"Strong communities"
to receive excess government land
Will land reform
work this time in Thailand?
By @Jon Fernquest
"Strong
communities"
that transcend
polarized Red-Yellow shirt politics was the subject of @Sanitsuda
Ekachai's column two weeks ago (Read article). This week the government has announced a new programme to redistribute land to similar "strong communities."
Landless farmers will get land to farm but the community will manage the land.
Individual Farmers will not be able to sell the land they receive from the government to rich people for personal profit.
Instead, all the members of the community will receive benefits from the land in perpetuity.
Land was sold-off for profit in the scandal-plagued Sor Por Kor land distribution programme launched by the Democrats during the 1990s (Read article).
The Democrats want to avoid such a scandal this time around.
The original plan was to have the current programme go operational in three months but it ended up taking well over a year to collect together all the excess government land. Early on, the military refused to cooperate (Read article).
Today's article begins after the vocabulary:
a community - all
the people who live in a local area, with close relationships
of cooperation (See Wikipedia)
strong communities - communities with strogn relationships between members
transcend - go beyond
polarized - when there is a big split between two opposing sides
polarized politics - when there is a big split on a political issue
transcend polarized Red-Yellow shirt politics - go beyond the current big Yellow-Red conflict (and find a compromise solution)
redistribute land - take land and give it to someone else
in perpetuity - forever, neverending
scandal - when prominent people behave in a shocking and immoral way (See Wikipedia)
prominent - important and well-known (the public is watching everything they do)
scandal-plagued - suffered from many scandals
Sor Por Kor land distribution programme - the previous Democrat programme for land redistribution and reform
go operational - reach the point when programme is actually doing what was planned
ended up taking well over a year - when completed project took a lot more than a year to complete
strong communities - communities with strogn relationships between members
transcend - go beyond
polarized - when there is a big split between two opposing sides
polarized politics - when there is a big split on a political issue
transcend polarized Red-Yellow shirt politics - go beyond the current big Yellow-Red conflict (and find a compromise solution)
redistribute land - take land and give it to someone else
in perpetuity - forever, neverending
scandal - when prominent people behave in a shocking and immoral way (See Wikipedia)
prominent - important and well-known (the public is watching everything they do)
scandal-plagued - suffered from many scandals
Sor Por Kor land distribution programme - the previous Democrat programme for land redistribution and reform
go operational - reach the point when programme is actually doing what was planned
ended up taking well over a year - when completed project took a lot more than a year to complete
'Strong communities' secure land rights
Policy aims to end conflict with farmers21/10/2009
Pradit Ruangdit
CHA-AM : The cabinet plans to give established communities around the country the right to live on and farm an initial 10,000 rai of state land to solve conflicts between the government and landless farmers.
Instead of granting land to individuals as in the past, the Abhisit administration has decided to try a new approach by distributing land to what it calls "strong communities" carefully selected to make use of and maintain the state property, PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said after yesterday's cabinet meeting in Cha-am.
established
communities - communities that have existed for a long time
a right - legal permission, something you are legally or morally allowed to have or do (See Wikipedia)
right to live on and farm land - legal permission to live on and farm land
land rights - legal permission to use land in a certain way for a period of time
ownership rights - legal permission to use land because you own it
leasing rights - legal permission to use land for a period because you rented it or leased it
secure land rights - get land rights
granting - officially giving (changing ownership, not lending for a time period)
try a new approach - do in a new way (to see oif it works and is effective)
distributing land - giving land to may people
make use of Y - use Y to do something
state property - land that is owned by the government
maintain - keep in good condition
maintain the state property - keep the land owned by the government in good condition
a right - legal permission, something you are legally or morally allowed to have or do (See Wikipedia)
right to live on and farm land - legal permission to live on and farm land
land rights - legal permission to use land in a certain way for a period of time
ownership rights - legal permission to use land because you own it
leasing rights - legal permission to use land for a period because you rented it or leased it
secure land rights - get land rights
granting - officially giving (changing ownership, not lending for a time period)
try a new approach - do in a new way (to see oif it works and is effective)
distributing land - giving land to may people
make use of Y - use Y to do something
state property - land that is owned by the government
maintain - keep in good condition
maintain the state property - keep the land owned by the government in good condition
"Once a community is given land, it will divide plots among its members," he said.
Under the community land ownership scheme, the tracts of land will continue to belong to the government. The farmers given plots will be entitled to use the land for 30 years. During that time they would be expected to carry out conservation activities such as planting trees to increase green areas or risk losing the land.
The scheme will be overseen by representatives from state agencies and community groups.
plots - pieces of
land
divide plots among its members - cut land into pieces and give pieces to people in community
tracts of land - large areas of land
entitled to - have the right to
conservation - management of land and water resources to prevent harm and destruction
overseen - managed, supervised (checking continually to guide and control process)
divide plots among its members - cut land into pieces and give pieces to people in community
tracts of land - large areas of land
entitled to - have the right to
conservation - management of land and water resources to prevent harm and destruction
overseen - managed, supervised (checking continually to guide and control process)
Mr Sathit said communities qualified for the land should be established for at least three years and have an "acceptable degree of strength", which includes good management of the community and a good understanding of the scheme's purposes.
The government hopes the flagship Democrat policy will meet the needs of landless farmers and solve conflicts between forestry officials and villagers who have resisted evictions after claiming to have lived in particular areas for decades.
acceptable degree of strength
- have enough strength to be selected
flagship - the most important thing in a group (for example: flagship company, flagship publication)
flagship policy - the most important policy of a government or political party
conflicts - disagreements and fighting
forestry officials - high level government workers in the forestry department
forestry department - the government agency that governs Thailand's foret lands and its use (See website)
evictions - using the law to remove a person living in a house, apartment, or on land
resisted evictions - would not leave the land, even after being legally ordered to leave
flagship - the most important thing in a group (for example: flagship company, flagship publication)
flagship policy - the most important policy of a government or political party
conflicts - disagreements and fighting
forestry officials - high level government workers in the forestry department
forestry department - the government agency that governs Thailand's foret lands and its use (See website)
evictions - using the law to remove a person living in a house, apartment, or on land
resisted evictions - would not leave the land, even after being legally ordered to leave
The 10,000 rai of land is spread over 30 areas nationwide. Thirteen provinces in the North, nine in the Northeast, and 10 in the South are among the pilot provinces for the scheme, Mr Sathit said.
The land is part of huge parcels left idle but earmarked for certain uses or to be given to landless farmers. The government expects the scheme to eventually benefit up to 1.5 million families.
pilot - a small test
for a system
pilot provinces for the scheme - testing the scheme in some provinces (before using it everywhere)
parcels of land - pieces of land
idle - not doing anything, not active
left idle - did not use (to do some task)
huge parcels left idle - large amounts of land not used
earmarked - use for a special purpose or programme
earmarked for certain uses - same
pilot provinces for the scheme - testing the scheme in some provinces (before using it everywhere)
parcels of land - pieces of land
idle - not doing anything, not active
left idle - did not use (to do some task)
huge parcels left idle - large amounts of land not used
earmarked - use for a special purpose or programme
earmarked for certain uses - same
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said the scheme was viewed as one way to to overcome problems with the trouble-plagued Sor Por Kor land distribution project.
The Sor Por Kor scheme grants land to individual farmers. However, some sell their rights to non-farmers who turn the documentation into title deeds.
That had resulted in swathes of land falling into the hands of the rich.
Communal ownership of land under the new distribution scheme should resolve that problem, he said.
trouble-plagued -
has a lot of problems
title deeds - the document that shows and proves that you are an owner of land
turn the documentation into title deeds - when a person becomes land owner by showing all the official papers they have that prove they live on and use land
swathes of land - a large areas of land
swathes of land falling into the hands of the rich - the rich become owners of large amounts of land
communal ownership of land - when all the people who live in a community own land
resolve that problem - solve the problem
title deeds - the document that shows and proves that you are an owner of land
turn the documentation into title deeds - when a person becomes land owner by showing all the official papers they have that prove they live on and use land
swathes of land - a large areas of land
swathes of land falling into the hands of the rich - the rich become owners of large amounts of land
communal ownership of land - when all the people who live in a community own land
resolve that problem - solve the problem
(Source: 'Strong communities' secure land rights, Policy aims to end conflict with farmers, 21/10/2009, Pradit Ruangdit, link)
