The Supreme Administrative Court on Thursday reversed a decision made by a lower administrative court in 2007, which favoured a group of 18 villagers in Lampang's Mae Moh who were fighting to protect a 43-rai snail fossil site from the coal mining operations there. Thursday's decision means the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) can continue coal mining operations in the area. This was done to make sure that Egat protects the fossil site from any coal mining activity or any natural disasters. The cabinet also instructed the Fine Arts Department to list the fossil conservation site as a historic site. However, if in future any damage to the freshwater snail fossil site is found as a result of the Egat's mining, a new complaint can be filed, the court said.

Source: Bangkok Post September 13, 2018 23:43 UTC