Thailand is undergoing an important development in its forestry laws. When the Community Forest Act B.E. 2562 was passed in 2019, Thailand had for the first time an official umbrella law to recognize community forestry. Subordinate laws still need to be developed to further clarify the Act for its implementation.
Community forestry is the management, protection and use of forest resources by local communities. This model of forest management prevents the marginalization of communities associated with top-down, state-led forms of forest governance.
This analysis is the first of its kind. It fills in a legal analysis gap in Thailand’s forestry sector for policymakers, civil society organizations and local communities living in and near forests. It uses a method of analysis created by lawyers at the environmental law charity ClientEarth to help readers understand how the Act recognizes and secures the rights of forest communities. It can be an important tool to enhance the implementation of the Community Forest Act and the subordinate laws.
At RECOFTC, we hope that this analysis will broaden the discussion on community forestry and help ensure that a people-first legal approach is developed in the country’s forestry sector.