Environment Minister Orders Urgent Land, Drought Fixes in Northeast
Environment Minister Surachai Chomklin visited Udon Thani to coordinate urgent action across five upper northeastern provinces on land encroachment, drought, and pollution. He ordered agencies to work together proactively, prioritize public needs, and deliver concrete results on water security, forest-zone allocation, and PM2.5 control.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Surachai Chomklin led a ministry delegation to Udon Thani on November 3, 2026, to monitor government directives and coordinate efforts across five upper northeastern provinces — Udon Thani, Bueng Kan, Loei, Nong Khai, and Nong Bua Lamphu — to urgently address the public's most pressing problems. At a meeting in the Office of Water Resources Region 10 in Mueang Udon Thani, local agencies reported progress and outlined obstacles. Surachai directed his subordinates to prioritize issues directly affecting people: land encroachment, water scarcity, and environmental problems. He demanded genuine, coordinated action across agencies, not fragmented efforts, with rapid results. Specifically on land encroachment and forest-zone allocation, he stressed that people must be able to live and work legally, securing their livelihoods and reducing human-forest conflict. Simultaneously, he ordered accelerated development and restoration of groundwater and surface water sources to ensure sufficient supply for public consumption, especially during the dry season, to drought-proof communities. He also instructed agencies to prepare for environmental hazards and PM2.5 dust at the source, not waiting until health impacts spread. The minister emphasized comprehensive environmental management: monitoring and tackling PM2.5, proper handling of municipal, food, and hazardous waste, controlling and treating wastewater at source, monitoring water quality in major rivers, and closely watching transboundary haze. All agencies must work systematically to protect environmental quality and public health nationwide. "The ministry's work must center on the people's suffering," Surachai said. "Whatever problems people face, we must rush to help and fix them; don't make them wait for assistance. Every agency must cooperate, act proactively, with integrity, transparency, and accountability. I want every official to have morale, because the goal is not just reporting results — it's delivering real benefits so people see concrete solutions." The ministry will continue integrating operations with agencies at all levels across the five provinces to resolve land encroachment, mitigate drought, and elevate environmental management alongside natural resource conservation, ensuring people live securely with good quality of life while sustaining natural resources.
