Forestry and National Park Officials Investigate Forest Area, Discover Private Encroachment and Illegal Tungsten Mining

On January 29, 2024, reporters covered developments in a case where villagers from the Yuam, Ngao, Mei, and Salween River Basin Network in Mae Hong Son wrote to Deputy Prime Minister Suchart Chongklin, requesting intervention against private investors encroaching on forest lands. The investigation team, comprising forestry officials, local administrative officers, police, and conservation area staff, discovered unauthorized residential constructions within a national forest reserve. The site, located at GPS coordinates 47 Q 388669 UTM 1975012, featured barbed wire fencing, CCTV cameras, and solar panels. Regarding the tungsten mining operation, officials investigated a tunnel in the Ban Tee Ya Pho village, Sob Moey District. They found a 30-meter deep tunnel within a protected forest area, with a mining permit issued on May 19, 2560 (2017). Interestingly, local boat operators suggested the boats were too small to transport heavy mineral loads, and the current dry season makes transportation difficult.