A running conflict between six communities in Phuket and local authorities who rejected their request to live in mangrove forest areas must be resolved by next month, the governor of Phuket said yesterday.
The communities, located in Muang and Thalang districts in the island province, have been seeking community land title deeds.
This would allow them to make use of state-owned land on the condition they jointly conserve its natural resources.
But marine and coastal resources officials reportedly told them they are not eligible for this special permission the government has set up to resolve problems faced by landless people.
This led to street rallies in June, prompting Phuket governor Norapat Plodthong to intervene.
"A review of the six communities is needed" to clear all the doubts surrounding the decision, Mr Norapat said yesterday after meeting the residents.
A multilateral committee comprising both state officials and villagers' representatives is now being set up to settle the matter in a fair manner, he said.
The governor said he has already sent an "urgent letter" to the Mangrove Resources Conservation Office asking it to jointly solve the problem.
Local officials overseeing mangrove forests in Phuket must make sure authorities at a national level play a role in the committee, he said.
"We want to see the problem settled by October," Mr Norapat stressed.
Officials have cited the location of the six communities as the main obstacle to granting their request for the land title deeds.
They are situated close to urban areas and are expected to further expand, with some communities already adjusting areas for their own interests rather than those of the public, according to official findings.
There are also legal complications as some villagers are suspected of having encroached on areas for the last 17 years. Some communities exist in overlapping areas claimed by different state agencies.
Some are located in areas overseen by the Royal Forest Department rather than the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, said Chat Chalarat, chief of Phuket's mangrove forest development station.
As a preliminary move the land between residential zones and areas still rich with mangrove forests must be clearly demarcated, he said.
