The encroachment on the Pa Mae Rim National Forest, in Mon Jam
and nearby areas, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province
“Mon Jam” or “Doi Mon Jam”, the mountains land surrounded by spectacular scenery, is the major tourist attraction, a famous place for natural education and beautiful scenery viewpoint in Chiang Mai.
Doi Mon Jam is located on the mountain ridge area near the Hmong village of Nong Hoi. Originally, this area was called by the villagers as “Kio Suea” since it was a wilderness forest. In the past, the villagers in the area reclaim and cultivated large amounts of Papaver somniferum or opium poppy. In 1984, His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great visited the people at the Nong Hoi village and graciously established the Nong Hoi Royal Project Development Center. The project has aimed to replace opium poppy cultivation with alternative temperate crop plantation in order to improve life quality of the local highlanders, based on the concept of self-sustaining commune. Also, the project has focused on the environment restoration and conservation in the area to be enriched. “The Nong Hoi Royal Project” was instituted in this area eventually.
At present, Mon Jam has changed. The local residents changed their career to own hotels and resorts. There have been the constructions, both permanent and temporary buildings, and home modification to accommodate and provide services to the tourists with the purpose of commercial business. There is expansion of commercial land use beyond the permitted site, intruding into the area of national forest reserve. This causes the deterioration, decreasing the important natural resource to human and all creatures. Whether the forests are ceaselessly destroyed, it will bring about other environment effects such as wildlife, soil, water, air, etc.
According to aforementioned problem, it turns into dispute between the hotel and resort operators, who have trespasses on the forest, and the state agencies in charge of such areas. The hotel and resort operators lodged a complaint to the Ombudsman requesting for the fact-finding into this matter. They claimed that the actions of the Royal Forest Department, Mae Rim District and relevant agencies to initiate a criminal proceeding against the operators in Mon Jam and nearby areas for encroaching on the forest and to issue the official announcement and order to terminate their businesses and totally demolish buildings and other structures are regarded the failure to perform in compliance with the law or ultra vires acts. In addition, they were of the opinion that such announcement and demolition order might be contrary to the resolution of Council of the Ministers, on 30 June 1998 and the order No. 6/2019 of the Head of The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
In reference to the matters of complaint, the Ombudsman decided to carry out on-site fact finding for his consideration. The Ombudsman attended a meeting to discuss with the relevant state agencies and the affected operators. The Ombudsman, therefore, made a decision and recommendations for solving the Mon Jam as follows:
- The relevant agencies should conduct the proof of land right of the local residents, under the concept that “whether people have made land utilization before the date that the National Reserved Forest Act B.E. 2507 (1964), determining the national forest reserve, came into forced or not”. If it is found that people have lived before the determination of national forest reserve in B.E. 2507 (1964), the residents will be able to proceed for issuing the Utilization Certification in accordance with the Land Code B.E. 2497 (1954). However, if it is found that the determination of the national forest reserve came into forced before people’s land utilization, the consideration of the land right has been made on a case-by-case basis according to the facts obtained from the aerial photography and maps to examine trace and track changes of land utilization.
- The Master Plan for the Mon Jam area management and the improvement of awareness and understanding of the purpose of implementation to the local residents should be carried out. The local residents should be allowed to participate in preparing such plan in area management and peaceful cohabitation of the community in order to maintain the good quality of life and safety of the local residents as well as valuable nature resources. The local residents might be allowed to form a people group to establish agricultural institute to promote sustainable community economic systems. By virtue of section 22 (2), section 32 and section 33 of the Organic Act on the Ombudsmen B.E. 2560 (2017), the Ombudsman, therefore, provides recommendations to the relevant agencies as follows:
2.1 Chiang Mai province, in collaboration with the Forest Resource Management Office No.1 (Chiang Mai), Office for Natural Resources and Environment (Chiang Mai), Mae Rim District Municipality, Mae Raem Subdistrict Municipality, Pong Yaeng Subdistrict Administrative Organization, local residents, and the relevant agencies should jointly prepare the master plan on Mon Jam area management to develop communities, raise the quality of life, boost the residents’ income, implement a peaceful cohabitation between human and nature to conserve natural resources. The Mon Jam community enterprise should be established to manage both agriculture and agro-tourism to support the Community’s Economic System, to be in consistence with the operation of the Nong Hoi Royal Project. Nevertheless, in order to assure the goal achievement, the preparation of such master plan has to be discussed with and approved by the Royal Project Foundation within 120 days as from the date of receiving this decision and recommendation of the Ombudsman.
2.2 Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, who takes charge and control of the execution of the National Reserved Forests Act B.E. 2507 (1964), should act as a chief adviser on such implementation to be in compliance with the law and the principle of rule of law.
2.3 In the preparation of the Master Plan, zoning of the area such as accommodations, restaurants, coffee shops, scenic viewing areas, area of souvenir shops, tourist information center, etc. should be clearly specified the specified zoning may include the number of constructions in the areas in reasonable proportion to the local terrain and to conformity with the Royal Project in order to further develop Mon Jam to be an important provincial and national tourist destination.
2.4 To implement the plan, all parties shall realize and attach the importance to the following five objectives:
1) To maintain local residents’ quality of life.
2) To conserve natural resources, the Pa Mae Rim National Forest Reserve as well as Mae Rim Forest (Mon Jam and nearby areas) watershed class 1A area.
3) To consider the reasonable earned income of the local residents to be suitable for the plan implementation.
4) To request the working group to support the operation of the Royal Project in Chiang Mai province and rapidly implement the plan to achieve its goals.
5) To encourage the participation of the local residents in the preparation of the plan which will sustainably solve problems in Mon Jam area.
