Deforestation in Northern Thailand

[STUDMEYER]

Hey All,

 

First off, I'm not making this post to stand on a soap box and preach to anyone about my beliefs.

 

Anyhoo, on a recent motorcycle trip I couldn't help but but be amazed at the fast progress of deforestation in some areas compare to last year, and the years previous.  This got me thinking only as a point of curiosity:

- Are there any current reputable (or not) RE-Forestation programs in and around Chiang Mai?

- Which NGOs or GOs are involved in this area?

- Where can I find information in general on the state of the forests here like government stats.  

- What are the main drivers of deforestation here? (lumber, agriculture etc)

 

Thanks in advance

Rgs
SM

[CMMCB]

Some information here...

 

http://www.forru.org/en/index.php?page=index

 

We should all try to do more to help, eh?

[STUDMEYER]

3 hours ago, CMMCB said:

Some information here...

 

http://www.forru.org/en/index.php?page=index

 

We should all try to do more to help, eh?

 

Thanks for the link. What was interesting was following the other links under resources and reading on some of their projects.

 

Rgs

SM

[Briggsy]

There are zillions of reforestation projects. They always put up a sign in Thai stating the acreage and the date it was initiated.

Almost all are managed by the Department of Forestry, a department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. These projects are usually under Royal Patronage and financially supported by local communities and businesses, both national and local.

 

To understand forest use in Thailand, you need to understand how areas are designated under law, e.g. National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Forest Park, Community Forest, non-transferrable land, private land. Then understand how the law applies to each category of land use. Forestry Department literature, although dry, would be an excellent starting point.

Satellite photos give a good idea too.

 

Deforestation is initially driven by the riches involved in logging, legal or illegal, followed by people taking advantage of the cleared land to use it for agriculture. Corrupt illegal logging usually involves local politicians, senior police or military officers etc. Google the Salaween scandal. However just looking at a logged area would not tell you if the logging was legal or illegal or whether the land was a National Park or private land.

[CMMCB]

12 hours ago, STUDMEYER said:

 

Thanks for the link. What was interesting was following the other links under resources and reading on some of their projects.

 

Rgs

SM

There's a good handbook of good practice to download too. 

[CMMCB]

It's interesting how many badly-deforested areas surround royal project sites. (Look around Mon Jaem, Ban Huai Nam Rin, Khun Wang, Doi Inthanon's middle slopes, ...) The trees replaced with cash crops. I know it's in a good cause, and even makes for good views, until you realise that's because there are no trees blocking the view, but ... 

[Johpa]

There seem to be two leading correlations with deforestation. One is the presence of a Royal project , often near a Mong village, with an increase in intensification of vegetable farming. The other is the intensification of corn growing monoculture. The Royal projects trend towards agricultural diversity and now often include organic farming practices. But to put into perspective, Thailand is not doing anything different than western countries such as the US and Europe in replacing forests with crop production.


Happy Trails

[wolfmuc]

On 27/1/2560 at 9:35 AM, Johpa said:

There seem to be two leading correlations with deforestation. One is the presence of a Royal project , often near a Mong village, with an increase in intensification of vegetable farming. The other is the intensification of corn growing monoculture. The Royal projects trend towards agricultural diversity and now often include organic farming practices. But to put into perspective, Thailand is not doing anything different than western countries such as the US and Europe in replacing forests with crop production.


Happy Trails

' Thailand is not doing anything different than western countries such as the US and Europe in replacing forests with crop production. '

 

Right. But this was quite a while ago. And in comparison with today it seemed to be 'smooth'. - No?

 

And back to the OP: - You should travel from Rongkwang to Nan, every 6 months, have a look at the hills/mountains.

It is really shocking. - Thai people are destroying their native land today much faster than all the western countries

in the last 2000 or more years.

In the 60ies I learnt that Thailand has a forest coverage of 75 %.

Long, long time ago...