PM Yingluck Instructs 10 Provincial Governors To Grow Upstream Forests Within 3 Months

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed as well as some nonsense troll posts.

[rubl]

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

Read it again. PM Yingluck has instructed that the planting of trees be implemented within three months.

Christ I'm getting sick and tired of the knee jerk stupidity laden comments regarding whatever the Thais do. And no, I am not an 'apologist'.

"The prime minister has instructed the governors of 10 provinces, from upstream to downstream rivers, to finish the growing of water-retention forestland within 3 months."

"And in order to help speed up such works, PM Yingluck has assigned related agencies and ministries to take charge of all coherent projects, while instructing the 10 governors to complete the planting of fast-growing trees and the construction of check dams within 3 months."

Your knee jerk reply missed the point of my post. The article is poorly written and the real problem is the illegal logging which has stripped Thailand of much of its forests. Planting trees will do no good if they are just chopped down as soon as they are big enough. The problem of course is that people in high places make the profits from the illegal logging industry so it is unlikely to change. These are probably the same people who will skim a good portion of the cost of planting the trees.

Somehow I doubt the wood of these 'fast growing trees' will be of a quality which attracts illegal loggers

[jonnyscot]

I think this is quite a good move,,,,, wonder if they'll offer an incentive for the landowners in the affected areas to plant the trees by themselves, they had a similar incentive a few years back in Scotland, paying the farmer in stage payments (on completion of regular inspections) for planting of young trees to return parts of the countryside to its former glory,,

I would also be concerned about rushing this through though, especially since the general expectation is for a high level of rainfall this year too,,,,,, ,,,unless maybe they have found a new variety of fast growing tree that will be fully established within 3 months,, hehe

[timewilltell]

Obviously she meant finish the planting not finish the growing. It is a good idea but the illegal logging I agree is the base problem. That and the lack of any detail or budget. How can the prime minister demand such a huge task without having the budget at least sketched in? How does she hope to monitor all this when Thailand seems to be devoid of leadership at any level at all. Some serious work to be done in the organization, effective productivity and anti-corruption measures before any real improvement is going to be seen in Thailand. We seem to be going backwards at a rapid rate under this administration and I wish the alternative were any better. Thailand is begging for a true leader who has the good of the country at heart.

[pomchop]

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

stupid misleading healine...read a bit deeper to see the idea is to PLANT the trees withiin three months..

while instructing the 10 governors to complete the planting of fast-growing trees and the construction of check dams within 3 months.

[pomchop]

I think this is quite a good move,,,,, wonder if they'll offer an incentive for the landowners in the affected areas to plant the trees by themselves, they had a similar incentive a few years back in Scotland, paying the farmer in stage payments (on completion of regular inspections) for planting of young trees to return parts of the countryside to its former glory,,

I would also be concerned about rushing this through though, especially since the general expectation is for a high level of rainfall this year too,,,,,, ,,,unless maybe they have found a new variety of fast growing tree that will be fully established within 3 months,, hehe

seems the trees they all want to plant in thailand lately are rubber trees as they can milk them for many years at apparently good profits...not sure how long it takes a rubber tree to grow or if they will grow in all areas of thailand but if so might make some sense...they won't log a rubber tree if they can make more from milking the rubber?..sure are a ton of them down south...

[yumidesign]

Mabe I too have a different version of the original article which clearly says (cut and paste here)

The prime minister has instructed the governors of 10 provinces, from upstream to downstream rivers, to finish the growing of water-retention forestland within 3 months.

I agree that may be a poor translation...but when i first read it, I too, asumed she was instructing them to finish growing water-retention forestland within 3 months.

But that didn't seem to make sense.

err........ none of it makes sense at all!

its all a joke but won't be too funny for the poor people once the floods come again, the water table is still very close to the surface in low lying areas as a result of last years flooding so most of this years monsoon rains will cause huge run off and the release of water from major dams still underway will make the water table height problem worse. There is no quick fix to years of neglect and bad water management planning. Growing a forest, which will take 10 years to have any real effect is not the solution. The solution is proper planing on a national scale and co-ordinated emergency services management as a first step

Edited February 15, 2012 by yumidesign

[rubl]

I think this is quite a good move,,,,, wonder if they'll offer an incentive for the landowners in the affected areas to plant the trees by themselves, they had a similar incentive a few years back in Scotland, paying the farmer in stage payments (on completion of regular inspections) for planting of young trees to return parts of the countryside to its former glory,,

I would also be concerned about rushing this through though, especially since the general expectation is for a high level of rainfall this year too,,,,,, ,,,unless maybe they have found a new variety of fast growing tree that will be fully established within 3 months,, hehe

seems the trees they all want to plant in thailand lately are rubber trees as they can milk them for many years at apparently good profits...not sure how long it takes a rubber tree to grow or if they will grow in all areas of thailand but if so might make some sense...they won't log a rubber tree if they can make more from milking the rubber?..sure are a ton of them down south...

"The tree requires a climate with heavy rainfall and without frost."

"Once the trees are 5–6 years old, harvesting can begin"

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Rubber_tree

Doesn't seem the type of tree for the North of Thailand with (very) dry seasons

Edited February 15, 2012 by rubl

[whybother]

A really good idea in principle but a couple of points?

• Whose land will the forest be planted on? (and also the monkey cheek retention dams) Have to wait and see
  
• Will villagers whose land is used be compensated? If so by how much? I would think yes most likely. But free fast growing trees Who would say no?
  
• Who will be responsible for maintaining the forests? Maybe the Ministry of Agriculture or lets say......Nature?
  
• What are the consequences of chopping down the forest? No more trees left to soak up water + what is globally obvious.
  
• Where will the saplings come from? I would guess the Ministry of Agriculture's Tree Farms?
  
• Are the saplings suitable for the local climate? Why would they plant otherwise? Don't think they will import trees from Greenland.
  
• Is it actually possible to plant a whole forest in 3 months? No. But it is possible to begin the plan WITHIN 3 months as the article states.
  

I actually think this is a good plan, but i fear the devil is in the detail as they say I think it's a great plan too but what do you mean the devil is in the details?

The article doesn't state "begin the plan within 3 months". It says "complete the planting of trees withing 3 months".

while instructing the 10 governors to complete the planting of fast-growing trees and the construction of check dams within 3 months.

That doesn't leave long to "wait and see" where the forests will be planted, or where the large number of saplings are going to come from ... and then to actually plant all these saplings.

[Thaddeus]

I think this is quite a good move,,,,, wonder if they'll offer an incentive for the landowners in the affected areas to plant the trees by themselves, they had a similar incentive a few years back in Scotland, paying the farmer in stage payments (on completion of regular inspections) for planting of young trees to return parts of the countryside to its former glory,,

I would also be concerned about rushing this through though, especially since the general expectation is for a high level of rainfall this year too,,,,,, ,,,unless maybe they have found a new variety of fast growing tree that will be fully established within 3 months,, hehe

seems the trees they all want to plant in thailand lately are rubber trees as they can milk them for many years at apparently good profits...not sure how long it takes a rubber tree to grow or if they will grow in all areas of thailand but if so might make some sense...they won't log a rubber tree if they can make more from milking the rubber?..sure are a ton of them down south...

"The tree requires a climate with heavy rainfall and without frost."

"Once the trees are 5–6 years old, harvesting can begin"

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Rubber_tree

Doesn't seem the type of tree for the North of Thailand with (very) dry seasons

We have very dry seasons here in the NE and you can't move for rubber trees.

Wiki is being a bit hopeful when it says 5-6 years before harvesting, you should wait at least 7 or ideally 8, cutting before that drastically reduces the production life of the tree.

[slapout]

They have not been able to keep/implement the promises made on wages, graduate salary, school computers, farm product price guarentee, control inflation, etc since they assumed office much less make decrees which have virtully zero chance of meeting unrealistic deadlines. If ever a group needs to be muzzled this one is making a heroic effort to be number 1 on the list.

[hellodolly]

I think this is quite a good move,,,,, wonder if they'll offer an incentive for the landowners in the affected areas to plant the trees by themselves, they had a similar incentive a few years back in Scotland, paying the farmer in stage payments (on completion of regular inspections) for planting of young trees to return parts of the countryside to its former glory,,

I would also be concerned about rushing this through though, especially since the general expectation is for a high level of rainfall this year too,,,,,, ,,,unless maybe they have found a new variety of fast growing tree that will be fully established within 3 months,, hehe

seems the trees they all want to plant in thailand lately are rubber trees as they can milk them for many years at apparently good profits...not sure how long it takes a rubber tree to grow or if they will grow in all areas of thailand but if so might make some sense...they won't log a rubber tree if they can make more from milking the rubber?..sure are a ton of them down south...

"The tree requires a climate with heavy rainfall and without frost."

"Once the trees are 5–6 years old, harvesting can begin"

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Rubber_tree

Doesn't seem the type of tree for the North of Thailand with (very) dry seasons

I think that they plant a lot of eucalyptus trees that can be harvested and used to make charcoal.

I was told they also take all the nutrients out of the soil. That would make replanting hard to do.

I don't think there is that big a problem with the interpreting from Thai to English. No matter how you interpret it three months is not enough time to even make plans and get the funding.

It is a good idea but the time frame is way out of reality.

You would think they had learned from all there election promises that even if they have a good idea it does not happen just because they say so. You would think Yingluck learned that from her business experience. This is just a political statement to make people think they are on top of the problem. All it can do is spend time that should have been used for more practical ideas.

Where are the Dutch experts they could have told her this months ago and helped lay out a time line.

Makes no difference what you say it will take time.

It should have been started years ago. It seems like when ever they have a flood they talk and then forget about it after a while. All the Thai governments are guilty here.

[rubl]

begin removed ...

Where are the Dutch experts they could have told her this months ago and helped lay out a time line.

Makes no difference what you say it will take time.

It should have been started years ago. It seems like when ever they have a flood they talk and then forget about it after a while. All the Thai governments are guilty here.

The Dutch experts gave their ideas on multi-year plans combined with short-term mopping up. They were listened to. They were let go. The fate of Dutch uncles, I know I'm one myself

Edited February 15, 2012 by rubl

[tlansford]

The Premier said that she hopes the Thai people will become more connected to and realize the value of green forestland in the near future.

This is the real job - a long-term & difficult one at that.

[h90]

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

concrete poles....plant them and paint them green.

[CantSpell]

First; the project : ''Emergency Decree Empowering the Ministry of Finance to Borrow Money for Constructing the Systems for Managing Water and Building the Country's Future.''

Second; the budget: 350 Billions Baht.

Third; the implementation phase: "The prime minister has instructed the governors of 10 provinces, from upstream to downstream rivers, to finish the growing of water-retention forestland within 3 months"

Trees don't come cheap nowadays....

[belg]

there is a high demand of palm oil in the world... palm trees suck out a lot of water and can bring good income...

[tlansford]

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

concrete poles....plant them and paint them green.

I realize that you are joking, but your comment makes a valid point in a way. When not reforesting, but rather developing land, good land-management techniques (terracing, correct vegatation, and drainage/water capture) makes a big difference as well.

Thailand needs more of this, too.

[h90]

First; the project : ''Emergency Decree Empowering the Ministry of Finance to Borrow Money for Constructing the Systems for Managing Water and Building the Country's Future.''

Second; the budget: 350 Billions Baht.

Third; the implementation phase: "The prime minister has instructed the governors of 10 provinces, from upstream to downstream rivers, to finish the growing of water-retention forestland within 3 months"

Trees don't come cheap nowadays....

Well, if you need to bribe the trees to be grown in 3 month, it costs.

[h90]

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

concrete poles....plant them and paint them green.

I realize that you are joking, but your comment makes a valid point in a way. When not reforesting, but rather developing land, good land-management techniques (terracing, correct vegatation, and drainage/water capture) makes a big difference as well.

Thailand needs more of this, too.

You are absolute right. At the moment we are at cutting all the trees on the side of a mountain and building a hotel sloping area. (not to mention that it is without the correct land ownership by just bribing the local authorities) Everyone with a little common sense knows it will slide at the next stronger rain. And of course it does.

So there is a long way to go till we are at good land-management techniques.

[marquess]

I really love trees but most of my neighbours seem intent on cutting down or reducing them to shrubs, the love of concrete and potted bush plants seem to be the order of the day here. Much to my chagrin-- didn't H.M the Queen once say something about protecting forests and planting trees?

[hellodolly]

there is a high demand of palm oil in the world... palm trees suck out a lot of water and can bring good income...

Will they grow here in the North?

[pgangell]

Don't really want to buy into this one but to quote further down in the article - 'to complete the planting of fast-growing trees and the construction of check dams within 3 months'. I think that's it's just poor journalism to let's move on.

[softgeorge]

Grow forests in 3 months. This I gotta see. Maybe they can do a time lapse film of the trees growing and advertise Thailand as the "Tree Growing Hub". Trees need to be planted, but they need to protected once they are grown, in something more than 3 months. The problem was never that trees don't grow in Thailand, it's that they get cut down illegally.

Truely amazing Thailand, they can grow whole forests in 3 months. Solves the deforestation problems worldwide, j

[samsiam]

Everyone with a little common sense knows it will slide at the next stronger rain.

So what are you saying exactly ??

[SICHONSTEVE]

Read it again. PM Yingluck has instructed that the planting of trees be implemented within three months.

Christ I'm getting sick and tired of the knee jerk stupidity laden comments regarding whatever the Thais do. And no, I am not an 'apologist'.

"BANGKOK, 15 February 2012 (NNT) - The prime minister has instructed the governors of 10 provinces, from upstream to downstream rivers, to finish the growing of water-retention forestland within 3 months".

Now YOU read it again!!!!

[Thaddeus]

Just to interject in to this topic about members reading skills and cognitive abilities.

If they want a really fast growing tree, one that can go from shoot to full size within three or four months, they should not be looking at tress at all, they should be looking at a grass, a big one, bamboo.

[OZEMADE]

Well they planted thousands of Aussie Gum Trees next door in the paddock and that was 12 months ago. They are 20 Mtrs high already and do soak up a lot of water. They let them grow for 3 yrs and chop them down about 1 mtr from the ground, they trim off the weak suckers leaving the strongest. 3 yrs later they are ready to chop again. Good growth.