Will land reform for the
poor move forward this week?
Or will the opportunity be lost?
By Jon Fernquest 
The
red shirt protests in Bangkok are supposed to be about helping poor
rural Thais get out of poverty.Why isn't anyone talking about policy and how to alleviate poverty?
If red shirt politicians have a concrete solution for this problem then what exactly is it?
This week a land reform and redistribution program is slated to begin.
No one is talking much about it, but they should.
The program may fail because some officials in various ministries are opposing it.
That is what today's article is about. The article begins after the vocabulary.
Also read previous articles about land reform #2 (20-01-2009) and #3 (17-06-2008).
alleviate - make a
problem less worse
concrete - based on information and facts, based on reality not imagination
reform - changes to improve a system
redistribution - taking things from one group of people and giving them to another
slated - planned
concrete - based on information and facts, based on reality not imagination
reform - changes to improve a system
redistribution - taking things from one group of people and giving them to another
slated - planned
Local News
Community land title deeds in pipeline
Nod for 'flagship policy' expected on Tuesday7/05/2010
Apinya Wipatayotin
Community land title deeds are expected to be granted to an initial batch of 30 communities in September, a grass-roots group working on the issue says.
The issuance of community land title deeds is a flagship policy of the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. The scheme aims to solve land disputes between state agencies and villagers living on state land, such as forest reserves.
land
- to get or achieve something good, especially in a way which seems
easy or unexpected ได้รับ
title - the position of a winner in a sports competition ตำแหน่งแชมป์
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
granted - officially given ให ้
initial - early; first, happening at the beginning of a process ในเบื้องต้น
batch - a group of things considered similar in type พวก, ชุด, กลุ่ม
grass-roots - the ordinary people (low level) who live in a community or society and not the leaders (high level)
issue - a problem that needs to be considered, a subject that people discuss or argue about ประเด็น
issuance - giving something out officially ออกประกาศ
community - the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
flagship - the most important in a group of things: flagship company, flagship product (See glossary) ที่เป็นตัวนำ ที่สำคัญที่สุด
policy - a set of plans and ideas used for making decisions in politics and economics and other areas นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
state - government รัฐ
reserves - keeps something for a particular purpose or time สงวน
forest reserves - forests being kept for the future (wood not cut and used now)
title - the position of a winner in a sports competition ตำแหน่งแชมป์
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
granted - officially given ให ้
initial - early; first, happening at the beginning of a process ในเบื้องต้น
batch - a group of things considered similar in type พวก, ชุด, กลุ่ม
grass-roots - the ordinary people (low level) who live in a community or society and not the leaders (high level)
issue - a problem that needs to be considered, a subject that people discuss or argue about ประเด็น
issuance - giving something out officially ออกประกาศ
community - the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
flagship - the most important in a group of things: flagship company, flagship product (See glossary) ที่เป็นตัวนำ ที่สำคัญที่สุด
policy - a set of plans and ideas used for making decisions in politics and economics and other areas นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
scheme - a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people แผนการ โครงการ
state - government รัฐ
reserves - keeps something for a particular purpose or time สงวน
forest reserves - forests being kept for the future (wood not cut and used now)
Prayong Doklamyai, adviser to the community group Thailand Land Reform Network, said the Council of State had finished screening the draft legislation on community land rights and the cabinet was expected to endorse it on Tuesday.
The legislation was drafted by a special committee made up of representatives from state agencies and affected communities established by the cabinet last October.
The draft legislation provides for land title deeds for idle state land to be granted to communities instead of individuals. Communities would be unable to sell the land.
Council of State - the
group of legal advisors that provides advice to the Prime Minister's
cabinet on the legality of actions they are planning to take
screening - checking before accepting, checking for problems, safety, or suitability
draft - written for consideration, not yet in its final form and likely to be changed ฉบับร่าง
legislation - a law or set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament กฎหมาย, การออกกฎหมาย
rights - something you are legally or morally allowed to do or have (See Wikipedia) สิทธิ์
endorse - officially improve
drafted - to write up an official document
representative - someone chosen by others to do something for them (vote, give opinion, make decision)
established by - created by
land title deed, land deed, deed, title deed - the official document that proves you are the owner of land
idle - not being used ซึ่งยังไม่ได้ใช้การ, หยุดนิ่ง, ไม่ดำิเนินการ
individuals - persons บุคคล
screening - checking before accepting, checking for problems, safety, or suitability
draft - written for consideration, not yet in its final form and likely to be changed ฉบับร่าง
legislation - a law or set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament กฎหมาย, การออกกฎหมาย
rights - something you are legally or morally allowed to do or have (See Wikipedia) สิทธิ์
endorse - officially improve
drafted - to write up an official document
representative - someone chosen by others to do something for them (vote, give opinion, make decision)
established by - created by
land title deed, land deed, deed, title deed - the official document that proves you are the owner of land
idle - not being used ซึ่งยังไม่ได้ใช้การ, หยุดนิ่ง, ไม่ดำิเนินการ
individuals - persons บุคคล
If approved by the cabinet, the legislation would take effect within 120 days. After that, the government would grant community title deeds for land in provinces such as Chiang Mai, Lampang, Phetchabun and Trang to 30 communities under its pilot project.
Mr Prayong, however, complained that the state's legal arm had altered some key points of the draft legislation.
For example, the Council of State deleted a clause which would have given a community the right to manage the land for 30 years.
This means a community has to renew their land rights with state agencies that own the land every year or so. This is like we are renting their land," he said.
grant
- to officially give something ให้
pilot - a small test of a new idea or product or idea before introducing it everywhere
arm - a part of an organisation that deals with a particular subject or activity หน่วยงาน
key - important คนสำคัญ
renew - ต่อ extend the period that something is valid and can be used (when it is about to expire and end)
pilot - a small test of a new idea or product or idea before introducing it everywhere
arm - a part of an organisation that deals with a particular subject or activity หน่วยงาน
key - important คนสำคัญ
renew - ต่อ extend the period that something is valid and can be used (when it is about to expire and end)
Mr Prayong also criticised Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti for not supporting the scheme. The minister had been an "obstacle" to the community land rights policy as he did little to support the scheme, he said.
Most of the state land to be granted to communities across the nation is under the supervision of the national park and royal forest departments under Mr Suwit's supervision. Lack of support from the minister will hold this scheme back," Mr Prayong said.
Jatuporn Buruspat, chief of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, wondered whether issuing the community land title deeds would contravene existing laws.
obstacle
- a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something
อุปสรรค ขวากหนาม
support - help สนับสนุน
supervision - the process of making sure that something is being done properly การควบคุมดูแล การตรวจตรา
issuing - officially giving something to people ออกคำสั่ง
support - help สนับสนุน
supervision - the process of making sure that something is being done properly การควบคุมดูแล การตรวจตรา
issuing - officially giving something to people ออกคำสั่ง
People who stay on forest land illegally must face legal action," he said. "The policy to grant land rights to communities must comply with the law
The department chief said issuing community land right to locals was not an effective way to stop encroachment on state land.
He said the decision to grant land rights to a person or a community must be based on satellite surveys to determine whether they occupied the land before it was declared a protected forest.
There are about 10 million people living in protected forests in Thailand and 2 million living on land owned by other agencies.
comply
- to obey a rule or a law การปฏิบัติตามกฎ
locals - people who live in a particular place ชาวบ้าน
effective - works well, gets the job done, producing the result that was intended ได้ผลดี
encroachment - gradually covering more and more of an area of land การบุกรุก
determine - to officially find out or decide something ตัดสินใจ, ชี้ขาด, กำหนด
locals - people who live in a particular place ชาวบ้าน
effective - works well, gets the job done, producing the result that was intended ได้ผลดี
encroachment - gradually covering more and more of an area of land การบุกรุก
determine - to officially find out or decide something ตัดสินใจ, ชี้ขาด, กำหนด
(Source: Community land title deeds in pipeline, Nod for 'flagship policy' expected on Tuesday, 7/05/2010, Apinya Wipatayotin, link)
