Mae Chaem dwellers get all-clear to live in forest

People living in communities covering more than 300,000 rai in a reserved forest zone in Chiang Mai’s Mae Chaem district have been granted the right to stay in the forest, a senior official at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has said.

Jatuporn: Must aidreplanting effort

Jatuporn Buruspat, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said these local communities had become a successful model for the Department of Royal Forest as per a cabinet resolution made several years ago.

The ministry recently granted rights to Mae Chaem district communities under the condition that people in the community work with the department in protecting and rehabilitating the forest.

Mr Jatuporn said that the ministry has a clear direction for dealing with forest land conflicts, especially for those communities living in the sensitive forest areas of watershed zones 1 and 2.

The cabinet, on Nov 26, 2018, agreed with a department proposal to deal with forest land conflicts by allowing members of the local community to stay in the forest on condition they assist with the planting of trees and work with the authority to prevent further forest encroachment.

“We have let them [people in local communities in Mae Chaem district] stay in the forest under the forest law B.E. 2507,” Mr Jatuporn said. “It will help them have a more secure living place and better living conditions with basic infrastructure provided.”

“This could be a model for other forest communities. We will work together to rehabilitate the forest by increasing the green area and preventing any further forest encroachment,” he said.

To deal with forest land conflicts in the district, the department has categorised local residents into four groups to implement measures to end long-term problems based on the cabinet’s 2018 resolution.

According to the resolution, the department has allocated 24,196 rai along watershed zones 3, 4 and 5, where some activities are permitted relating to land allocation to people in need, who are considered the first group.

The second group are those who have lived in the forest after a cabinet resolution on June 30, 1998.

They now live in watershed zones 3,4 and 5 zones with 46 villages on 12,590 rai. To manage the land, the local administrative organisation will set up commercial tree-planting projects.

The third and fourth groups are people who have lived in the fertile watershed 1 and 2 zones after and before the cabinet’s resolution on June 30, 1998. They can stay on the 356,814 rai, with authorities recommending land use measures to protect and preserve the forest and water, including measures to plant three kinds of trees with four benefits initiated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great.

Previously, past governments had exercised the cabinet’s 1998 resolution to identify forest encroachers. This waived legal action against the persons who lived in the forest before the cabinet’s resolution was made. But it could not deal with forest encroachment.