MAE HONG SON, 19 June 2014 – The Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) has been told to quickly address the forest encroachment issue in 9 target provinces and to yield results within 6 month.
Colonel Phongphet Ketsupha, a planning specialist at the ISOC, said the agency will quickly tackle deforestation, encroachment of forests and public space, and degradation of natural resources. Although the ISOC will work to tend to these issues on a national scale, the National Council for Peace and Order has ordered it to emphasize on 9 provinces where the problem was severe. These include Phetchabun, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Nan Lampang, Ubonratchathani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Loei and Krabi. For these 9 provinces, the ISOC must also yield visible results within 6 months.
On Wednesday, officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation were accompanied by soldiers in a search of a wooden dwelling in Pai district of Mae Hong Son province which was suspected of being a disguise for a stockpile of illegal logs. Officials discovered that the structure comprised mostly of processed teak wood of the same size. The home owner, a hill tribe woman, could not explain the origin of the wood when questioned by officials.
The team of officials went on to disassemble 5 dwellings that similarly provided disguise for teak wood stockpile in the area.
