FOR decades, many areas in Lampang, Thailand, were a picture of misery: The land is dry most of the time, with no trees for the birds to nest on; nature has very little to offer and people living in upland communities live in constant danger because of forest fires during summer.
Today, Thailand’s northern provinces are covered with forests, which stakeholders attribute to the successful environmental-protection program that helped restore the province’s rich biological diversity. Water, a very important economic resource, which used to be scarce in the province, is no longer a problem. The trees, the birds and the bees are back, so to speak, and people now enjoy what a healthy environment has to offer: Food, water and most of all—clean air.
Science-based approach
THAILAND’S ruler, His Majesty King Bumibol Adulyadej, had initiated not only development projects but the establishment of six royal development study centers in all regions in Thailand.
The study centers promote among the people knowledge and technology, which conform to the conservation and development of the environment and natural resources.
One of the study centers is the Huai Hong Khrai Royal Development Study Centre in the Huai Hong Khrai Basin within the Khun Mae Kuang National Forest Reserve in Doi Saket District of Chiang Mai.
Established on December 11, 1982, the center focused on conserving watershed areas, developing and rehabilitating the deteriorated and barren forests.
Check dams
DR. Suparp Paramee of Kasertsart University based in Bangkok, Thailand, said the success of the reforestation program was brought by the 300 check dams, which gradually helped nourish the forest back to health.
“The check dams are very helpful in keeping the forest healthy. Without the check dams, the reforestation would not have been successful,” Paramee said. He toured to the forest reserve the members of the media who participated in the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Sustainable Development Symposium that was attended by different sectors and held in Bangkok, Thailand.
He said the check-dam system could be applied in countries with similar weather conditions such as the Philippines. They allow portions of the degraded forest to have water enough to make trees and other vegetation grow.
“In areas where water is a problem, the check dams can work. This can also help mitigate flooding because it slows down the flow of water from up the mountains down to low-lying areas,” he explained to the BusinessMirror.
Check dams built in different parts of the forests are constructed using materials such as wood or stones, to prevent or slow down the flow of rainwater, collect water to preserve humidity and trap soil sediments. Check dams also serve as wet fire breaks that control and prevent forest fires during summer.
A check dam costs the builder around 2,000 baht to 30,000 baht, depending on the size.
Private-sector initiative
IN Lampang, where the Siam Cement Group (SCG) extracts and process minerals for its various cement products, the construction of some 50,000 check dams since 1994 was credited for “greening” approximately 1,160 hectares of what used to be a degraded forest often hit by forest fires.
A leading conglomerate with over 200 companies in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, SCG considers its cement plant in Lampang “a green cement factory.”
Of the cement plant’s 1,160 hectares, only around 10 percent are actually developed for its facilities—including road networks. Around the cement plant are lush forest teeming with a wide variety of flora and fauna.
SCG President and CEO Kan Trakulhoon takes pride in citing as an example the company’s sustainable development program and commitment to environmental protection the reforestation project at SCG’s Lampang Cement Plant.
He told the symposium participants that the company would replicate the best practices and example demonstrated by Lampang Cement Plant in other areas in Thailand and other countries where SCG operates.
“We are committed to promoting sustainable development. It has been a company policy ever since and we continue to make our operations environment-friendly,” Trakulhoon said.
‘Sustainable development’ CSR project
THE “greening” of Lampang Cement plant is in line with SCG’s concept of promoting sustainable development in every aspect of its operation.
Besides the application of environment-friendly technology and initiative, such as heat-waste recycling and waste-to-fuel energy production to cut power costs, the company has started to invest in the environment through its massive reforestation program.
Surachai Nimlaor, managing director of SCG’s Cement-Building Materials, told symposium participants the reforestation project was initiated in Lampang as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) thrust in its host community.
He said the company spends around 1 million baht every year to sustain its CSR program through information campaign, seminars and livelihood activities. “It started with simple tree-planting activities. Every year, our employees go out to work with people in the communities to plant trees to solve the problem with forest fires,” Nimlaor said in reply to a question by the BusinessMirror.
Forest fires: A major problem
WHILE logging is strictly prohibited in Thailand, forests become degraded because of forest fires. Previous reforestation efforts have very little success because of the weather condition in the country’s northern provinces.
Rain occurs from July to November. Reforestation efforts hence go to waste because of forest fires.
Like in most part of the Thailand’s northern region, Lampang is frequented by forest fires. This has become a major concern for the cement company because it is a threat to its facilities.
In 1999 the company has recorded a total of 226 forest fires, destroying a large portion of the forests, including reforested areas.
After building check dams, the number of forest fires decreased to 178 in 2000 and to just 58 in 2000.
As more check dams were constructed, the number of forest fires have gone down to less than 10 incidents in 2005. Since 2012, after the forest became healthy enough to sustain life, there were zero forest fires in the area.
By 2007 a total of 6,315 check dams were constructed, and in 2013, 52,928 check dams were built in various parts of the forest, SCG information said.
People as project owners
PEOPLE in the communities, Nimlaor said, are the real owners of the check-dam project because they built the dams using their bare hands. The people themselves plan where and how to put up a check dam in their communities.
“They also maintain the check dams,” he said. According to Nimlaor, around 4,000 people in a total of 43 communities around the cement plant are now benefiting from the successful reforestation.
“Lack of water was a major problem before. That’s why our forests are degraded. Even when we plant trees, forest fire render all our effort useless and we start all over again,” he explained.
Nimlaor said finally the company decided to adopt the check dam system and encouraged the people to take part in the project.
Restoring biodiversity
IN Lampang, as a result of its CSR, the company boasts of maintaining a healthy forest that is home to a wide variety of wildlife. As forest fires become less, wildlife start to thrive again. A recent study in Lampang shows the discovery of seven new bird species in its forest.
These include the Ferruginous Flycatcher, Pin-tailed Green Pigeon and Siberian Thrush, which can even be found in the cement plant. There were also sightings of the Common Hoopoe. The company has even started to promote bird watching as a hobby among its employees. Frogs, which used to be scarce, are now aplenty in the forest, along with other reptiles. The residents could now grow crops and vegetables, besides having a vast expanse of natural environment to live in.
Image credits: Jonathan L. Mayuga