Move to axe pier welcome

The long-overdue decision by the Khao Laem Ya-Mu Koh Samet National Park to take legal action against Rayong Resort for illegally building a 380-metre long pier into the sea which is covered by the park is a welcome move. It also raises questions over why it took the national park authorities so long to enforce the law. The park is a unit in the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNPWPC). It claimed the resort had sought permission from the Harbour Department in 1985 to build the pier stretching 110 metres into the sea without seeking permission from the Royal Forest Department which then oversaw all national parks throughout the country.

Somehow later on, the pier was further extended by another 270 metres. It was not clear whether the construction of this additional section was legal or not.

The park served notice to the owners of Rayong Resort last Nov 3 about the alleged transgression of the park boundary and asked for clarification from them within 30 days.

The owners of the resort did not show up and the waiting period has now expired. There are indications they plan to take the case to the Rayong provincial court.

The park chief, Sumate Saithong, should be commended for having the courage and sense of duty to do the right thing that many of his predecessors unforgivably failed to achieve. As a matter of fact, several former chiefs of the Royal Forest Department and its successor, the DNPWPC, should be faulted for their failure to enforce the law.

What is mind boggling about this belated move against the alleged offender is why it took so long before the park began to take action. This begs clarification, especially from the DNPWPC.

The pier, jutting into the open sea as it does, is a big structure that can be seen miles away. There is no way it can be hidden like some illegally-built resorts built on faraway mountaintops.

On the contrary, it seems the pier was built to be shown to be seen and used of course. It is inconceivable how the structure has eluded the eyes and ears of the authorities concerned for so long.

It might be possible that a lack of cooperation or rivalry between the Harbour Department and the Royal Forest Department prevented the latter from stopping the pier from the outset.

But the real problem with encroachment of park lands, including the land in Sirinat National Park in Phuket, lies with lax law enforcement as most officials concerned are not serious about strictly enforcing the law consistently except during suppression campaigns.

However, as far as the pier case is concerned, as well as other high-profile cases of transgression, it seems unfair to put all of the blame on officials for their failure to do their jobs. In countless cases, political interference has frustrated attempts by officials to perform their duties as required.

There may be people who think the pier should be put to good use for the public rather than for the benefit of the resort and, therefore, it should not be dismantled. But that is beside the point. The pier was illegally built in open defiance of the law. As such, it should be torn down like all the other illegal structures in other parklands.

The pier, jutting into the open sea as it does, is a big structure that can be seen miles away. There is no way it can be hidden.