What Happens If You Build Your Resort On A Thai Forestry Reserve?

Article from today’s The Nation – Forestry agency determined to pursue encroachment charges against hotels, that makes me scratch my head.

What makes me scratch my head is the reaction of the business community in Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima). 

Beauty Pageant Girls at the Park

So, here is the story.  It looks like some hotel/resort owners and some home owners have built their property on land belonging to the Thai Government.

Forestry officials will go ahead with their plan to bring charges against those involved in encroaching on forest reserve areas around Nakhon Ratchasima province’s Wang Nam Kheow district, saying they will not negotiate with the wrongdoers.

I don’t know how this can happen.  When my wife and I were going to get a house built, and she bought some land, we received a map showing the land plots, and then we had to get an approved surveyor out to the land to identify exactly where the 4 corners were so that he could pound in some stakes and we knew where to build the wall around our house.  I guess that didn’t happen, or perhaps, someone was paid off.

“People who encroached on forest reserve areas first must be punished. Then the forestry agency will look into each case to determine whether they had intended to encroach on the reserve areas or not,” forestry department chief Suwit Rattanamanee said.

Well, of course they intended to.  But, they will never admit it.  I hope that they get the maximum punishment.

Now, this is not just one or two properties.  Looks like they are trying to take over the forest.

The forestry agency last week found that about 20 luxury hotels and houses in Wang Nam Kheow had claimed land from forest reserve areas to build tourist facilities.

Doesn’t anyone have a map?  We had so many hoops to jump through to get one rai of land properly annotated and permission from half of Khon Kaen to build a house on it.

The forestry department is now investigating by using satellite images whether these houses are located in forest reserve areas or not.

This is good, but shouldn’t there be something at the land office in Korat?   Doesn’t the Forestry Department know where their land area is?

Now, here comes the head-scratcher:

The department’s initiative to launch legal proceedings against those who had allegedly encroached on forest reserve areas in Wang Nam Kheow last week prompted the Nakhon Ratchasima Tourist Business Association to urge the department not to arrest the people involved.

Let’s see.  A Thai Government Department wants to proceed legally and run these thieves off the stolen land.  So, what does the Tourist Business Association want them to do?  NOTHING!

WHY?

“The department should not arrest the owners of hotels and resorts who have encroached on the forest reserve areas in Wang Nam Kheow district. It will destroy the atmosphere of the tourism industry in the areas,” association vice president Samer Jindapong said.

AH.  IMAGE.  ATMOSPHERE.  FACE.

“Tourism activities in Wang Nam Kheow district are the main source of income for Nakhon Ratchasima province,” he said.

So what.  They may have broken the law, and if so, should be punished.  Tourists will find other, legal resorts and hotels in Korat and no one except those that acquired land illegally will suffer.

Samer asked the department to allow hotel and house owners to rent the encroached areas.

Rent?  What about the amount of land that originally belonged to the Thai Government?  If rent is agreed upon, what about BACK rent for all the months or years that they have been trespassing?

” I want the forestry department to negotiate and compromise with the owners of hotels and houses located in the alleged forest reserve areas,” he said.

I didn’t know that businessmen could tell an Agency of the Thai Government what to do.  The forestry department is within their legal rights to find out if these resort, hotel, and home owners have encroached on Thai government property and then take them to court.

And, now, he makes no sense:

The department should punish wrongdoers with light to heavy penalties, he added.

I am sure that the emphasis was on the word “light”.

Here we go – deflect the blame back to those in the right:

In a bid to prevent further encroachments, the forestry department should limit the number of buildings in forest reserve areas.

The Forestry Department should have some sort of say or approval for anything in the forest reserves area.

More stupidity:

The department should issue an order to force wrongdoers to improve the landscape near their hotels and houses located in the encroached areas.

No.  The department should take them all to court and seek maximum fines and jail time.

“Entrepreneurs who have invested a lot of money to build the houses and hotels in the area could face severe trouble if the department goes ahead with its plan to destroy all buildings,” he said.

I believe that falls under the heading – TOUGH SHIT.  They should have checked first.  If they did not check the land borders, they are stupid and deserve their fate.

In the end, this move will affect the local people who are benefiting from the tourism industry in Wang Nam Kheow district.

In the end, it will only benefit those that got their land for free – not the local people trying to make a few baht from the tourists.

This is Thailand.

Tags: department encroach forestry homes hotels korat nakhon ratchasima resorts thai government trespass