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Mangkol Wandee measures a treeSomporn Khongthanakrittakorn, European Forest Institute

Trees give small farmers in Thailand access to loans

The EU FLEGT Facility has published a story describing how farmers in Thailand are starting to reap the benefits from international timber trade talks between Thailand and the European Union.

Mongkol Wandee measures a tree. Source: Somporn Khongthanakrittakorn, European Forest Institute

Until recently, forest laws put limitations on farmers around the harvesting and transportation of certain tree species. Organisations such as the Private Forest Plantation Cooperative Limited – a cooperative of tree growing farmers and private land owners – used the trade talks to push for amendments to forest laws to improve the situation for farmers. 

In 2019, the Thai Government changed regulations regarding the use of trees on private land. Farmers can now legally harvest all trees on their land and get additional income from them without burdensome paperwork and/or field inspections.

Read the story

Agus Djailani, European Forest Institute

Old wood becomes a source of legal timber in Thailand

Reclaimed timber is contributing to Thailand’s local economy and becoming an important livelihoods source. Timber from old houses that have come to the end of their lifecycle are being bought by traders and turned into a thriving business.

Workers dismantling a wooden house piece by piece, rescuing all teak wood from the roof support poles to the flooring boards, window frames and doors. Source: Agus Djailani, European Forest Institute

The reclaimed timber supply chain started more than 10 years ago but was overlooked and unrecognized. Since a range of regulatory obstacles were removed, bureaucratic processes are being simplified and will contribute to a decrease in corruption. In turn, the earning potential for the Small and micro Economic Entities (SmEs) in Thailand that trade in this timber will have a significant boost.
 
The recognition of reclaimed timber as legal source of timber is the result of efforts to raise awareness among policy makers engaged in the formal Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) process between the Government of Thailand and the EU.

Read the multimedia story

About the Forest Smallholders Project

Since 2016, the European Forest Institute (EFI) has been supporting wood-based micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in four Mekong countries to operate legally and sustainably. Under its Forest Smallholders Project, EFI has been testing solutions to MSMEs’ key challenges in pilot projects. Lessons learnt from these pilots are documented and disseminated nationally, regionally and internationally. Through its support to MSMEs, the Project promotes gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the forest sector.

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