Chiang Rai News
Chiang Khong Conservation Group Fights Junta’s Second Phase of Special Economic Zone
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CHIANG RAI – Residents in Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai recently formed a conservation group to protect a 3,000-rai forest zone in Ban Boon Reung, targeted for the second phase of the Junta’s Special Economic Zone.
The area is one of the most abundant wetlands in the north. It produces food, holds water run-off and sustains the Ing River, a tributary of the Mekong.
Residents fear the construction of more factories and industrial estates will increase the risk of floods, food security shortages and water pollution.
Concerns have also been raised about the haste with which the project is being pursued, as the National Council for Peace and Order early last year invoked Section 44 of the interim charter to revoke the forest declaration zone in Tak province’s Mae Sot district in preparation for the SEZs.
The second phase of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will start in Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Phanom, Narathiwat and Nong Khai provinces this year.
Suspicion hangs over Special Economic Zone rush…..Continue reading click here