Thai social media buzzing over Thap Lan National Park’s boundary changes
The hashtags, #saveอุทยานแห่งชาติทับลาน (Save Thap Lan National Park) and #saveทับลาน (Save Thap Lan), are trending on Thai social media because a large area in the sanctuary will be sliced out thanks to new borders defined by the One Map project.
The national park stands to lose 424 square kilometres.
The Thap Lan National Park, spanning 2,240 square kilometres across the Northeast provinces of Prachinburi, Nakhon Ratchasima and Sa Kaew, was established on December 23, 1981. However, its borders overlapped borders defined in 1978 by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO), resulting in a disputed area of 125 square kilometres.
In March 2023, the Cabinet agreed with the National Land Policy Board (NLPB)’s proposal to redraw the borders of the national park in line with the One Map project.
What is One Map?
The One Map project, developed by the One Map Committee and NLPB, aims to resolve overlapping boundaries between national parks and agricultural reform land. The NLPB, established under the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, uses a mapping ratio of 1:4000 to revise boundaries nationwide.
Under the new plan, Thap Lan National Park stands to lose 424 square kilometres of protected land. This decision has sparked outrage among Thai netizens, who ask whether the new boundary truly serves the interests of ARLO and local people, or of private companies. In recent years, more than 500 people have been prosecuted for trespassing the protected area. Many of them intended to build resorts or vacation homes, and most of these cases remain unresolved.
The land retracted from the national park’s boundary will be transferred to ALRO. Under ALRO’s jurisdiction, farmers allocated plots in this area can transfer it to someone else after five years. This could not be done under the management of the national park.
