Suchart emphasized the need to clearly separate local residents from investor groups encroaching on Thap Lan, appealing to conservationists for understanding since villagers have been there first. He pointed out that Thap Lan has original communities but that over 1.4 million rai of forest will remain untouched.
On 30 Jun 2026 at the Parliament building, Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, spoke about his recent visit to Thap Lan National Park to hear feedback and talk with villagers. He said frankly from the heart that all the villagers who came were moved to tears of joy. He stressed the importance of clearly delineating which areas belong to villagers and which to investor groups, and that these efforts must proceed simultaneously.
Suchart added that he instructed the head of Thap Lan National Park to post notices ordering the removal of any structures encroaching on park land within 15 days. He firmly stated opposition to such encroachments and ordered immediate demolitions. This was to answer all concerns from conservationists, including the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation and former National Park Office Director Chaiwat Limlikit-aksorn, clarifying that authorities are not protecting investor groups.
He further relayed villagers' appeals asking conservation groups to understand that the disputed areas are already fully developed with concrete roads, temples, and schools. He personally flew over the area by helicopter for two consecutive days and confirmed that these places are all residential. Meanwhile, the forested parts of Thap Lan, covering about 1,400,000 rai, remain untouched and are not granted to villagers.
Suchart also addressed criticism from a person holding a sign questioning why the 2000 survey boundary is not used. He explained that this survey was approved in March 2021 for about 260,000 rai, and when he became chairman of the National Park Committee, he roughly approved an additional 150,000 rai. The group with the most issues is group 4, to which he did not allocate land. He noted that park officials have been seizing resorts built illegally on forest land, and that these groups must await rights verification, which is why the man protested.
“I believe that man belongs to that group. He tried to display a sign asking why the 2000 survey line is not used, but actually the National Park Committee resolved to divide the land into five groups, all based on the 2000 survey. For the group with the most problems, we have delayed consideration to await proper verification of villagers’ rights, because even verifying villagers’ rights is complicated and faces many challenges. Trying to deal with the group with the most legal cases will only lead to deadlock,” Suchart said. . . .
Suchart emphasized that genuine villagers must be granted their rights first. As for investor groups, they must accept that they have hundreds of millions in capital; why don’t they buy land properly instead of taking forest or park land to build resorts? Taking free or cheap forest land to invest like this is unfair and exploits society.