Ethnic Karen villagers living in the forest in Kaeng Krachan National Park are to petition the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), calling on it to delay listing the forest as a World Heritage Site.
The group is expected to submit the petition to Unesco and Thai agencies involved in the listing bid on Monday.
The villagers from Ban Pong Luek and Bang Kloy want the proposed listing shelved because the government refuses to recognise the cultural identity of the Karen and has failed to solve their longstanding land rights dispute, particularly in relation to the forced evictions of Karen villagers from Bang Kloy Bon and Jai Pandin in the forest.
Nirand Pongthep, a Karen resident said the villagers have never opposed the idea of making the forest a World Heritage Site.
"We just want the government to clear up our problems first before having the area listed. Despite our families and ancestors having lived in this area long before the government declared the area a national park, our rights have not been acknowledged and our problems have hardly been addressed," he said.
Mr Nirand is one of 120 Karen ethnic villagers demanding their rights be addressed. They now live in Ban Bang Kloy Moo 1 in Huay Mae Rieng Sub-District, in Phetchaburi province, which is also located in Kaeng Krachan National Park.
He said his community have been living in the forest for over a century, long before the government declared the area a national park in 1981. At that time, they were told to move 50km away from their original home in Jai Pandin and Bang Kloy Bon.