RATCHABURI, Thailand – Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suchart Chomklin visited Ratchaburi province on May 27, to deliver official policy guidelines to agencies in the western region of Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, and Kanchanaburi. Speaking at the meeting at the Regional Water Resources Office 7, the Minister introduced a unified framework and directed all sub-departments to integrate environmental data and prioritize public assistance over political divisions.
The Minister launched a local carbon credit and community forest initiative to generate direct income for rural residents who participate in forest preservation. Under this plan, the Royal Forest Department will waive its customary 10% share of carbon credit revenues and return the full amount directly to participating communities to incentivize long-term environmental conservation.
To enforce strict institutional ethics, the Minister barred the Royal Forest Department from involvement with illicit logging and timber export syndicates. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation was ordered to investigate reports of illegal mining for minerals and gold in Kanchanaburi. There is an absolute prohibition on the deployment of heavy machinery in protected forest zones.
The Minister stressed that water resource management remains a central government priority to support the national agricultural sector and private industries. The Minister directed the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Groundwater Resources to accelerate water supply infrastructure projects. The ministry also established a joint task force to end systemic illegal land encroachment on public forests and coastlines, with a focus on long-term encroachment issues at Freedom Beach in Phuket. (NNT)
