation for low crop yields, and cut down trees they have planted.
The DNP chief said that although a cabinet resolution of June 30, 1998, and a 2014 order from the National Council for Peace and Order recognised the existence of these communities in forest areas, no law currently guarantees their rights.
As a result, the DNP has introduced these measures to complement the 2019 National Park and Wildlife Preservation and Protection Acts.
The proposed bills are set to expire on Nov 27 if not passed.
The DNP is now pushing for the adoption of the bills, which they say followed detailed planning and surveying work.
As part of the drafting process, the DNP surveyed 224 conserved forest zones, approximately 4.25 million rai of land, to establish boundary lines for about 4,042 communities to be included in the decrees’ annexes.
P-Move is concerned the drafts could strip locals of their land rights, arguing they should have constitutional rights to live and farm on their ancestral land.
The measures impose restrictions on farming, limiting it to 20 rai of land for only 20 years, and specify qualifications for those eligible, including Thai nationality, lack of land elsewhere, and no criminal charges.
Moreover, the bills also recognise individual rights but do not guarantee community rights.
P-Move has urged the government to halt its support of the bills, warning that it will pursue legal action against the cabinet if the process continues.