Army general hopes to solve forestry row

Army general hopes to solve forestry row
PARKS CHIEF ACCUSES NHRC OF LESE MAJESTE


PHETCHABURI : First Army chief Udomdet Seetabut has suggested he should mediate a conflict between Kaeng Krachan National Park chief Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn and the National Human Rights Commission.

Mr Chaiwat last week filed a lese majeste charge against the NHRC for allegedly opposing a project to solve problems between animals and people at the national park in Phetchaburi province.

According to Mr Chaiwat, the NHRC sent a letter to him in April stating it had looked into a complaint about the adverse impacts of the national park's project to solve the conflict between wild elephants and humans and felt it should be cancelled.

Mr Chaiwat told police the NHRC's decision was an insult to Her Majesty the Queen, who initiated the project.

During a trip to inspect the progress of the project on Friday, Lt Gen Udomdet said he was willing to mediate talks between the national park and the NHRC to help them patch up their differences.

The NHRC might be putting the livelihood of residents ahead of forest protection, while forestry officials are focused on conservation, he said.

Both sides were doing their jobs, so there should not be any conflicts between them, he said.

Lt Gen Udomdet said the First Army would promote the royal-sponsored scheme to solve elephant-human conflict at Kaeng Krachan and Kui Buri national parks as a model for other areas with a similar problem.

Her Majesty recently donated 1.2 million baht to the First Army to run a project aimed at solving long-standing conflicts between humans and wild elephants at two national parks.

In recent years, hungry elephants have wreaked havoc on local residents' crop plantations at Kaeng Krachan National Park and Kui Buri National Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan. This had created a conflict between the locals and the elephants several of which had been killed by angry residents.

The project calls for food and water sources to be developed within the forests to prevent the elephants from searching for food in farmlands.

Since March, soldiers have planted grass covering 100 rai of forest areas and built a reservoir in Kaeng Krachan national park. Salt licks were also created around a reservoir.

At Kui Buri national park, the Surasri task force and the 11th Infantry Regiment will be responsible for planting grass over 50 rai, creating salt licks and a dyke by September, Lt Gen Udomdet said.

Mr Chaiwat said forest encroachment had become a major problem at Kaeng Krachan national park. He said most of the forest encroachers were ethnic Karen villagers.

However, the NHRC had provided legal assistance to some 200 Karen households with almost 2,000 dwellers in the forest, Mr Chaiwat said.

He felt grateful to Her Majesty for providing both financial and moral support to the national park to save the forest and wild animals.


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