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𝗙𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 — 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵!
- Manushya Foundation
- Oct 17
- 3 min read
On this 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, Manushya Foundation exposes how Thailand’s Forest Reclamation Policy has criminalized the Sab Wai villagers — 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿. Small-scale farmers are unfairly blamed and criminalized for driving deforestation instead of being recognized as guardians of the forest who have sustainably cared for these lands for generations. Since 2019, Manushya has fought nationally and at the UN to defend their land rights and stop their eviction.
𝗙𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 — 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲
❤️🩹 On this 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, we share the 𝗦𝗮𝗯 𝗪𝗮𝗶 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 —𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝘀𝗼-𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
🌳 𝗔 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 — 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿
#Greenwashing – Thailand’s 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 was supposed to protect the environment. Instead, it has been weaponized to criminalize forest-dependent communities — pushing them into poverty while allowing elites and corporations to profit.
In 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲, 𝟭𝟰 𝗦𝗮𝗯 𝗪𝗮𝗶 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 were arrested and later convicted for “encroaching” on Sai Thong National Park — land they had lived and farmed long before it was declared state forest.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀. They were:
𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 with trespassing in 2016
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 for “encroaching, utilizing, and clearing forest land”
𝗥𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 when the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict, 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗮𝗶𝗹 and ordering them to pay heavy fines
Thanks to civil society support, the villagers were 𝗯𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 and remained free while awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling.
But in 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭, the 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟭 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗷𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝟯 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻, and 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹. Today, the community continues to face 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁.
✊🏽 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗵𝘆𝗮’𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 & 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆
Since 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗵𝘆𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 has stood firmly with the Sab Wai villagers — pursuing justice at both 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 and 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 levels. Our efforts have focused on:
🇺🇳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Following our UN Complaint (2019), in a 𝗨𝗡 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟵 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵, UN Experts recognized the Sab Wai villagers as “𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀” who must be 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱.
🇺🇳 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽 𝗨𝗡 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮): To prevent further injustice, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗵𝘆𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗡 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 urging the Thai government to ensure that 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 while awaiting a fair and sustainable resolution.
🇹🇭 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Following our sustained advocacy, Thai officials were urged to assess the human rights violations suffered by the community and to find remedies consistent with international law.
✨ 𝗔 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗪𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 — 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿
In 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, the 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 (𝗡𝗛𝗥𝗖𝗧) concluded that the Sab Wai villagers’ rights had been violated and called on authorities to:
Delay evictions
Provide farmland
Revise discriminatory forest regulations
❌ Yet, months later, no meaningful action has been taken to implement these recommendations. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀.
🫂 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝗡𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴, Sab Wai’s courageous community leader and Woman Human Rights Defender (WHRD), continues to advocate for justice. On 9 October 2025, she joined the 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 (𝗣-𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲) to demand the adoption of an 𝗔𝗺𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁 that would protect more than 𝟰𝟴,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 criminalized under Thailand’s forest policies.
🌿 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲
As 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, we at 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗵𝘆𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 reaffirm our solidarity with the Sab Wai villagers and all forest communities whose livelihoods and dignity are under attack.
On this 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁y, we call for:
⚖️ 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀
🏛️ 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀
🌾 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹
✊🏽 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.
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