No, 2,000 teak trees won't be cut for new Parliament - more like 5,000

[cumgranosalum]

All the tree-huggers go boo-hoo about the utilisation of a renewable resource. Meanwhile, national park land is reclaimed from those who have usurped it. Will that result in more trees or less?

you don't seem to understand what "renewable resource" means and you use of the term tree-hugger makes any comment you make seem pretty vacuous anyway.

[cumgranosalum]

most logging in Thailand is illegal - you may see big machinery involved etc etc. but the reality is that logging became illegal in Thailand in the 1980s and removal of trees from forested areas is illegal.

How does it continue - pure and simple - corruption.

the main threat to the forests of Thailand is the unregulated and corrupt expansion of agricultural land.

Edited July 26, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[tigermoth]

5000+ teak trees for the new parliament house!!!! What a load of crap. Someone is using the construction to hide the illegal sale of teak timbers, amonst the finest hardwoods in the world. Where can they possibly use that much timber in a modern government building. Several thosand homes could be built with that much. If by some weird chance the new building is almost all timber then it shows a shocking irresponsibility on the part of the architects, engineers and authorities by totally ignoring any sustainable and ecological thinking. DNA of Thailand!!! still more bullshit.

[Eric Loh]

Deforestation is a global issue and continue to decrease at about 13 million hectares each year according to UN FAO. Better sustainable forest management and certification are small steps and many countries have adopted plantation farming of fast growing species.

Thailand has been growing plantation teak as well as eucalyptus for last 40+ years and the 5,000 teal trees can easily be sourced from many FIO and private plantations. Really a storm in the tea cup. Just got blow out of proportion by the top man over reacting again.

[welshissan]

All the tree-huggers go boo-hoo about the utilisation of a renewable resource. Meanwhile, national park land is reclaimed from those who have usurped it. Will that result in more trees or less?

you don't seem to understand what "renewable resource" means and you use of the term tree-hugger makes any comment you make seem pretty vacuous anyway.

You do realise that he is a "Junta Hugger" don't you!

They can do no wrong in his eyes!

[Lupatria]

If he wanted to represent the "DNA of Thailand" he would be better building it out of recycled brown envelopes!

...with walls and floor tiles made of recycled plastic bags

[cumgranosalum]

Deforestation is a global issue and continue to decrease at about 13 million hectares each year according to UN FAO. Better sustainable forest management and certification are small steps and many countries have adopted plantation farming of fast growing species.

Thailand has been growing plantation teak as well as eucalyptus for last 40+ years and the 5,000 teal trees can easily be sourced from many FIO and private plantations. Really a storm in the tea cup. Just got blow out of proportion by the top man over reacting again.

Plantation farming can be a real red-herring when it comes to forestry ecology - Eucalypts are an eco-disaster in many people's books and the FIO has no record of producing sound sustainable forestry practices. The concept of sustainable forestry is largely ignored in Thailand - with even senior ministers making pronouncements about "replanting" forests for the Mae Wong Dam that display an alarming lack of knowledge about current practice and theory.

the location and management of "private" plantations is in itself a matter for serious concern - encroachment and sustainability being two of those concerns.....the biggest threat to Thai forests is not actually logging per se but the advance of agricultural land use.

the supply of teak for this building however "sustainable" they claim actually displays and attitude of this government and others to the environment in Thailand.....e.g. ecology is OK so long as it doesn't get in the way of unregulated exploitation of anything and everything.

Edited July 26, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[kingalfred]

Why reason for new parliament building? What an utter waste and typifies the country

[cumgranosalum]

All the tree-huggers go boo-hoo about the utilisation of a renewable resource. Meanwhile, national park land is reclaimed from those who have usurped it. Will that result in more trees or less?

you don't seem to understand what "renewable resource" means and you use of the term tree-hugger makes any comment you make seem pretty vacuous anyway.

You do realise that he is a "Junta Hugger" don't you!

They can do no wrong in his eyes!

poor unfortunate soul! a bit "typ" then?

Edited July 26, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[cumgranosalum]

Why reason for new parliament building? What an utter waste and typifies the country

It is a well documented symptom of non-democratic governments that they want to "authorise" their position by building new and impressive buildings as symbols of their power.... look at their surrounding communist countries and of course Burma. you can also postulate that the dictorial ambitions or ego size of such governments is in direct proportion to the number of columns they include into the design.

[maximillian]

Parlament building for a junta ? What a waste.

[cumgranosalum]

Parlament building for a junta ? What a waste.

In search of "legitimacy"?

[Eric Loh]

Deforestation is a global issue and continue to decrease at about 13 million hectares each year according to UN FAO. Better sustainable forest management and certification are small steps and many countries have adopted plantation farming of fast growing species.

Thailand has been growing plantation teak as well as eucalyptus for last 40+ years and the 5,000 teal trees can easily be sourced from many FIO and private plantations. Really a storm in the tea cup. Just got blow out of proportion by the top man over reacting again.

Plantation farming can be a real red-herring when it comes to forestry ecology - Eucalypts are an eco-disaster in many people's books and the FIO has no record of producing sound sustainable forestry practices. The concept of sustainable forestry is largely ignored in Thailand - with even senior ministers making pronouncements about "replanting" forests for the Mae Wong Dam that display an alarming lack of knowledge about current practice and theory.

the location and management of "private" plantations is in itself a matter for serious concern - encroachment and sustainability being two of those concerns.....the biggest threat to Thai forests is not actually logging per se but the advance of agricultural land use.

the supply of teak for this building however "sustainable" they claim actually displays and attitude of this government and others to the environment in Thailand.....e.g. ecology is OK so long as it doesn't get in the way of unregulated exploitation of anything and everything.

We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area. Given that 1989 is the low point in forest history of Thailand, forest area actually increase by more than 10% since then. Will be foolhardy for anyone imagination that we can bring the percentage of forest area back to its 50%+ prime. Everyone involved has a row, not only FIO. Illegal logging has been a serious bane to improving the forest stock.

Eucalyptus does have a poor spell in the 90s as it deplete water and soil condition. I see most of these problems have been solved and see no protests like the 90s. It has co-exist quite nicely with agriculture and industry (pulp and paper) which has provided many jobs to the impoverished provinces in the NE.

I feel that plantation teak is ok as long as it's from a renewal sustainable farm. The new parliament spanned 4 governments since 2008 and specification was written a long time ago.

[american12bthai]

thailand doesnt know about carbon trading and the benifits of it. If thai farmers switch to carbon trading they will get more out per rai over rice. and they wouldnt have to do anything but record the trees progress.

WOOD IS CARBON. FYI.

I say he should cut them and show the country hes a liar.

when you hold on to power, it does corrupt. Its exactly like electricity, if you charge a capacitor at full power, and you keep chargingg it, and keep on charging it... its going to get bad for whoever comes to contac with it.

BUT

if you charge the capacitor and alow resistors to change ampage and distribute ... the energy flows, the machine lights up.

POWER IS USELESS IF HELD ON TO. .

MONEY IS USELESS IN A BANK, unless your the bank making money on other peoples money.

WATER IS USELESS IN A BOTTLE. Your body needs the water, not the bottle.

Even though the world is going through a food shortage ...

and the food you do eat is more than likely chemically treated at one point. ...

I think thiai farmers should stop producing food and start producing "money"

Thats what they really want.

as for me, I have food storage. i refuse to eat poison fish from china sea. (alaskan jet dried salmon hmmm)

So when your all easily emotionally weepy over a news story 'cause your hormones have been manipulated with excess toxin weakening your mental state, i laugh. Nothing is more fun than seeing people's shallow threshold of tolerance to petty emotional triggers. and nothing keeps this threshold at the bottom more effectively than THAI MEDIA. Thank you GMM for creating a nation of zombies who are easy to control.

THe trees are a trending global topic. thats ALL. WHile the rest of the planet is promoting planting trees thailand .. is well..... thailand.

They even got a quasi B list celeb. to help promote their tree planting, BUT this B celeb, should be in jail over drug charges ... strange... they are not in jail but all of a sudden they are planting trees for charity. LAME

[honcho]

There are managed forests up north- so long as the trees come from them who really cares. Bear in mind it can take a teak tree 20 years to grow though.

Sustainable manageable forestry takes place in all sorts of countries- I spent a summer planting trees in one in Canada.

Tree huggers need to take this into account when they start wailing away.

20 years???? the large teak trees are hundreds of years old...... a 20 year tree is just a sapling.you need to check your facts before spouting away

[cumgranosalum]

Deforestation is a global issue and continue to decrease at about 13 million hectares each year according to UN FAO. Better sustainable forest management and certification are small steps and many countries have adopted plantation farming of fast growing species.

Thailand has been growing plantation teak as well as eucalyptus for last 40+ years and the 5,000 teal trees can easily be sourced from many FIO and private plantations. Really a storm in the tea cup. Just got blow out of proportion by the top man over reacting again.

Plantation farming can be a real red-herring when it comes to forestry ecology - Eucalypts are an eco-disaster in many people's books and the FIO has no record of producing sound sustainable forestry practices. The concept of sustainable forestry is largely ignored in Thailand - with even senior ministers making pronouncements about "replanting" forests for the Mae Wong Dam that display an alarming lack of knowledge about current practice and theory.

the location and management of "private" plantations is in itself a matter for serious concern - encroachment and sustainability being two of those concerns.....the biggest threat to Thai forests is not actually logging per se but the advance of agricultural land use.

the supply of teak for this building however "sustainable" they claim actually displays and attitude of this government and others to the environment in Thailand.....e.g. ecology is OK so long as it doesn't get in the way of unregulated exploitation of anything and everything.

We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area. Given that 1989 is the low point in forest history of Thailand, forest area actually increase by more than 10% since then. Will be foolhardy for anyone imagination that we can bring the percentage of forest area back to its 50%+ prime. Everyone involved has a row, not only FIO. Illegal logging has been a serious bane to improving the forest stock.

Eucalyptus does have a poor spell in the 90s as it deplete water and soil condition. I see most of these problems have been solved and see no protests like the 90s. It has co-exist quite nicely with agriculture and industry (pulp and paper) which has provided many jobs to the impoverished provinces in the NE.

I feel that plantation teak is ok as long as it's from a renewal sustainable farm. The new parliament spanned 4 governments since 2008 and specification was written a long time ago.

"We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area." - no you can't, because it is the KIND of forest that is important and the government definitions are simply misleading.

As for any plantations or alien species they are to a lesser or greater extent damaging to the native eco-systems as they affect all other species around them - e.g. appropriate nesting for birds, supply of seeds/fruit for native animals - they is also with eucalypts the problem of them taking over soil etc. as a an interconnected monoculture, further reducing the range of flora and fauna around them.

there is always the apologists phrase that such measures "provide jobs" this is just a short-sighted cliche rolled out time and again to justify destruction of environment and totally ignores the bigger picture which includes the provision of jobs through eco-friendly projects.

[cumgranosalum]

Deforestation is a global issue and continue to decrease at about 13 million hectares each year according to UN FAO. Better sustainable forest management and certification are small steps and many countries have adopted plantation farming of fast growing species.

Thailand has been growing plantation teak as well as eucalyptus for last 40+ years and the 5,000 teal trees can easily be sourced from many FIO and private plantations. Really a storm in the tea cup. Just got blow out of proportion by the top man over reacting again.

Plantation farming can be a real red-herring when it comes to forestry ecology - Eucalypts are an eco-disaster in many people's books and the FIO has no record of producing sound sustainable forestry practices. The concept of sustainable forestry is largely ignored in Thailand - with even senior ministers making pronouncements about "replanting" forests for the Mae Wong Dam that display an alarming lack of knowledge about current practice and theory.

the location and management of "private" plantations is in itself a matter for serious concern - encroachment and sustainability being two of those concerns.....the biggest threat to Thai forests is not actually logging per se but the advance of agricultural land use.

the supply of teak for this building however "sustainable" they claim actually displays and attitude of this government and others to the environment in Thailand.....e.g. ecology is OK so long as it doesn't get in the way of unregulated exploitation of anything and everything.

We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area. Given that 1989 is the low point in forest history of Thailand, forest area actually increase by more than 10% since then. Will be foolhardy for anyone imagination that we can bring the percentage of forest area back to its 50%+ prime. Everyone involved has a row, not only FIO. Illegal logging has been a serious bane to improving the forest stock.

Eucalyptus does have a poor spell in the 90s as it deplete water and soil condition. I see most of these problems have been solved and see no protests like the 90s. It has co-exist quite nicely with agriculture and industry (pulp and paper) which has provided many jobs to the impoverished provinces in the NE.

I feel that plantation teak is ok as long as it's from a renewal sustainable farm. The new parliament spanned 4 governments since 2008 and specification was written a long time ago.

"We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area." - no you can't, because it is the KIND of forest that is important and the government definitions are simply misleading.

As for any plantations or alien species they are to a lesser or greater extent damaging to the native eco-systems as they affect all other species around them - e.g. appropriate nesting for birds, supply of seeds/fruit for native animals - they is also with eucalypts the problem of them taking over soil etc. as a an interconnected monoculture, further reducing the range of flora and fauna around them.

there is always the apologists phrase that such measures "provide jobs" this is just a short-sighted cliche rolled out time and again to justify destruction of environment and totally ignores the bigger picture which includes the provision of jobs through eco-friendly projects.

[cumgranosalum]

There are managed forests up north- so long as the trees come from them who really cares. Bear in mind it can take a teak tree 20 years to grow though.

Sustainable manageable forestry takes place in all sorts of countries- I spent a summer planting trees in one in Canada.

Tree huggers need to take this into account when they start wailing away.

20 years???? the large teak trees are hundreds of years old...... a 20 year tree is just a sapling.you need to check your facts before spouting away

Farmed teak can be harvested within 5 years - however it doesn't seem clear where these 5000 trees are going to be sourced - as you say the very large trees not only take a long time to grow but also are part of and support huge eco-systems themselves.

On a more general perspective of Thai forestry conservation, the word farm also has some dubious weighting as one has to ask what was there BEFORE the farm.

the phrase you often hear in these circumstances is "degraded forest land" - which is often a "nice" way of avoiding the word "encroachment"

Edited July 26, 2016 by cumgranosalum

[Eric Loh]

Deforestation is a global issue and continue to decrease at about 13 million hectares each year according to UN FAO. Better sustainable forest management and certification are small steps and many countries have adopted plantation farming of fast growing species.

Thailand has been growing plantation teak as well as eucalyptus for last 40+ years and the 5,000 teal trees can easily be sourced from many FIO and private plantations. Really a storm in the tea cup. Just got blow out of proportion by the top man over reacting again.

Plantation farming can be a real red-herring when it comes to forestry ecology - Eucalypts are an eco-disaster in many people's books and the FIO has no record of producing sound sustainable forestry practices. The concept of sustainable forestry is largely ignored in Thailand - with even senior ministers making pronouncements about "replanting" forests for the Mae Wong Dam that display an alarming lack of knowledge about current practice and theory.

the location and management of "private" plantations is in itself a matter for serious concern - encroachment and sustainability being two of those concerns.....the biggest threat to Thai forests is not actually logging per se but the advance of agricultural land use.

the supply of teak for this building however "sustainable" they claim actually displays and attitude of this government and others to the environment in Thailand.....e.g. ecology is OK so long as it doesn't get in the way of unregulated exploitation of anything and everything.

We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area. Given that 1989 is the low point in forest history of Thailand, forest area actually increase by more than 10% since then. Will be foolhardy for anyone imagination that we can bring the percentage of forest area back to its 50%+ prime. Everyone involved has a row, not only FIO. Illegal logging has been a serious bane to improving the forest stock.

Eucalyptus does have a poor spell in the 90s as it deplete water and soil condition. I see most of these problems have been solved and see no protests like the 90s. It has co-exist quite nicely with agriculture and industry (pulp and paper) which has provided many jobs to the impoverished provinces in the NE.

I feel that plantation teak is ok as long as it's from a renewal sustainable farm. The new parliament spanned 4 governments since 2008 and specification was written a long time ago.

"We can only judge the FIO by the progress they made to increase the forest area." - no you can't, because it is the KIND of forest that is important and the government definitions are simply misleading.

As for any plantations or alien species they are to a lesser or greater extent damaging to the native eco-systems as they affect all other species around them - e.g. appropriate nesting for birds, supply of seeds/fruit for native animals - they is also with eucalypts the problem of them taking over soil etc. as a an interconnected monoculture, further reducing the range of flora and fauna around them.

there is always the apologists phrase that such measures "provide jobs" this is just a short-sighted cliche rolled out time and again to justify destruction of environment and totally ignores the bigger picture which includes the provision of jobs through eco-friendly projects.

Maybe I better understand you if you can broaden your meaning of "KIND' of forest. Only a romantic will hope that the forest can rehabilitate by itself back to rainforest.

The forest has been logged off, depleted and the eco-system gone with it together with all other species of birds and animals. Re-planting and re-foresting helped restored that deficit.

The environment has been destroyed and re-forestation through farming brings back life and jobs to these scared lands. No apologist vision but reality. You don't see?

[Gary A]

Since teak is such a valuable resource, Many of the more well to do farmers planted many rai of teak trees so their children could have the lumber to build houses and be able to sell the surplus. Since the trees are in neat straight rows, it is obvious that the trees were planted as a crop. Now that the trees are 20 to 30 years old, the government is placing roadblocks and making it difficult for the owners to harvest their lumber. That's hardly fair either.

Politicians and other government big shots have been encroaching on government land for may years and no doubt they will continue to get away with stealing that land. Some of the big shots who have fallen out of favor are now being prosecuted but you can bet the top most important group will not be punished. Sh!t rolls down hill. I have no problem harvesting trees that were planted by the land owners but those that are on encroached land are a different story.

[dageurreotype]

All the tree-huggers go boo-hoo about the utilisation of a renewable resource. Meanwhile, national park land is reclaimed from those who have usurped it. Will that result in more trees or less?

This snide 'tree hugger' has lead to the decimation of vast swathes of forests here and across the world. Think on.

[dageurreotype]

By the way, India has been on a big campaign recently to plant a record number of trees in 24 hours, sure, remain to see how many of those will survive, but still, their awareness is willing to do things... I always thought Thailand was much more "advanced" than India in most ways, now I¨m not so sure.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2016/07/18/india-planted-50-million-trees-24-hours/#54fbc22c6ad2

[dageurreotype]

Why doesn't the kind junta leader use bamboo instead of teak ? It would show the world he knows his building materials.

Because, according to the president of the NLA 'Teak will be used as it's a symbol of Thainess'. Well, not wrong there. Cutting down 5000 protected species and likely using cheap Burmese labour to build the bloody thing, the very quintessence of 'Thainess'.

[tukkytuktuk]

Link: http://m.posttoday.com/learning/news/444823

New parliament: Only teak is uniquely Thai

The Teak Improvement Centre (TIC) in Lampang province is run partly by the Forest Resources Department of Chiang Mai University. Right, a 'genetically superior teak', or plus tree, at the Lampang site - just what is needed to show the true Thainess of the parliament buildings.

The new Parliament building under construction.

The future for Lampang:

[elgordo38]

They are doing this because they can. Its just another way they thumb their nose at the populous, the environment and common sense.

[MZurf]

Funny to see people still using "tree hugger" as an attempt at insult. ... some people never learn.

Yes, it"s as insulting as being called a philantropist, doo-gooder or liberal.

Really hurtful!

[Redline]

So, you destroy your own DNA? Reincarnated as a bigger loser?

[F4UCorsair]

If the teak is harvested from managed forests, it shouldn't be an issue.

We can't plant enough trees. I've been on a tree planting crusade for years, grown from seed or cuttings and planted along the river on which I live. I suppose that makes me a tree hugger?

Occasional floods, and rabbits take their toll, but I'm still in front, with probably 5000+ planted in the past 20 years.

Forget an epitaph.....plant a tree.

Edited July 26, 2016 by F4UCorsair

[silent]

Why the BS yesterday when the 2,000 trees weren't going to be cut down. Oh I see it was 5,000 not 2,000.

Obviously to soften the blow when front and centre. That's more unique to the DNA fabric of Thailand than Teakwood or bait and switch are if you didn't know.

Edited July 26, 2016 by silent

[tifino]

no, they won';t be used for the building...

... but they didn't say the wood won't be used for the opening party BBQ