BANGKOK, Thailand – Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin has ordered stricter enforcement against illegal encroachment on national reserved forests, directing the Royal Forest Department to increase inspections, arrests, and legal action against offenders. The order followed an operation on July 14 in Khao Nak Kerd National Reserved Forest in Phuket province, where officials from the Royal Forest Department, local authorities, and forest protection units inspected a site in Karon subdistrict. Three people were found constructing a steel-framed building with a metal roof and fiber-cement wall panels inside the protected forest.
Authorities said an individual later identified himself as the employer and owner of the site and admitted he had no legal documents proving ownership or rights to the land. Investigators determined that over 1 rai of national reserved forest had been illegally cleared and occupied. Officers also seized construction equipment, including a welding machine, a chainsaw, a grinder, and a concrete drill. The suspects were charged under the National Reserved Forest Act and the Forest Act before being handed over to investigators at Karon Police Station. The Forest Resource Management Office No. 12 (Krabi Branch) will assess the environmental damage and seek a court order to have the illegal structures demolished. (NNT)
