FORESTRY MANAGEMENT Thailand kata - Pandanglah lihatlah, tiru macam saya.... and why not? Thailand’s forestry sector has developed in four distinct stages: 1. Early exploitation phase: Logging for commercial purposes began with the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855. In the following years, Thailand entered a number of trade agreements with France and the U.S.A. in 1856, Denmark in 1858, Portugal in 1859, Holland in 1860, Prussia in 1862 and Norway and Sweden in 1868. Teak was in high demand, and the governor of each municipality authorized logging without any involvement by the central government until the Royal Forest Department (RFD) was established in 1896. The RFD had the mandate to regulate forest exploitation, particularly of the teak forests of the north. 2. Forest production and management phase: From the mid-1890s to the early 1960s, forestry contributed significantly to Thailand’s economic development. Forest production generated foreign exchange, government revenue and contributed to the opening of the frontier for agricultural development. Forest management was not guided by a formal forest policy, but was generally supervised by RFD officials. The country was an absolute monarchy until 1932. With the democratic reforms of the 1930s, politicians became closely linked to forest management. Their main efforts were directed at converting natural forests to agricultural land for the rural people. The RFD, as the government agency responsible, attempted to regulate forest production by enacting a number of important forestry laws and training foresters who were to enforce the law. In 1947, the Forest Industry Organization (FIO) was established under the umbrella of the RFD. Its tasks included expanding logging activities, increasing income to facilitate redemption payments to the allies of the Second World War and rehabilitating the country in the aftermath of the war. In 1956, the FIO became a state enterprise under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Its new areas of responsibility included technical support to the main forestry activities, including logging, wood processing, furniture manufacturing and wood preservation. 3. Peak exploitation phase: From the 1960s to the mid-1980s, timber harvesting peaked, export-oriented agriculture expanded and national economic development gained momentum. At the same time, concern for the country’s natural forest was growing. To decelerate deforestation and forest degradation, a number of policies were introduced to slow the progress of logging by five percent per year and to set aside 50 percent of the total land area as reserved forest. Other measures included: - encouraging the private sector to rehabilitate degraded forest lands after the completion of logging operations; - establishing forest protection units; - establishing a Forest Policy Division; - revising the Forest Law; - promulgating the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act (1960) and the National Park Act (1961); and - enacting the National Reserve Forest Act (1964). 4. End of forest exploitation phase (dawning of a new forestry era): Starting in the late 1980s, the country entered a fourth stage, which is characterized by an increased awareness of the adverse effects of forest exploitation and the search for a new approach to forest management. Forest resources had declined to a point where the nation had to emphasize forest conservation rather than further forest exploitation. Consequently, timber imports increased significantly and the government looked for ways to involve the private sector in generating alternative wood supplies after the logging ban was imposed in 1989. The development of forest plantations in Thailand. fao.org/docrep/007/ae535e/ae535e0d.htm
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 08:19:54 +0000
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