Nearly 600 people in Phang Nga province's Khura Buri district, who claim 9,046 rai of land that overlaps with national parks and reserved forest areas, have called on the government to resolve the dispute over the right to use and occupy the land.
About 25 village heads in the district signed an open letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the National Reform Committee to resolve the overlapping land problem in hopes that villagers will get "their land" back.
The problem has plagued residents' lives for 36 years, since the Forestry Department announced a national forest reserve in Khura Buri district in 1974.
Villagers' land also overlaps with Si Phang Nga National Park, which was established in 1988, Laem Son National Park, set up in 1996, and a mangrove forest reserve set up in 1987.
Veerachai Pobduang, headman of Boh Hin village in Khura Buri district, said: "Our ancestors lived here for more than 58 years before the Forestry Department announced this area as a national forest reserve in 1974. But the authorities did not issue any title deeds to people who had occupied the land for a long time.
"We had no rights to sell or mortgage our lands or even to use it as collateral." 
About 85 villagers claim ownership of 1,143 rai of land in villages that were declared part of the national forest reserve.
In 1977, land officials did a survey on the land and issued Nor Sor 3 Kor certification, which allowed the land to be sold, leased, used as mortgage collateral and so on. But holders of this certificate cannot leave the land unattended for more than 12 years - villagers found they had no right to use their land as collateral for a loan or to sell it.
Meanwhile, many plots in nearby villages, especially in highland valleys, were bought by rich entrepreneurs, politicians and high-ranking officials. Not a lot of land is still owned by villagers, Veerachai said.
A 73-year-old farmer, Nob Thosakul, said she has lived on 24 rai of land with a Nor Sor 3 Kor certificate since 1977 but cannot use her land as collateral. She wants money to invest in a rubber plantation.
"I have occupied 24 rai of land since 1967 and the land officials issued a Nor Sor 3 Kor 1977. I paid land tax every year but have not been able to use my land as a collateral and am unable to sell it," she said.
Boonchoo Tholee, headman at Moo 10 Ban Bang Lae, Tambon Khura in Khura Buri, said about 1,657 rai of land owned by 156 villagers had been declared part of Khao Suan Nom national forest reserve, or Sri Phang Nga National Park, and a mangrove forest. People were stuck living on disputed land without any rights to use the land.
"Some of the plots inherited from their ancestors," he said. "But now they no longer try to sell, or get a mortgage for it, or transfer ownership to their descendants. They have been deemed as occupying the land illegally."
In a bid to resolve the dispute, Veerachai said villagers living in disputed areas handed a petition to Prime Minister's Office Minister Satit Wongnongtaey two months ago. But there has been no progress yet toward resolving the matter.
Permsak Makarapirom, a member of the Committee on National Reform, said the government should set up a neutral panel with representatives from the government and a civic group to try to find a resolution to the land-ownership problem.
He also suggested that the government stop arresting people who claim to own land deemed as national forest land until they can prove their ownership right.
Veerachai said the government should bring the issue in Cabinet and find the best solution. "This is not forest encroachment. We just want the right to own our land and use it to earn a living."