Thai Ag Minister Fears Proposed Eucalyptus Plantations Are
Environmental Hazard
8/28/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Thai Ag Minister Fears Proposed Eucalyptus Plantations Are
Environmental Hazard
Source: Bangkok Post
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: August 28, 1999
Byline: Uamdao Noikorn
Agriculture Minister Pongpol Adireksarn yesterday played down green
groups' worries the Thai-Chinese paper pulp joint venture's planned
eucalyptus plantations would pose an environmental hazard, saying the
tree does more good than harm.
"To the best of my knowledge, eucalyptus trees are popular in the
arid Northeast because their deep root system reduces soil salinity,"
Mr Pongpol said.
"I've asked China to consider planting them in the Northeast rather
in the East because the eastern region does better with fruit
orchards and rice fields." This would still be within 200km of
Bangkok, as demanded by the Chinese state enterprise. It was earlier
reported the government was eyeing degraded forests in eight eastern
provinces for 200,000 rai to grow eucalyptus trees to be used as raw
material in the four-billion-baht joint venture.
The cabinet on Monday agreed to the venture, between China and
Advance Agro Co.
China first raised the idea two years ago but it was shelved for lack
of a suitable large area of land.
To overcome the problem, the government will have to revoke a 1992
cabinet resolution ban on commercial plantations in forest reserves.
A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed next week when
Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits Thailand.
Forestry chief Plodprasop Suraswadi said there are 10 million rai of
degraded forest land nationwide, the result of encroachment by local
influential figures.
The developer would have to deal with the encroachers, possibly by
recruiting them as contract farmers.
While contract farming would legalise the encroachment, it would also
force both the company and the encroachers to operate under
department rules, which include reforesting one rai for every two rai
used for the plantation.
The rent would also be raised from 10 baht a rai a year to 15 baht.
Environmentalists denounced the scheme. "Allowing commercial forestry
will result in ecological destruction as it did in the past because
the environment will always be sacrificed for the sake of economic
interests," Wildlife Fund Thailand secretary-general Surapol Duangkae
said.