The research concluded that the 1998 Cabinet resolution, which has been used to determine the land rights of people living in forests, had caused many problems between people and the authorities. He said communities had the right to manage forests, which was not given importance by the 1998 resolution. “The aerial photographs cannot determine the mix of traditional farms of aboriginal people, so the ethnic groups are the most affected people by the forest reclamation policy, based on using this Cabinet resolution to prove land rights,” he said. Somchai suggested an alternative method to collect data from relevant areas and information from local residents to prove land rights, as the former Cabinet resolution of April 1997 stipulated. “It is clear that the Cabinet resolution of June 30, 1998, is not for us and we need a proper identification method to let us live on our land peacefully.”

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 24, 2016 18:03 UTC