PUBLISHED : 30 Nov 2024 at 04:58
About 5,000 members of the assembly of the people living in community forests stormed Chiang Mai City Hall on Friday, demanding the government stop the implementation of the royal decrees on conserving and protecting natural resources in national parks and wildlife reserves as the laws will have a severe impact on the way of life of their communities.
The group of protesters on Friday gathered at the city hall to submit a petition against the decrees to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra before the cabinet meeting that would be held at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University.
They opposed two conservation decrees, including the royal decree on conservation projects for natural resources in national parks under Section 64 of the National Parks Act BE 2562 (2019) and the royal decree on conservation projects for natural resources in wildlife sanctuaries and non-hunting areas under Section 121 of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act BE 2562 (2019).
The protesters argue that these decrees significantly affect the way of life of indigenous dwellers on highlands with roots stretching back over 300 years, as well as limit their rights and create long-term instability.
Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong met with the protest group and acknowledged their three core demands. They are that the government must stop the implementation of the two decrees in other forest reserves until they are amended to allow locals to participate in decisions affecting their community forest.
They are also demanding public participation in the amendment of the two Acts connected to the decrees through House members. The last demand is to form a committee or task force tasked with amending both Acts within three months.
Representatives of local communities in Chiang Mai have highlighted the potential conflicts stemming from the decrees’ insufficient recognition of local residents’ traditional way of life and warned that they risk revoking traditional land rights in over 4,000 forest communities.
“Our communities have existed as traditional villages long before any legislation was enacted. Therefore, our rights should be recognised,” said Prue Odochao, representative of Ban Mae Lan Pa Kha village.
The two royal decrees in dispute on conserving natural resources were proposed by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and approved by the cabinet earlier this month.