Thailands Community Forest Act

The report analyzes Thailand's Community Forest Act B.E. 2562 (2019), noting that while it provides a first-time official umbrella law for community forestry, it is limited to areas outside protected forests. The analysis highlights gaps in customary tenure recognition, complex allocation processes, and a lack of explicit safeguards for marginalized groups. It recommends the development of detailed subsidiary regulations to clarify management plans, benefit-sharing, and market access.

• The Community Forest Act B.E. 2562 (2019) is the first official umbrella law in Thailand to recognize community forestry, but its scope is limited as community forests can only be established in areas outside of protected forests.
• Thailand's legal framework does not recognize the customary tenure or free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) rights of local and Indigenous communities, which may lead to conflicts between the state and local populations.
• The process for allocating a community forest is described as long and complex, involving three levels of decision-making (local Forest Resource Management Office, Provincial Community Forest Committee, and the RFD Director General) and taking between 130 and 355 days.
• The Act lacks explicit provisions to ensure the participation and representation of vulnerable groups, such as women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples, in community forest management and decision-making.
• Commercial logging is prohibited in community forests; timber can only be used for subsistence household needs or public activities, and only non-valuable timber is permitted for such use.
• There is a significant legal gap regarding market access, as the Act does not specify which community forest products and services can be sold to third parties.
• The Act does not mandate a benefit-sharing mechanism among community members, nor does it require transparency or accountability in the management of community forest funds.
• Enforcement involves a potential conflict of interest because the Provincial Community Forest Committee can appoint community forest officials from within the community to monitor and take enforcement actions against their own peers.
• The Royal Forest Department (RFD) aims to classify 1.6 million hectares of reserved forest as community forests by 2025, encompassing 15,000 registered community forests.

APA

ClientEarth (2021). Thailands Community Forest Act. https://www.clientearth.org/media/0unlsvte/briefing-community-forestry-thai-legal-assessment.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Thailands Community Forest Act. 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/0unlsvte/briefing-community-forestry-thai-legal-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Thailands Community Forest Act |date=June 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/0unlsvte/briefing-community-forestry-thai-legal-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2021thailands, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Thailands Community Forest Act}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/0unlsvte/briefing-community-forestry-thai-legal-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }