Cabinet input sought on oil palm land rows

The Forestry Department will ask the Cabinet to issue guidelines governing the use of oil palm plantations where concessions have expired to try to cut chronic conflict between landless farmers and companies, after clashes with officials when farmers went on to forest reserves.

"The department needs to wait for Cabinet's decision to point out which direction we should take," Boonchob Suthamanuswong, director-general of the department, said yesterday.

Cabinet resolutions on August 26, 2003 and September 16, 2007 halted grants of new oil palm concessions or extensions after existing concessions expire and instructed officials to allow landless people to utilise land returned to the government.

Governors of all provinces will chair a committee set up to allow landless farmers to use recovered land.

But landless people must live in the local area.

The government will be asked to allow landless people and the private sector to rent the returned forest land in all but a limited number of areas.

The department will revoke the privileges of landless farmers or companies if it finds that they broke the law by utilising palm oil plantations with unexpired concessions.

The department has talked with local authorities in three provinces in the south - Surat Thani, Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat - that have faced protracted problems over the use of oil palm plantations with expired concessions.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wichet Kasemthongsri and Cabinet would be asked next week to improve the regulations under these two resolutions.

The idea of revising the National Forest Reserve Act would make the implementation of the law clearer, he said.

Phirot Polphet, a member of the law reform committee, said he agreed with the idea of providing land for landless farmers - but not the department's idea to give land to individuals.

Instead of allocating land to each landless farmer, the department should award a community land title deed under the PM's Office regulation in a bid to prevent landless people from selling their land to other people.

Concessions for oil palm plantations

Krabi

14 plantations with 73,030 rai, of which the concessions for 11 plantations with 63,324 rai have already expired and the concessions for the other three plantations are operated by private companies.

Surat Thani

Plantations with 62,195 rai owned by six private companies.

Source: Forestry Department

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Cabinet-input-sought-on-oil-palm-land-rows-30210418.html

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