Activists and the public believed that the NCPO was serious about ecological affairs when it appointed Gen Dapong Rattanasuwan as minister for natural resources and environment Known as a sidekick of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha during the crackdown on red shirts in 2010,Gen Dapong came to the post with a highly ambitious goal stopping public forest land encroachment and increasing forest areas by 10 persent
The project sounds noble and during the later half of 2014 he public has been fed with reports of talking back the forest various clampdowns and removals of encroachers in national parks and protected forest
Initially,the crackdowns focused on hotel operators or businesses in touristy beaches,such as in Phuket Yet operations subsequently shifted to local villagers who live in protected forest areas and national parks