Amid the biological richness of Kaeng Krachan National Park, while forest authorities celebrate the importance of wildlife, a troubling practice of forcibly evicting native forest dwellers in the name of wildlife and biodiversity protection continues unabated. This violation of the forest dweller's rights must cease.
On Jan 12, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation (DNP) shared an image of a new tiger captured by camera traps in the upstream jungle of the Phetchaburi River, marking the park's rich biodiversity and their success in forest management.
The same day, Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn, director of the Department of National Parks, announced the arrest of five men paddling down the river deep in the jungle towards Bang Kloi Lang, a resettlement village in the park, claiming they were illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
As these men are native Karen forest dwellers, rights groups and Bang Kloi residents protested the arrest. The stark differences in officials' treatment of indigenous people and wildlife prompted calls to end the criminalisation and imprisonment of the Kaeng Krachan Karen natives.
Mr Chaiwat's charges against the five Karen forest dwellers echo those brought in 2011 to justify his heavy-handed forest eviction campaigns during his tenure as chief of Kaeng Krachan National Park. Nearly 100 homes and rice barns in Jai Paen Din were burned down.
In fact, Karen forest dwellers have inhabited Jai Paen Din for centuries, and their habitats had been documented in military maps since 1912. The burned homes had registration numbers, and those arrested this month escaped the 2011 arson to stay on their ancestral land.
The Supreme Administrative Court later ruled Mr Chaiwat guilty of power overreach, ordering compensation for the arson. Despite ruling the Karen in Kaeng Krachan as indigenous people, arrests and evictions persist. Currently, 29 indigenous Karens face trial for alleged forest encroachment when returning to ancestral homes.
Apart from the arson scandal, he faced a murder charge involving Thatkamol Ob-om, a prominent supporter of Kaeng Krachan Karen. The court let him go due to a lack of hard evidence. Another scandal involved the enforced disappearance of Porlajee "Billy" Rakchongcharoen, a Karen land rights activist who aided the Karens in suing Mr Chaiwat.
After being arrested by Mr Chaiwat in 2014, Billy was never seen again. Five years later, the Department of Special Investigation found fragments of his skull in a burnt oil tank dumped in the pond in front of the Kaeng Krachan forest office. Despite facing a murder charge, Mr Chaiwat enjoyed a promotion at the DNP with more authority.
Mr Chaiwat remains unscathed because his hardcore practices align with the DNP's draconian forest policy, which outlaws forest communities and grants full legal authority for their eviction. Following the Kaeng Krachan lawsuit, DNP issued an even more oppressive forest law, allowing forest officials to burn the forest dwellers' properties on sight.
This authoritarian approach ignores the reality of tropical forests, where indigenous peoples have resided for centuries. It is founded on the idea that people and forests cannot coexist. In fact, the indigenous Karen not only contribute to the forest ecosystem but also possess valuable knowledge for sustainable forest management.
Thailand's oppressive forest policy violates both human rights and inclusion principles. In addition to research worldwide on the importance of community participation in forest conservation, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also advocates land rights as a critical element for effective forest conservation to mitigate global warming.
The latest batch of Kaeng Krachan Karens who were unjustly arrested were eventually released, following their evidence as natives. Yet threats of eviction persist, violating Thailand's Unesco pledge to protect the human rights of forest communities to gain World Heritage site status.
The impact of forest autocracy, however, extends beyond the Karen people in Kaeng Krachan, affecting over 10 million people living in forests. To end these nationwide land rights conflicts, Environment Minister Permpoon Chidchob must not allow the DNP to abuse its power and use wildlife protection as a pretext to punish forest communities.
Balancing wildlife preservation with the rights and welfare of forest communities is not just a choice; it's a necessity for effective forest conservation and a sustainable future. With the government's commitment to inclusivity and justice, peace in the forest is within reach.