This submission, however, had not been intended for media release. The Royal Government has shown good leadership in sharing a draft law with non-governmental groups and requesting their comment. This new willingness to consult is of benefit to both the Government and the community. The Government benefits by ensuring that the laws finally adopted will be popular and well received.
Community groups benefit from having their concerns raised and their rights and needs met.
NGOs are of the opinion that more time for consultation will be of great benefit to the development of the Forestry Law. In this project, the Government has taken the unprecedented steps of providing compensation to project-affected people and of requesting NGOs to monitor the disbursement of the compensation. NGOs were able to raise a number of important problems, some of which are already being dealt with, and others for which solutions will hopefully be found. We need to see the final results before praising the Royal Government on these and other initiatives. However, in the meantime, the input of NGOs and other groups should not be seen as criticism, but rather as helpful feedback to help ensure the best results for both government and the people.