OPINION

No sense in new forest diktat

Re: "Forest dictatorship at Kaeng Krachan", (Opinion, March 3).

Historically, the main objective of government forestry officials was to grow, log, and sell valuable commercial timber from state lands. Traditional shifting cultivation was seen as an impediment to producing large trees that could be logged since shifting cultivators returned to the same plots of forest after 10 to 20 years to cut the regrowth of trees and plant their rotational crops. Thus, while somewhat misguided, the rationale of government forest authorities in opposing shifting cultivation was understandable.

Nowadays, Thailand does not legally permit any timber harvesting from the country's natural forests. The primary objectives in managing natural forests are now for protection of watersheds, enhancement of wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and sequestration of carbon.

With the "new" forest management objectives in place, it is no longer sensible for government forest authorities to oppose the centuries-old shifting cultivation practices of forest-dwellers. The habits of shifting cultivators, in fact, contribute to achieving current forest management objectives. The small gaps in the forest created by shifting cultivators result in more diverse and healthier forests overall as the regenerating farm plots allow for a wider range of tree species to grow than in so-called "undisturbed forests".

Generations of shifting cultivators living in the same forested areas -- without loss or destruction of those forests -- are a testament to the sustainability of these practices. It is time for government forest authorities to embrace the legitimate and sustainable practices of these proven forest protectors.

Let's see THAI take off again

Re: "THAI pipe dreams", (PostBag, March 5).

Let us not forget a few of the intrinsic characteristics of Thai organisations as typified by THAI.

THAI and other Thai companies are not casual setups to be made fun of. THAI Airways originated in 1960, having separated itself from Siam Airways, and as a fledgling airline was chaperoned by SAS until the early 1990s by which time it emerged as one of the world's best airlines. The management of THAI was impeccable. Its quality was second to none and it was acclaimed for its characteristic keeping of time for arrivals and departures.

To those of us "bitten by the THAI bug" and love its service, we sincerely hope it can tide over its current woes, and re-emerge even stronger as a "Family of THAI brand National Carrier service". We surely wish THAI a true and robust recovery.

Will graft ever end?

Re: "Asset amazement", (PostBag, March 6).

We ordinary citizens always chastise politicians and government officials for using their power to enrich themselves while in offices. We ridicule, taunt and call them names.

But have you ever asked yourself, "If I were in their shoes would I do the same?"

In Thailand, corruption in government offices is a common practice; so common that it is considered a norm. The catchphrase is "Everybody does it". If you don't go with the flow you'll become an outcast. Eventually, you will succumb to peer pressures.

I always ask myself, "Somsak, if you were a traffic cop and you stopped a car for speeding, the driver then handed you a 500 baht note, what would you do?" Snatch it or arrest the driver for bribing a police officer.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I would do.

But I'm sure the upright citizens who are PostBag regular contributors would definitely do the latter.

Passport not the answer

Re: "Private firms may get vaccine import nod" (March 5) is most encouraging. If the government, because of budgetary constraints, can only afford to vaccinate a majority of the population then private hospitals must step in to fill the gap.

Recently, the Bangkok Post carried a story about "vaccine passports" which are now promoted as the answer by the tourist sector. It is said that a holder of such a passport would not need to enter quarantine. While highly useful to show the holder has been vaccinated, these passports are only part of the answer. A tourist waving this vaccine passport can still be a Covid carrier and, while not affected themselves, may still pass on the virus to others. Covid passports or no Covid passports, quarantining arrivals has to continue until a large proportion of residents, have been vaccinated.

Quarantine kills tourism

When will the tourist officials get it together? Every week there is a new plan to bring tourists back to Thailand. No tourist is willing to spend 3-14 days in quarantine. If a tourist is proved to be Covid-free there is no reason they should have to quarantine.