Two Chiang Mai adventure parks raided for encroachment

A photo from the website of the operator of Flying Squirrels.

Royal Forestry officials and tourist police have inspected two tourist sites in Chiang Mai offering adventure attractions, Monjam Zipline and Flying Squirrels, as part of a joint operation against encroachment on forest land.

Atthapol Charoenchansa, deputy chief of the Royal Forestry Department (RFD), said the inspection of Monjam Zipline in tambon Pong Yaeng of Mae Rim district indicated that part of it is in the first-class river basin of Mae Rim National Forest and some is in the Nong Hoi Royal Project.

Application would be made to seize the land back under the National Reserved Forest Act BE 2507 (1964) and the Building Control Act BE 2522 (1979).

The Flying Squirrels Park was earlier found to be encroaching on Mae Rim National Park and the case is with the prosecutors, he said. The buildings and other structures would later be demolished.

The department had inspected 12 adventure parks in Chiang Mai in total, and seven of them were found to be encroaching on the forest. Three of them had already been demolished.

Chiwaphap Chiwatham, who heads the RFD’s forest protection taskforce Phayak Phrai, said the department had first extended the period for the Monjam Zipline operator to present the land ownership documents, and finally concluded that the park had encroached on the forest.

Surachate Hakparn, acting deputy commissioner of the Tourism Police Bureau, said the inspection was part of a joint operation against forest encroachment by zipline operators in the province.

Park operators had encroached on the first-class river basin and put up buildings without permission, some of which obstructed the flow of natural waterways.

He said authorities were duty bound to take legal action against people who destroy the country’s natural forests.

There had also been complaints about the safety of such adventure attractions, where some foreign tourists had died in accidents. The raids would help maintain the country’s tourism image.



