<p>The Supreme Court has sentenced an indigenous Karen woman to 2 years and 8 months in prison for encroaching on National Park land despite pleas that the piece of land was passed down through her family.</p>

<p>The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) issued a statement following the inscription of the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex as World Heritage site acknowledging the World Heritage Committee&#39;s decision and emphasise that nature conservation must respect the rights of indigenous peoples to the territories they have traditionally owned and used.</p>

<p>The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex was named a natural World Heritage site during the World Heritage Committee meeting on 26 July despite ongoing concerns about human rights violations against indigenous communities in the forest area.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Thai government is insisting on nominating the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex for World Heritage status despite a recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the nomination to be postponed due to concerns regarding human rights violations against indigenous communities in the area</p>

<p>Thailand&rsquo;s nomination of the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex for World Heritage status should once again be deferred due to concerns about violations of the rights of local indigenous communities, says the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).</p>

<p>Concern continues to rise among civil society for the safety of members of the Bang Kloi Karen indigenous community who returned to their ancestral land at Chai Phaen Din in the Kaeng Krachan forest, after reports of a possible military operation to evacuate them from the forest. &nbsp;</p>