The government will seriously prosecute people who set fires in forests no matter whoever they are or whatever their intentions, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa stated.

“Some 99.8 per cent of forest fires that have occurred recently were caused by humans. One burner arrested recently used matches tied to mosquito coils to burn the forest,” he revealed.

Varawut said the government has always dealt seriously with such people but did not tell the public about the operations.

“However, we will now show the public that we are really arresting the offenders and fining them, whether they are local people or entrepreneurs,” he said.

Varawut told the Department of Forestry director-general and his ministry’s permanent secretary that “the main duty of companies that have received concessions from the department for using forest land is to take care of the trees in the area. Allowing a fire in their areas goes against the conditions of the concession,” he warned.