Large palm oil companies will lose their lucrative access to forest areas after the Royal Forest Department announced it would not renew plantation concessions.
Deputy director-general Somchai Masathian said the land plots should be allocated to local farmers rather than wealthy investors.
"The poor are our top priority in allotting land from palm plantations," Mr Somchai said, pointing to recent disputes between locals and major palm oil companies over access to expired concession plots.
For 30 years, palm concession holders have paid just 30 baht per rai to the state, Mr Somchai sai.
More than 200,000 rai of land has been granted to companies, including big players in the palm oil sector. Several of these companies have managed to secure upwards of 20,000 rai to plant their crop.
While the plantations have already brought their owners a fortune, thousands of locals have been denied access to farm those lands, Mr Somchai said.
He said it was for this reason that no new concessions would be granted or renewed.
“Under the law, people should have equal access to forest land,” he said, adding that provincial governors had already been instructed to implement the new policy.