Note: This post includes a draft document from the Thai Forest Dept and in green below in independent submission from Chiang Mai. Please consider how best to bring the two together to ensure maximum participation of the whole population to set the stage for a century, not just one year:
Preparations for the International Year of Forests 2011
– Activities proposed and in development – DRAFT version for comment please !
Country/Organization Name: Thailand
1. Proposed activities:
- Enhance public awareness on sustainable forest management (SFM) through various activities and mass media channels
- Promote forest roles in responding climate change and addressing global environmental issues such as Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries program (REDD+)
- Encourage people participation through community forest program and tree planting campaigns
- Disseminate success stories in community forestry program as well as other good practices of forest activities in responding to SFM achievement attempt
- Encourage business sector to support in term of financial to forestry activities via Corporate Social Responsibility program (CSR)
- Establish dialogues and collaboration with national and international organizations to bring consolidation and participation in term of regional and sub-regional cooperation.
2. Measures of activities:
- Improve public awareness of significant and its roles as carbon sinks in responding climate change and addressing global environmental issues through various activities and mass media channels
- Public outreach establishment for the event of the 2011 International Year of Forests to make perception and encourage general people and foresters to take part in celebration of the coming important event
- Consolidate plan of activity for celebrating the 2011 International Year of Forests such as tree planting campaign, road show, symposiums, workshops, etc.
- An arbor day campaign will be performed nationwide for celebrating 84th His Majesty the King Birthday and 115th Anniversary Year of RFD in parallel with 2011 International Year celebration
- Host the 2011 ASEAN Senior Officer in Forestry (ASOF) to provide a platform to share their own views of ASEAN member states and forest experts from international organizations in term of regional forest management.
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A UN initiative under the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Scope for action.
When the UN agrees to denote a year to a particular issue, it presents an opportunity for workers in that field in each country, to activate their governments and population to make lasting progress in the field.
Thailand was once practically all covered in forest and is fortunate in having large areas of forest remaining, but these continue to be encroached upon and degraded and individual trees killed or damaged by both the state and private sectors of society. Large areas have become devoid of not only forest but also all the native trees which once were in forest. Of the few remaining trees in many places in time they will vanish as no steps are taken to ensure and protect their natural regeneration.
The Year of the Forests gives Thailand a wonderful opportunity begin to make progress on all these fronts and lay a firm foundation for conserving our biodiversity and restoring so much of the beauty which has vanished from the landscape.
In discussing this issue in Chiang Mai in November a varied group of government officers and community volunteers agreed that the geographical scope for action should:
- Encompass land both in and out of conservation reserves and large and small tracts of land,
- Involve many relevant state organisations and the community.
1. Geographical scope needs to consider:
- Trees around buildings and in towns & villages
- Trees on Farms
- Roadside Trees
- Streamsides
- Estuarine & Coastal Forests
- Small Forest Remnants
- Community Forests
- Reserved Forests
- Unprotected Forests
- Conservation Forests – and for all these areas
- Fire and Forests
- Weeds and forests
- Tree Health Management
- Forest Encroachment & Degredation, Public & Private
2. Participating Organisations should include:
- Forests Department – in the lead role ?
- Natural Resources & Environment Ministry
- National Parks & Wildlife & Plant Protection Department
- State Herbaria
- Main Roads Dept
- Country Roads Dept
- Irrigation Dept
- Harbours Dept
- Provincial Electric Supply Authorities
- Education Dept
- University Faculties of Forestry
- RECOFTC
- Armed Forces
- Public Relations Department
- Provincial Government
- Local Government
- Community Organisations
- Non Government Organisations
- ( & more ?)
From Eric Danell ( by email)
From a biologist’s point of view, a forest is not only confined to the trees. This was clear when Swedish forestry companies bragged with their slogan ‘Sweden has never had so many forests’, comparing an exotic pine monoculture with a virgin native spruce forest.
A Swedish toy manufacturer bragged about its environmental concern by planting rubber trees in Thailand. Forest?
For 2011 it is very important that people learn that a forest is not just a bunch of living planks, it is composed of many different trees, AND other plants, animals, birds, butterflies, mushrooms, tockays – that is a forest!
The carbon dioxide concern has in my eyes made the biodiversity decline a low priority among politicians, journalists and environmental organizations. They will argue any tree is good for reducing CO2. I suffer more than you when I hear this, because I do not even believe in the CO2 hypothesis as an explanation for the global warming.
Let’s select the pangolin as a symbol of the forest to shake the heads of toy manufacturers, and work among all channels available to inform people what a forest is.
Ricky
How appropriate Eric’s nomonation of the Pangolin as our forest symbol.
Today how much I wished I had a pet pangolin which could do my work of digging out termites which are eating my house.
Termites are important in the forest a they help recycle dead wood, but the worry is that they will produce too much methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Planting fast growing bamboo, which stores carbon in the soil for very long periods, could be part of the solution to global warming, but in the absence of predators to control termites which love to feed on dead bamboo, maybe the reverse it true?
Time to reintroduce pangolins and other lost animals into the sterile forests of north Thailand in the Year of the Forests.
Ricky
I thought a cartoon character would be marvellous fun and want to ask if you or any of your fans can help to make this happen? I do not know people who work with animation can you help?
I suggest it would be great to get a cartoon made with a pangolin being asked questions
like “What is a forest?” etc. Answer My Home if you don’t mind!
If he is a Thai he could be called Panlop the Pangolin ( I have a friend Panlop)>
He could put trees into perspective:
“Well Bamboo is ideal termite food so it gets my vote over trees.”
“As for trees -The deader The better – so yummy termites can eat them”
Living trees – “Well ok. They give nice shade and conserve moisture – and without moisture
my favourite food (yes termites) cannot survive – and trees must die some time and provide more termite food.”
“So yes let’s have more trees”
And why do you matter Mr Panlop ? “Well the more termites I eat, the less methane the termites give off and as you may well know methane is 25 times as powerful a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide”.
So Cool the World – Keep the Pangolins.