This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Eco-Friendly Furniture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
We are in the midst of a discussion regarding the status of the teak forest of Thailand. As you know AdenWorks furniture is handmade in Thailand. However, the primary wood source for the construction of our furniture comes from recycled wood obtained from old farm houses, farm implements, carts and so forth. One day this source, like so many of the teak forests of Thailand, will be no more.
We have chosen to focus on the teak forests because all responsible manufacturers and importers should be concerned about the forests of the world so let’s continue discussing Thailand’s teak forests. In 2001 the government divided the land between farm holding or agricultural land (41%), forest (31%) and unclassified land (28%). The total forest area in Thailand in 1961 was roughly 27 million ha representing 53.3% of the country. As a result of slash-and-burn policies, shifting cultivation, land resettlement, dam and road construction, the current forest area is estimated to be only 16.8 ha, or a 38% drop. Needless to say these are alarming numbers. Even with the band on logging, the deforestation of Thailand is going at a rate of 63,000 ha per year.
When reviewing Thai forestry, four stages can be clearly noted. First, was the early exploitation stage beginning from the mid-1890’s up through the middle 1930’s. The second stage was from the 1930’s up through early 1960’s which was considered the expanding exploitation and management stage. The third stage which covered the period from the 1960’s to the mid 1980’s was the forest exploitation decline stage. The fourth stage began in 1989 when the ban on logging was put into place and the struggle began towards sustainable management of the forests. To help make this happen, there have been three main interventions: (1) expansion of designated protected areas, (2) expansion of the forest resource base by plantations, and (3) development of community forestry. Unfortunately there is no real strategy toward sustainable management of the forests. Rather, there is only emphasis on patrolling, recreation and other services with little to no research being carried out.
More on the status of teak tomorrow.