BASELINE STUDY 5, Thailand - Forest Trends

ject began in 2001, no certifications have been awarded to companies; interest and momentum behind the TISI
scheme appears to have stalled.
Non-FIO plantations: The RFD administers number 13 and 15 Sor Por documents (the former for cutting plantation
trees, the latter for listing cut logs from plantations) for plantation teak and Dipterocarp wood. This entails
registering the tree plantation with the RFD, with the owners themselves recording data, and informing
the district RFD official when trees are cut. The system appears to have difficulty when natural teak and
Dipterocarp species are mixed with plantation counterparts; while there appear to be many cases of such mixing,
the volumes are relatively small.
Smallholder plantations: The Number 13 and 15 Sor Por documents, however, are not a specific COC or certification
system for farmers’ tree plantations. This is largely due to the fact that farmers’ plantation trees are destined
for the domestic market, not for the international market. There are no sustainable forest management
(SFM) plans yet for smallholder plantations, although Thailand is currently ready to begin pilot projects under
the ITTO’s Criteria and Indicators (C&I) program. RFD officials appear interested in certification schemes for
smallholder plantations, but express doubts about the cost effectiveness for small plantations.
In addition to the documentation systems listed above, the RFD has been developing a new paperless timber
tracking system, in-line with ASEAN requirements and the Pan-ASEAN Timber Certification Initiative (see section
7.2.3 below).
7.2 External Certification Schemes
In late 2010, wood companies with good connections to the export market began to become more aware of
their exposure to FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), the US Lacey Act and the EU Timber Regulation.
Many of the companies interviewed for this report in July 2010 asserted that due diligence systems have
already been built into the Thai system for legal wood, so they do not believe that compliance will be a significant
issue. A few large Thai furniture companies confided that they believe their good government connections
will also ease any potential hurdles with due diligence issues. But others have become concerned about their
exports to the EU and the United States and are playing a strong role in encouraging active industry and government
to better understand the potential risks to exports and respond accordingly. Many believe that systems
such as FSC will be economically unfeasible, and that the first FSC private teak plantation in Thailand was
only possible due to RFD support. A few companies have already diversified their wood procurement portfolio
away from an earlier focus on Myanmar teak products, or are focusing on new technologies to heat-treat
hardwoods to have characteristics more similar to teak.
7.2.1 FSC Certification
The state-owned FIO secured FSC plantation management certificates for two sites in 2001 (Thong Pha Phum in
Kanchanaburi province and Khao Kra Yang in Phitsanlouk province) but both were suspended in late 2003 by
the independent auditor, Smartwood, due to the failure of the FIO to respond to a number of Corrective Action
Requests. 23 FSC accreditation has not been re-issued to these forest management units since that time. In 2008,
the FIO gained FSC certification for four other teak producing forest management units (Thung Kwian, Mae
Mye, Wang Chin, and Khun Mae Kammee teak plantations, located in Lampang and Phrae provinces), totalling
23 The Smartwood CAR’s related primarily to requirements to improve the COC system for tracking certified logs, and a requirement
to meet the Thai minimum wage standards for FIO employees. In a detailed study the World Rainforest Movement
(2003) also identified numerous other problems with the certification process in Thailand. WRM stated in a press
release that “…the [Thai FSC plantation certification] process is characterized by inadequate information, participation,
consultation, transparency and basic social, political, cultural, economic and environmental research.”
© EU FLEGT Facility, BASELINE STUDY 5, Thailand: Overview of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade, July 2011
This Action is funded by the European Union and the governments of Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The views expressed herein
can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
www.euflegt.efi.int
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