Deforestation in Thailand and How You Can Help Forests Recover

From giving shade to protecting our lands from soil erosion, trees provide us with many things we should be thankful for. But despite that, people still cut them down for their own purposes — to make way for roads that ease travel to and from urban areas or to build lands that help meet the growing demand for food due to population growth.

According to data on annual tree cover loss by Global Forest Watch, urbanisation and commodity-driven deforestation are among the drivers of permanent deforestation in Thailand. In 2021 alone, the country lost 11 kilohectares (kha) due to urbanisation and 86.5 kha to commodity-driven deforestation.

While we need a piece of land to accommodate the changes we’re going through as a community, it’s something we shouldn’t abuse. The large-scale loss of trees in our forests have a huge impact on the environment and the wildlife depending on them. Eventually, it will also affect our cities since we won’t have trees with extensive root systems that will act as a sponge to absorb excess water when it rains.

How Can You Help?

Planting a tree is, of course, one of the best things you can do to help Thailand’s forests. If you’re visiting on an extended tour and would like to go outside the city, you can ask your travel agent to add it in your itinerary. Many ethical elephant sanctuaries are also offering tree planting activities to help restore the ecological balance of the forests that their elephants and other rescue animals live in. It’s best to inquire about this when you sign up for visits or volunteer programs.

If you can’t visit Thailand for now, you can help by donating to different organisations instead, such as:

Conserve Natural Forests (CNF)

Established in 2014, CNF is an environmental non-profit foundation that aims to become an ambassador for forest restoration, sustainable land practices, and wildlife conservation in Northern Thailand. They support a science-based holistic approach to forest landscape restoration to make sure that they “plant the right trees in the right place at the right time.” Some trees that they plant are Benjamin’s Fig, Burmese Rosewood, Himalayan Cherry, Java Plum, and Tropical Almond.

Donors can contribute any amount and see on CNF’s website the number of trees they can plant, the area covered (in square metres and hectares), and the carbon dioxide captured (measured in kilograms per year). It’s also possible to donate anonymously if you don’t want to provide personal information.

One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted’s One Dollar One Tree reforestation project aims to create healthy forests and livelihoods for over 1,000 farmers, including their families and communities, by planting fruit-bearing species along with native tree species, which help in restoring soil health and supporting watersheds. Their goal is to plant more than 375,000 trees in Nam Kohk, Hoi Lui, and Mae Na Wong watersheds to support agroforestry.

Donors can either make a one-time donation or a recurring donation of US$1, 20, 50, 100, or more. You’ll receive a personalised tree certificate and updates on the project so you can track the impact of the trees you planted. It’s also possible to give a tree as a gift to your loved one.

Plant with a Purpose

San Diego-based Plant with a Purpose partners with farmer communities around the world to “reverse poverty and deforestation.” They’ve planted more than 50 million trees to date and plan to double that number in the next few years! In Thailand, they work with marginalised ethnic minorities in the north where they teach regenerative farming techniques, connect families with the resources they need, and help them improve their damaged ecosystems.

Donors can contribute any amount once or monthly. They can also donate and give a tree to communities in honour or in memory of a loved one.