Last update:
2017-02-06

Jiew Kang Jue Pattana oil palm company, Thailand

Systematic pattern of targeting human rights defenders for their work in fighting against palm oil companies in Surat Thani province.



Description:

A palm oil company  has illegally occupied the community’s lands for the past 30 years after the expiry of their lease.

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Basic Data
Name of conflict:Jiew Kang Jue Pattana oil palm company, Thailand
Country:Thailand
State or province:Surat Thani
Location of conflict:Khlong Sai Pattana community
Accuracy of locationHIGH (Local level)
Source of Conflict
Type of conflict. 1st level:Biomass and Land Conflicts (Forests, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Management)
Type of conflict. 2nd level:Plantation conflicts (incl. Pulp
Land acquisition conflicts
Specific commodities:Palm oil
Project Details and Actors
Project details

In 2008. 146,441 hectares were covered by oil palm in Sarat Thani province (OAE 2008: 27), 20.2 yield per hectare [4].

Project area:216,500
Type of populationRural
Company names or state enterprises:Jiew Kang Jue Pattana Co. Ltd. from Thailand
Relevant government actors:Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO)
The Royal Thai government
Land Bank Administration Institute
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:Southern Peasant’s Federation of Thailand (SPFT)
People’s Movement for Just Society (P-Move)
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Amnesty International (AI)
Northeast Land Reform Network,
the Northern Peasant Federation,
the Assembly of the Poor,
Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA),
the People’s Movement for a Just Society (P-Move),
the Pa Sang Agricultural Cooperative for Community Land Title Deed,
the Network for Social and Political Reform,
the Network for Natural Resource and the Environment Management in Andaman,
the Khao Lao Yai-Pha Jandai Conservation Group,
Southern Peasant Federation Cooperative
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Protection International (PI)
Conflict & Mobilization
IntensityHIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...)
Reaction stageIn REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation)
Groups mobilizing:Farmers
Indigenous groups or traditional communities
Local ejos
Social movements
Women
Khlong Sai Pattana community
Forms of mobilization:Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism
Official complaint letters and petitions
Public campaigns
Impacts
Environmental ImpactsVisible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality
Potential: Soil contamination, Soil erosion
Health ImpactsVisible: Violence related health impacts (homicides, rape, etc..)
Socio-economical ImpactsVisible: Displacement, Loss of livelihood, Specific impacts on women, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession
Outcome
Project StatusIn operation
Conflict outcome / response:Criminalization of activists
Deaths, Assassinations, Murders
Court decision (victory for environmental justice)
Violent targeting of activists
Somporn Pattanaphum, a land rights activist was killed in 2010; In 2012 Montha Chukaew and Pranee Boonrat women activists were killed On 11 February 2015, Chai Bunthonglek (61 year old), a member of the Southern Peasant’s Federation of Thailand (SPFT)
Proposal and development of alternatives:A community land title deed with representatives of different networks and organizations.
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:No
Briefly explain:Still, the ALRO has failed to execute the court order and to expel the private company from the land. No land was redistributed among the peasants. The violence has increased against the activist in opposition.
Sources & Materials
Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc)

The Land Readjustment Act of 2004: governs processes for land re-plotting and development in order to improve land utilisation.

The Land Development Act of 1983: established a national Land Development Committee to improve the use and productivity of the country‘s agricultural

land.

The Agricultural Land Reform Act of 1975: aims to address the high rate

of tenancy in certain regions of the country, the large number of landless

households, and the encroachment of public lands for cultivation

References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

[1] Thailand: Ensure independent, impartial investigation into murder of land rights activists
[click to view]

[4] Oil palm expansion in South East Asia
[click to view]

Effects of oil palm expansion through direct and indirect land use change in Tapi river basin, Thailand, 2016
[click to view]

[2] Southern land rights activist shot dead
[click to view]

[3] SURAT THANI PEASANTS COMMEMORATE DEFENDERS WHO DIED TO DEFEND LAND RIGHTS. A STATEMENT BY THE SOUTHERN PEASANT FEDERATION OF THAILAND.
[click to view]

Thailand: Joint Statement: End Impunity and Ensure Justice for Community under Attack
[click to view]

NYT: Murdered afer defending Thailand's environment
[click to view]

Meta information
Contributor:SM (ICTA-UAB) and Carros de Combate
Last update18/08/2019
Conflict ID:2524
Comments
Legal notice / Aviso legal
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