A forest of Thailand (Source: www.iucn.org) Bangkok (VNA) – The RoyalForest Department of Thailand is introducing a new forest plantation model thatit says can cut costs while creating more green space.
The Bangkok Post reported that theplan is part of the government's 20-year national plan to increase the amountof forested area to 55 percent, against the current rate of 30 percent.
The new model was introduced afterthe department realised its current forestation budget and model was notachieving enough, said Attapon Charoenchansa, director-general of the ForestDepartment.
The department spent almost 900million baht (29.2 million USD) on planting trees across 800,000 rai of land inthe last fiscal year, at an expense of 10,960 baht per rai (1 rai = 0.16 ha) toplant and maintain trees.
Despite the budget, the rate offorested land in Thailand has been decreasing - a trend which Attapon blames onlandless villagers who reoccupy newly-planted forests.
Therefore, the department will changeits role from forest growers to sprout providers. Locals will plant the treeson the allocated land, benefit economically from those trees, and the countrywill have a greater number of trees to improve the environment.
The new model will be much cheaperand solve issues with trespassing. It will cost the department only 1,000 bahtper rai, and the money will be spent on growing sprouts to give to localcommunities.
Under the plan, villagers must complywith the "20 percent rule". In practice, each community must earmark20 percent of their land to plant three types of trees. The first kind arepricey native trees that already exist in nature, such as teak, rosewood andrubber trees, which villagers won't be able to fell.
The second type are the"economic trees" that villagers can cut down for personal projects.These trees must, however, be replanted right away. The third type are edibletrees.
Attapon said the new model will betested on more than 300,000 rai of land across 13 Thai provinces. So far, the forestdepartment has prepared 5.06 million sprouts for the trial phase in these 13provinces. It also expects that the trial phase can create over 5 million raiof forested area.
If completed, he said, the modelmight be used to reforest the land the government gave to poor communities in ascheme which earmarks public land in degraded forest to give to villagers, in abid to reduce income inequality and solve the problem of landlessness.-VNA
The Bangkok Post reported that theplan is part of the government's 20-year national plan to increase the amountof forested area to 55 percent, against the current rate of 30 percent.
The new model was introduced afterthe department realised its current forestation budget and model was notachieving enough, said Attapon Charoenchansa, director-general of the ForestDepartment.
The department spent almost 900million baht (29.2 million USD) on planting trees across 800,000 rai of land inthe last fiscal year, at an expense of 10,960 baht per rai (1 rai = 0.16 ha) toplant and maintain trees.
Despite the budget, the rate offorested land in Thailand has been decreasing - a trend which Attapon blames onlandless villagers who reoccupy newly-planted forests.
Therefore, the department will changeits role from forest growers to sprout providers. Locals will plant the treeson the allocated land, benefit economically from those trees, and the countrywill have a greater number of trees to improve the environment.
The new model will be much cheaperand solve issues with trespassing. It will cost the department only 1,000 bahtper rai, and the money will be spent on growing sprouts to give to localcommunities.
Under the plan, villagers must complywith the "20 percent rule". In practice, each community must earmark20 percent of their land to plant three types of trees. The first kind arepricey native trees that already exist in nature, such as teak, rosewood andrubber trees, which villagers won't be able to fell.
The second type are the"economic trees" that villagers can cut down for personal projects.These trees must, however, be replanted right away. The third type are edibletrees.
Attapon said the new model will betested on more than 300,000 rai of land across 13 Thai provinces. So far, the forestdepartment has prepared 5.06 million sprouts for the trial phase in these 13provinces. It also expects that the trial phase can create over 5 million raiof forested area.
If completed, he said, the modelmight be used to reforest the land the government gave to poor communities in ascheme which earmarks public land in degraded forest to give to villagers, in abid to reduce income inequality and solve the problem of landlessness.-VNA
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