Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin said Thap Lan land disputes will be resolved through parcel-by-parcel verification to separate residents from land speculators and investors.
He made the remarks after a meeting of the House Committee on Land, Natural Resources and Environment, chaired by Bhumjaithai MP Kunlawalee Nopamornbodi on Thursday. The meeting brought together state agencies, academics, conservation groups and civil society networks to discuss overlapping land claims in Thap Lan National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
Mr Suchart said the meeting was conducted in a constructive atmosphere, with all sides exchanging information and proposals. The core agreement was that land rights must be examined on a parcel-by-parcel basis.
"Everyone agreed that the verification of rights must be done on a parcel-by-parcel basis, transparently and fairly, so that genuine local communities are protected while illegal occupations are dealt with under the law," he said.
Mr Suchart said the proposed solution was unique to the Thap Lan National Park and would not be used as a precedent for other protected forest areas.
The meeting came after groups of conservationists opposed the June 15 decision by the National Parks Committee to approve the withdrawal of 155,865 rai from Thap Lan National Park and to transfer the land to state agencies, including the Agricultural Land Reform Office, for land-rights management and allocation.
Environmental groups have urged the government to reconsider the plan, as the area includes ecologically significant forest land and wildlife habitat. The environment minister at that time defended the decision, saying the boundary adjustment is intended to resolve overlaps between the park and land allocated by the state to people before the park was established. Around 450 encroachment cases are still in court.
Thap Lan National Park chief Prawatsart Janthep said on Thursday in Nakhon Ratchasima the dispute dates back to the declaration of Thap Lan National Park in 1981, when boundaries were drawn without full field surveys in some areas, resulting in overlaps with existing settlements and land reform areas.
He said surveys indicated about 5,000 occupants had been living in affected areas before the park was established. "The challenge is to identify those who occupied land before the park was declared while preventing later encroachment from being legitimised."
