Being an agricultural country, approximately 78 percent of the Thai population is engaged in farming. Presently major exports of agricultural commodities such as rice, maize, cassava and so on, reflect the country's dependency on agriculture. It is well recognized that while the agricultural land area increases each year, particularly the crop area, the forest land area decreases accordingly at an alarming rate. This leads to shortages of wood, food and fuel materials and has caused environmental deterioration. This phenomenon is common in many tropical countries.
There are two main types of forests in Thailand: Evergreen Forest and Deciduous Forest.
Evergreen forest. The Evergreen Forest is subdivided into the Tropical Evergreen Forest, the Pine Forest, the Mangrove Forest and the Beach Forest.
Tropical evergreen forest. The Tropical Evergreen Forest is found all over the moist parts of the country. This type of forest is also subdivided into the Tropical Rain Forest, the Semi-evergreen Forest and the Hill Evergreen Forest.
The tropical rain forest is characterized by a very rich flora diversification and very dense undergrowth. This type of forest is commonly found in the Southern and the Eastern regions where rainfall is above 2,000 millimetres. It is also found along rivers and/or in valleys in other parts of the country. The predominant species (the top storey species) are, for example, Dipterocarpus spp, Hopea spp, Lagerstroemia spp, and Shorea spp, whereas the lower storey species are bamboos, palms and rattans.
The semi-evergreen forest is scattered all over the country where the rainfall is between 1,000-2,000 millimetres. The predominant species are Dipterocarpus spp, Hopea spp, Diospyros spp, Afzelia spp, Terminalia spp, and Artocarpus spp. The main undergrowth species consist of bamboos and rattan.
The hill evergreen forest is found on the highland parts (above 1,000 metres from the sea level) of the country where the climatic condition is the Humid Subtropical type. The presence of mosses and lichens on trees and rocks is the indicator of this forest type. The predominant species are oaks and chestnuts, or Castanopsis spp, Quercus spp, and Lithocarpus spp.
Pine forest. There are two species of tropical pines in Thailand. They are Pinus merkusii locally called Son Song Bi (the two-needle pine) and Pinus kesiya locally called Son Sam Bi (the three-needle pine). Pinus merkusii is found in the Northern and the western part of the Central regions, where the soil is poor gravel, lateritic and podzolic. Pinus kesiya is found only on the highlands of the Northern and North-eastern regions.
Mangrove and beach forests. Mangrove and Beach forests occur along the coastal areas of the Eastern, Central and Southern regions. The Mangrove forest is scattered along the estuaries of rivers and muddy seashores where the soil is muddy and influenced the tide. The predominant species are Rhizophora spp, Xylocarpus spp, Avecennia spp, Bruguiers spp, Nypa spp. The Beach Forest occurs along the sandy coastal plains especially in the eastern coast of the Southern regions. The main species in this type of forest are Diospyros spp, Croton spp, Lagerstroemia spp and Casuarina spp.
Deciduous forest. The Deciduous Forest is commonly found throughout the country. It is broadly subdivided according to the species composition into the Mixed Deciduous Forest (with and without teak) and the Dry Dipterocarp Forest.
Mixed deciduous forest. The Mixed Deciduous Forest is among the most commercially valuable forest of Thailand. In the Northern Region, this type of Forest is named as the Teak (Tectona grandis), Xylia kerrii, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Afzelia xylocarpus and Dalbergia spp (rose wood).
Dry dipterocarp forest. The Dry Dipterocarp Forest is commonly found in the dry area (rainfall below 1,000 millimetres) where the soil condition is infertile and sandy or gravelly lateritic soil. The predominant species are mainly in the family of Dipterocarpaceae such as Dipterocarpus tuberculatus, Dipterocarpus obtusifolius, Shorea obtusa, Shorea siamensis, with the presence of other species such as Dalbergia spp, Lagerstroemia spp, Terminalia spp.
Table 1: Forest area by type and region in 1982
Region |
||||||||||||
Type of Forest |
North |
Northeast |
East |
Central |
South |
Total | ||||||
Sq. Km. |
% |
Sq. Km. |
% |
Sq. Km. |
% |
Sq. Km. |
% |
Sq. Km. |
% |
Sq. Km. |
% | |
1.Tropical evergreen forest |
25,568 |
29.14 |
9,305 |
35.95 |
6,216 |
77.7 |
12,449 |
67.23 |
14,323 |
87.11 |
67,816 |
43.33 |
2. Mixed deciduous forest |
25,006 |
28.49 |
2,618 |
10.11 |
1,113 |
13.91 |
5,192 |
28.04 |
0 |
0 |
33,929 |
21.67 |
3. Dry dipterocarp forest |
34,318 |
39.11 |
13,819 |
53.38 |
253 |
3.16 |
540 |
2.92 |
0 |
0 |
48,930 |
31.25 |
4. Mangrove forest |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
418 |
5.23 |
335 |
1.81 |
2,119 |
12.89 |
2,872 |
1.83 |
5. Pine forest |
2,018 |
2.3 |
144 |
0.56 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2,162 |
1.38 |
6. Scrub forest |
846 |
0.96 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
846 |
0.54 |
7. Rubber plantation area |
0 |
0 |
(650) |
0 |
(15,200) |
(15,850) |
||||||
Total |
87,756 |
56 |
25,886 |
16.53 |
8,000 |
5.11 |
18,516 |
11.82 |
16,442 |
10.5 |
156,600 |
100 |
Source: Forestry Statistics of Thailand 1996
Note: Excluding the para-rubber plantation area
Thai forestry has undergone three stages and is now into a fourth, as follows:
1. Early exploitation stage. Logging for commercial purposes started when teak was in demand here and abroad. The RFD was established in 1896 to regulate forest exploitation, particularly in the teak forests of the North. This stage lasted from the mid-1890s to the early 1930s.
2. Forest exploitation and management stage. Logging become an important economy building activity. It generated foreign exchange, capital for national development, and government revenue, as well as making land available for agriculture. RFD, as the government agency responsible, attempted to put forest exploitation under management by enacting important forest laws, opening a school to train foresters and putting them to work to implement forestry laws and regulations. The Forest Industries Organization (FIO) was also established during this period. This period lasted from the 1930s to the early 1960s.
3. Forest exploitation peak and decline stage. During the period from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. Logging peaked, export-oriented agriculture expanded, and national economic development gained momentum. As the forests dwindled, a growing awareness of the link between the forest and national well-being emerged. Desperate measures were introduced to rationalize forest management, but were unsuccessful.
4. Forest exploitation closing stage and the dawning of a new forestry era. Starting from the late 1980s, the country entered the fourth stage that can be characterized by the people's highly developed awareness of the adverse effects of forest exploitation and by the search for a new forestry agenda. The forest had declined to a point where the nation had to decide that what remains of it must be kept for conservation rather than for further exploitation.
There is now much concern over the adverse environmental impacts attributed to deforestation, such as: water shortages in the dry season; destructive floods in the wet season; loss of biodiversity; and global warming. At the same time, there is a division of opinion over who should now be put in charge of rehabilitating the land - the local people (who need to earn a living) or the industrialists (who want to prosper by supplying the country and its growing economy with wood-based products). The move to change forest policy and to strengthen its implementation is gaining momentum. The Thai Forest Sector Master Plan (TFSMP) has been seen as a timely response to a forestry situation that has sunk to the bottom. The purpose of the TFSMP is to frame a more rational and systematic forestry sector policy than before and promote action programmes to effectively implement it.
In 1961, the total forest area of Thailand was about 171 million rais or 53.3 percent of the country's area. Later on, forest areas were reduced by slash-and-burn shifting cultivation, land resettlement, dam and road construction, land reform for agriculture etc. and declined to 82 million rais or 25.62 percent of the country's area. The National Forest Policy dated on 3 December 1985, states that the forest area of the country should be maintained at 40 percent of country area or 128 million rais. This means that the government (Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives) has to increase the forest area by 46 million rais to meet this policy. The reforestation scheme will probably be implemented under the 6th, 7th and 8th National Economic and Social Development Plans by the following government agencies: the Royal Forest Department (RFD); the Forest Industry Organization (FIO); and the Thai Plywood Company (TPC), as well as the private-sector.
Reforestation in Thailand has been practiced since 1906 when teak was planted in the form of taungya plantations. From then until 1960 small areas were planted annually. Accomplishments were very modest; only about 36,273 rai were planted by 1960, of which 92 percent was teak. The reforestation programme gradually expanded after 1961. The cumulative area planted reached 5,436,368.75 rais or 8,698.17 km2 in 1996 (Table 2).
Table 2: Annual reforestation by source (in square kilometres)
Item |
Total before 1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
Total |
Afforestation by Government Budget |
5,124.47 |
426.53 |
304.83 |
309.78 |
191.49 |
94.27 |
6,451.37 |
Concessionaire's Reforestation |
1,437.66 |
17.10 |
8.90 |
4.44 |
1.20 |
1.16 |
1,470.46 |
By Forest Industry Organization (FIO) |
323.02 |
6.35 |
6.73 |
4.18 |
1.24 |
** |
341.52 |
By Thai Plywood Co., Ltd.* |
103.64 |
4.09 |
0.62 |
2.43 |
1.46 |
1.38 |
113.62 |
Reforestation According to Ministry's Regulations |
107.96 |
8.10 |
2.23 |
0.61 |
1.54 |
5.21 |
125.65 |
Reforestation by Concessionaire Budget |
92.44 |
60.60 |
10.72 |
6.40 |
18.17 |
8.24 |
196.57 |
Total |
7,189.19 |
522.77 |
334.03 |
327.84 |
215.10 |
110.26 |
8,698.19 |
Source: Forestry Statistics of Thailand 1996
* Excluding Concessionaire's Reforestation; ** Not available.
Besides the aforementioned reforestation programme and in order to pay tribute to the Golden Jubilee of King Bhumipol Adulyadej's Ascension (the Fiftieth Anniversary of H.M. the King's Ascension to the Throne), the National Forestry Policy Committee has proposed the "Reforestation Campaign" during 1994-1996. The Royal Thai Government approved the proposal.
The target area is five million rai or approximately 8,000 km2 covering the period of 1994-1996. The Reforestation Campaign embraces planting of forest trees in the following areas:
1. 50,000 km along roadsides;
2. around school premises, governmental offices and religious places;
3. areas such as parks, recreation areas, dams and reservoirs, riverside, etc; and
4. existing deteriorated forests.
