16 October 2023 at 16:44 Discussed
eTree, a digital platform created to help growers register the trees they are growing to sell as timber, has been formally launched by the Royal Forest Department( RFD ) and Food and Agriculture Organization( FAO ).
According to Boonsuthee Jeravongpanich, director of the Forest Economics Office( FEO ), eTree, which was jointly developed by the RFD and FAO, has been tested and used to register more than 645 000 trees that have been grown for commercial purposes on approximately 37, 000 rai of land by over 5, 000 people.
According to him, the eTree system is designed specifically for people who want to grow trees for price but are unable to register the land as a” forest estate” under the Forest Plantation Act.
According to Mr. Boonsuthee, using eTree will make it simpler for these forest farmers to manage their fields and report the plants they are growing to the specialists. He even said that doing so will facilitate their ability to remove the mature trees and move them to other locations for sale.
When they later sell the forest, having every tree’s full ownership information stored in the database through the eTree program will act as a recognized global legitimate certificate, according to Mr. Boonsuthee.
He continued,” This will permit the expansion of Thailand’s forest business and make the business more sustainable.”
According to the country’s 20-year regional strategic plan, 27 million more ray will be required for tree cultivation by 2037, a percentage that is currently 31.68 % of the total area covered by forest cover.
According to Chongsathit Angwitthayathon, the agent for the green forest business program of the UN – REDD in Thailand, eTree has been tested and used under the agreement between the RFD and FAO for several years, during which time the system has proven helpful in supporting the practice of timber and community forest growing.
More significantly, he claimed, the country’s constitutional jungle plantations are growing thanks to eTree, which also helps reduce illegal logging.