Thailand - Context and Land Governance | Land Portal
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The most prosperous country in the Mekong region, Thailand also has the longest-standing land policy and practices, including an uninterrupted tradition of private land ownership. The Land Code Promulgating Act was issued in 1954 and was most recently amended in 2008. This legal framework has remained essentially stable through a succession of varying political regimes, while the status of land has changed dramatically. In 1961, Thailand had 53% forest cover; by 2006, that had shrunk to 25%. Agricultural land expanded rapidly through forest clearance, then decreased through conversion to urban or commercial uses. In recent years, agricultural land has recovered, and now 43% of the country’s total area is used for farming. Increased population, the liberalization of land markets, and the growth of agribusinesses are among the factors affecting land ownership; there is a growing number of landless or land-poor farmers.

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The VGGT in Thailand

Thailand is part of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and as such has endorsed the VGGT on 11 May 2012. The CFS at its 38th (Special Session) on 11 May 2012, among other points: i) endorsed the VGGT; ii) noted that, according to their title  the VGGT are voluntary and not legally binding; iii) and encouraged all stakeholders to promote, make use of and support the implementation of the VGGT when formulating relevant strategies, policies and programmes. (See FAO Council Report of the 38th (Special) Session of the Committee on World Food Security (11 May 2012), Rome, 11-15 June 2012). Thailand also endorsed the VGGT as part of the 7th Berlin Agriculture Ministers´ Summit of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) 2015. The GFFA Communiqué of the 7th Berlin Agriculture Ministers´ Summit 2015, states among other things:

"We, the agriculture ministers assembled at the GFFA 2015, advocate: […]implementing and applying the "Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security" and the "Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems" at regional, national and local level, and we support the FAO in its efforts; [...]"

 

Policy, legal and organizational frameworks

Thailand has the longest-standing land policy and practices, including an uninterrupted tradition of private land ownership. The Land Code Promulgating Act was issued in 1954 and was most recently amended in 2008. This legal framework has remained essentially stable through a succession of varying political regimes, while the status of land has changed dramatically.

Thailand‘s land administration system is viewed as an efficient and transparent model for other countries. Multiple government ministries and agencies are involved, each authorized by different laws and with separate mandates. Responsibility for agricultural and residential land management, including titling and registration, rests with the Department of Lands of the Ministry of Interior, which operates through a system of provincial and district land offices. Most administrative procedures can be completed in less than a day, and land registration costs around 1% of the property’s value.

The National Land Allocation Committee that is established in the Land Code is now chaired by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). Formed in 2002, MONRE is responsible for water and forest management, among other areas. Among MONRE agencies, the Royal Forest Department (RFD) has historically been a powerful actor managing national forest reserves and protected areas. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives includes the Agricultural Land Reform Office and Land Development Department, which are responsible for allocating land to farmers and land-use classification, respectively.

The 1954 Land Code establishes a division between private property, which is legally protected by land titles, and state land, which includes all land “over which no one has possessory rights”. State land may be given as concessions, rented or leased by the government; separate provisions pertain to mining and forestry. Alone in Southeast Asia, Thai law allows foreign investors to own land, under particular restrictions and at lower amounts than Thai citizens. Among other relevant pieces of legislation are the 1975 Agricultural Land Reform Act, 1983 Land Development Act, and 2004 Land Readjustment Act. In 2007, Thailand passed a Community Forest Bill after more than 15 years of consultations between the RFD and civil society groups. However, in 2009 the Constitutional Court ruled that the 1961 National Park Act took precedence, and the Community Forest Bill never became law. The MONRE minister noted that many other land allocation schemes have failed as land fell into the hands of landlords.

According to the interim Constitution promulgated by the military government that took power in 2014, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order “shall have power to order, restrain, or perform any act, whether such act has legislative, executive, or judicial force.” This includes amending or reversing existing laws or procedures, including those concerning land. For instance, in May 2015, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha issued Order No. 17/2015 to declare five special economic zones (SEZs) resulting in expropriation of land. In order to narrow disparities in land access, the government plans to allocate 195,000 rai (31,200 ha) of state land in 47 provinces to over 43,000 landless families; the land will be managed by cooperatives, not privately owned.

Read more about policy, legal and organizational frameworks in Thailand under the following thematic sections:

 

Transparency

Browse Transparency International data from the Global corruption barometer to find out more about corruption in the land sector in Thailand.

 

Gender and land

As in many countries, gender is also a factor affecting access to land. Legally, women have equal rights of land ownership, but men customarily control most land, particularly in rural areas.

Browse the FAO gender and land rights database for more information on gender and land in Thailand.

 

Legal recognition and allocation of tenure rights and duties

The 1954 Land Code establishes a division between private property, which is legally protected by land titles, and state land, which includes all land “over which no one has possessory rights”. State land may be given as concessions, rented or leased by the government; separate provisions pertain to mining and forestry. Alone in Southeast Asia, Thai law allows foreign investors to own land, under particular restrictions and at lower amounts than Thai citizens.

In 2007, Thailand passed a Community Forest Bill after more than 15 years of consultations between the RFD and civil society groups. However, in 2009 the Constitutional Court ruled that the 1961 National Park Act took precedence, and the Community Forest Bill never became law. The MONRE minister noted that many other land allocation schemes have failed as land fell into the hands of landlords.

Approximately 40 percent of the total area of the country has been classified as private land, including 71 percent of agricultural land, with the highest rates in southern provinces. Analysts claim that smallholders’ rights are still less than those of organizations or larger land-holders, due to varying entitlements in different laws. While those issued titles enjoy high tenure security, the system has not reached residents of urban informal settlements or occupants of forestland. In such cases, other types of temporary occupancy and use rights are issued, with fewer rights than for full ownership.

Nearly 19 percent of Thai land is classified as protected, including national parks and wildlife reserves – the highest rate in mainland Southeast Asia excluding Cambodia. Indigenous groups and migrants, living mainly in the northern highlands, follow customary laws and practices governing access and use of land. Much of this land is classified as state forestland, and national laws do not recognize customary land rights. The Community Forest Bill accepts the legal right of forest communities to preserve and manage forest land, but community rights are limited to “original forest dwellers” who have lived in forest areas for at least ten years. According to civil society advocates, this provision excluded 20,000 communities living on the rim of protected forests.

Landless households made up between 6-14% of the total in the 1990s. In order to narrow disparities in land access, the government plans to allocate 195,000 rai (31,200 ha) of state land in 47 provinces to over 43,000 landless families; the land will be managed by cooperatives, not privately owned.

Both private and public land can be leased for terms up to 30 years. Between 11 and 30% of agricultural land is under some form of tenancy. As much as one-third of agricultural land in the central region is leased, with much lower amounts in other regions. Thailand’s previous constitution guaranteed compensation for expropriation of private property for the public interest. These procedures were generally followed in the legal system, with several exceptions in cases of indigenous people losing land for infrastructure development. The 2014 interim constitution does not contain any provisions about land transfer.

In 2014, the government approved a plan to create 10 special economic zones (SEZs) in a total of 90 sub-districts in border areas. The SEZs are a part of a national strategy to stimulate economic growth, attract foreign investment, foster development of border areas and support ASEAN integration. In May 2015, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha issued Order No. 17/2015 to announce the first five special economic zones (SEZs), covering an area of 1.83 million rai (293,200 ha), which resulted in expropriation of land. The new economic zones are in addition to 44 existing industrial parks and six technology parks managed by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT).

 

Redistributive reforms

Landless households made up between 6-14% of the total in the 1990s. In order to narrow disparities in land access, the government plans to allocate 195,000 rai (31,200 ha) of state land in 47 provinces to over 43,000 landless families; the land will be managed by cooperatives, not privately owned.

Expropriation and compensation

In May 2015, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha issued Order No. 17/2015 to declare five special economic zones (SEZs) resulting in expropriation of land.

The Constitution provides that expropriation may take place for "public utilities, necessary national defense, exploitation of national resources, town and country planning, promotion and preservation of the quality of the environment… For more browse the qualitative dataset developed by Tagliarino (2018) to assess how national laws in Thailand measure up against the international standard on expropriation and resettlement as established by VGGT section 16.

 

Records of tenure rights

Thailand‘s land administration system is viewed as an efficient and transparent model for other countries. Multiple government ministries and agencies are involved, each authorized by different laws and with separate mandates. Responsibility for agricultural and residential land management, including titling and registration, rests with the Department of Lands of the Ministry of Interior, which operates through a system of provincial and district land offices. Most administrative procedures can be completed in less than a day, and land registration costs around 1% of the property’s value.

Thailand undertook a large-scale land titling program from 1984-2004, aiming to clarify existing but undocumented ownership patterns and improve land administration in a comprehensive legal system. Over 11.5 million titles were issued during this period. The program was jointly funded by the Royal Thai Government, World Bank, and Government of Australia, and was viewed as a notable success.

 

Resolution of disputes over tenure rights

Prior to widespread land titling, many public land areas faced common problems of encroachment, illegal occupation, and overlapping claims. At present, most land conflicts are concentrated in forest areas of different categories, including national parks and protected areas. Underlying causes include prior clearance and usage of forest lands prior to declaration as forest reserves; new in-migration due to competition over economic resources; speculation and collusion; policy ambiguity; and bureaucratic overlap. The main parties to forest land conflict are indigenous communities, conservation interests (including the RFD), and companies developing infrastructure and mining.

According to the United Nations, a series of disappearances and unexplained killings have been linked to land activism. Prominent cases since 2014 include Chai Bunthonglek, a village leader in Surat Thani province involved in a land dispute with an oil palm plantation, and Por Cha Lee Rakcharoen (Billy), a Karen activist who had filed a lawsuit against authorities for allegedly destroying homes of 20 indigenous families in Kaeng Krachan National Park. Most recently, Den Kamlae, a land rights leader in Chaiyaphum province went missing in April 2016; weeks later, the provincial governor issued a warrant for his arrest.

Most land disputes are handled peacefully and efficiently in the civil court system. Agricultural communities have used a mix of legal, legislative, and direct action strategies to push for land reform. For instance, the Northern Peasants Federation (NPF) and the Village Development and Strengthening Organization (VDSO) have joined with the Peoples’ Movement for a More Just Society (PMove) to press for community land titles, progressive land taxes, and a National Land Bank to assist with land redistribution.

 

Selected indicators

Distribution of agricultural holders by sex (female - Share %) according to the FAO Land and Gender Database.

Measurement unit: 
Percentage (%)

It measures the area (1'000 Ha) covered by forest.

Measurement unit: 
1'000 ha

Forest land administered by governments: This category includes all forest land that is legally claimed as exclusively belonging to the state.

Measurement unit: 
Million ha

Forest land designated by governments for Indigenous Peoples and local communities: Ownership of forest land under this category remains claimed by the state but some rights have been recognized by

Measurement unit: 
Million ha

GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GDP is gross domestic product converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates.

Measurement unit: 
PPP$ 2011

This indicator presents the score of the "Land Owership" component of the Global Open Data Index (GODI) 2016/2017. 

Measurement unit: 
Index (0; 100)

Estimate of the percent of total Indigenous and Community Lands - formally recognised by the State - as a percentage of the country's total land area.

Measurement unit: 
Percentage (%)

This indicator is a sub-component of the Restricted Resources and Entitlements Indicator and measures whether women and men have equal and secure access to land use, control and ownership.

Measurement unit: 
Index (0; 1)

Rural population refers to the share (%) of people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the ratio between Urban Population and Total Population.

Measurement unit: 
Percentage (%)

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Forest land administered by governments: This category includes all forest land that is legally claimed as exclusively belonging to the state.

Measurement unit: 
Million ha

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Arable land (1'000 Ha) is the land under temporary agricultural crops (multiple-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens

Measurement unit: 
1'000 ha

It measures the area (1'000 Ha) covered by forest.

Measurement unit: 
1'000 ha

Land area is the total area (1'000 ha) of the country excluding area under inland water bodies.

Measurement unit: 
1'000 ha

Land used permanently (five years or more) to grow herbaceous forage crops through cultivation or naturally (wild prairie or grazing land).

Measurement unit: 
1'000 ha

Land cultivated with long-term crops which do not have to be replanted for several years (such as cocoa and coffee), land under trees and shrubs producing flowers (such as roses and jasmine), and n

Measurement unit: 
1'000 ha

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