Bangkok: The Royal Forest Department has initiated a pilot project in collaboration with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to restore degraded forests in Nan Province under the BAAC Carbon Credit project. This initiative aims to rehabilitate 423 rai on Doi Samoe Dao, establishing a foundational system for carbon credit trading in the forestry sector. The project intends to expand efforts to restore and maintain community forest areas nationwide, ultimately covering over 4,500 rai. This endeavor aligns with Thailand's development goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Narong Khantiwiriyakul, Deputy Managing Director of BAAC, stated that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between BAAC and the Royal Forest Department to propel the BAAC Carbon Credit project. This collaboration focuses on managing and conserving community and degraded forests over a 15-year period. A forest planting activity was recently organized at Doi Samoe Dao, signaling the start of efforts to restore these areas and promote community involvement in environmental preservation. The project also encourages farmers and tree bank communities to participate in increasing green areas and registering planted trees with the Thailand Voluntary Emission Reduction Program (T-VER).
The joint initiative by BAAC and the Royal Forest Department aims to restore 423 rai of degraded forest areas and maintain over 4,000 rai of community forest areas. Community participation in forest conservation is being emphasized by providing knowledge, monitoring, and evaluating project outcomes. BAAC will continue to support 6,800 tree bank communities nationwide in registering with T-VER, projecting a cumulative carbon credit trading volume of 46,951 tons of carbon. This effort is expected to create over 20,000 rai of green space, equivalent to 4.95 million trees. The project seeks to involve farmers and communities in expanding green space, reducing global warming, and deriving economic benefits from forest resources, contributing to Thailand's carbon neutrality and emissions goals.