Details of the agreement were announced at a land reform meeting held last January 27 at Phuket Provincial Hall.
The intention is to set up a provincial work group which will come up with a comprehensive plan within 180 days.
Speaking at the January 27 meeting, Phuket Vice-Governor Somkiat Sangkhaosutthirak said, “The issue of deforestation in Phuket is a big problem which has gone on for a long time, and many previous governments have been unsuccessful in solving the issue.”
V/Gov Somkiet recently threw up his hands in despair at trying to solve the problem of national forests hacked down and occupied by local people, proposing that the land be given to the encroachers – if they are poor.
“One of the problems is that we do not have accurate boundary lines. We can see a boundary on a map, but when we visit the actual site we do not know where it is.
“There are many agencies responsible for this, but they cannot protect the land due to a lack of budget or shortage of staff.
“It is very difficult to displace the people who already live in the area as they will have nowhere to go.
“If this problem cannot be solved by the Agriculture Office and the Forestry Office, it will be decided by the Governor at the next provincial meeting.”
– Chawala Kongsang