Two giant ministries invite Thais to join in ‘1-Million-Rai Reforestation’ to mitigate global warming
26 October 2021The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment teamed up to encourage Thais to plant trees in a total area of 1 million rai in order to drive Thailand towards carbon neutrality.
On October 20, 2021, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) held a declaration ceremony for the ‘EGAT Carbon Neutrality’ policy and a cooperation agreement signing ceremony for the ‘Participatory 1-Million-Rai Reforestation Project’ together with the Royal Forest Department; the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation; and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. The ceremony was chaired by Mr. Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy who also delivered the keynote speech, and was joined by Mr. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Kulit Sombatsiri, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, and Mr. Jatuporn Buruspat, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Mr. Supattanapong said that due to global warming, the world has given importance to carbon neutrality. Thailand integrated carbon neutrality into guidelines for the energy, economic, innovation, and environmental aspects and will declare its intent on the global stage about the goal of net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions throughout 2065-2070. The declaration of the ‘EGAT Carbon Neutrality’ policy and the ‘Participatory 1-Million-Rai Reforestation Project’ are important factors that will help drive Thailand towards carbon neutrality.
EGAT responded to the carbon neutrality policy and included it in EGAT’s strategy covering electricity generation, transmission system, renewable energy, innovation, and carbon offset support through various projects, including the ‘Participatory 1-Million-Rai Reforestation Project’ under the concept of ‘EGAT Carbon Neutrality’ in accordance with the goal in 2050. The plan is to reforest an area of 100,000 rai per year, totaling 1 million rai during 2022-2031. The reforestation project will consist of conservation forest, mangrove forest, community forest, and economic forest and will kick-off with the mangrove reforestation project in Chumphon Province. The project is expected to absorb 1.2 million tons of CO2 per year and will be able to succeed due to the collaboration from all sectors.
Mr. Varawut added that in addition to taking part in the ‘Participatory 1-Million-Rai Reforestation Project,’ the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also has T-VER projects to promote the private sector to participate in planting, maintaining, and restoring the forest in public areas, meanwhile private agencies will receive a share of carbon credit in return. Apart from absorbing CO2 which is the cause of greenhouse gas issues, reforestation or increasing green space contributes to the co-benefit of climate change adaptation. Thanks were given to EGAT for recognizing the importance of the problem and declaring its goal towards corporate carbon neutrality.
As for the cooperation agreement, the duration is five years. The organizations will collectively plan and promote the reforestation and maintenance of forest areas under their care, the production system of good seedlings appropriate for the area, and projects that will enhance participatory reforestation. The objective is to raise the quality of life in the economic and social aspects, develop a model learning center on nature where people can learn about the ecosystem, support related researches, and share important knowledge, such as the amount of carbon credit generated by the operations.
Furthermore, during the event, a forum was held under the topic ‘Unite Hearts for 1-Million-Rai Reforestation: Lower-Carbon Future for All’ which was joined by executives of partner agencies who signed the cooperation agreement, namely Mr. Jirasak Chukwamdee, Deputy Director – General of the Royal Forest Department; Mr. Prakit Vongsrivattanakul, Deputy Director – General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation; Mr. Apichai Ekvanakun, Deputy Director – General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources; and Dr. Jiraporn Sirikum, EGAT Deputy Governor – Strategy. The forum discussed the current situation of Thailand’s natural resources and guidelines, strategies, and goals under the ‘Participatory 1-Million-Rai Reforestation Project’ to enhance the potential of becoming a CO2 storage space. Additionally, the ‘Invite You to Reforest Project’ was launched along with the ‘ECOLIFE’ application which invited Thais to participate in reforestation in order to drive Thailand towards carbon neutrality. The song for the ‘Participatory 1-Million-Rai Reforestation Project’ titled ‘1+1’ was also unveiled during the event; written and performed by ‘Wan’ Thanakrit Panichwid.