The government will chop down 60 % of the rubber trees in illegal plantations wrestled back from encroachers and leave the rest intact to be harvested by poor rubber tappers who used to work for the rich encroachers, said Maj-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd, deputy spokesman of the government.
He disclosed that the government, through the National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation Department and the Forest Department, has targeted to seize back 600,000 rai of rubber plantations encroached on state-owned land this year.
Illegal rubber plantations claimed by influential figures will be the first to be seized back by authorities, he said.
For the first five months of year, only 23,000 rai of rubber plantations have been reclaimed from encroachers.
Maj-Gen Sansern said that forest encroachment was rampant in 62 provinces across the country, particularly in southern provinces where encroachment problem has happened in every province and in forest reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries.
“The government cannot allow these illegal activities to persist. They amount to taking advantage of the country and a bully of natural resources which should be reserved for the next generations,” said the deputy spokesman. – http://news.thaivisa.com/