Forest reform proposal merits our full attention
Alarmed by the steep decline in Thailand’s forest cover, reformers have drafted proposals for remedial action. A few weeks ago, the National Reform Steering Assembly’s natural resources sub-panel completed a 250-page proposal, which has been submitted to the NRSA for endorsement. The document notes that Thai forestland has shrunk dramatically in the last few decades, from 139 million rai in 1973 to 81 million rai in 1998 – an average loss of two million rai per year. In 1998 the government attempted to halt encroachment with a Cabinet resolution to register forest dwellers, but the woodland kept disappearing – albeit at a slowed rate of 250,000 rai per year. By last year, the country had around 102 million rai of forest left, or around 31 per cent of Thailand’s total landmass. Of this, around 70 million rai are designated protected areas, in the form of national parks or wildlife sanctuaries.
