Govt to build roads for troops to protect border forests: PM

PM Paetongtarn announces plans to build roads for troops to improve forest border protection against encroachment and illegal logging.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced on Thursday that her government would build small roads to allow troops convenient access to forest borders, helping to protect them from encroachment and illegal logging.

Paetongtarn posted on her Facebook page that she held an urgent meeting on Thursday after visiting Surin, where the commander of the Second Army Area informed her that forest reserves and parks along the border had been encroached upon.

“Currently, it’s difficult to monitor the forests because they are located along the border and there are no roads to access them. Operations by officials are difficult and very slow,” Paetongtarn said in her post.

She explained that she then called an urgent meeting with the permanent secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, the chiefs of five parks along the border, and the army chief of staff.

The meeting agreed to accelerate the construction of roads for surveillance within the parks to prevent illegal logging and ensure the protection of the forests, the prime minister said.

She added that the roads would be built to make it easier and faster for forest protection officials to travel within the parks.

The government would also develop communication and electricity systems for the forest rangers, enabling them to communicate effectively.

(2025/06/12-00:00)